Bumperless - Whats the deal ?
- Thread starter qguy
- Start date
I always thought I liked the feel of bumperless cues because I felt they hit harder and more crisp. I also found that I liked the way cues hit better when I removed the bumper. What do you guys think about in terms of harmonics, when a cue hits hard or soft, what does that tell you about a cue?
less is more part 2
hit the wrong button, on carpet, at home i play with a cue that is one piece wood butt, wood pin, wood shaft, no ferrule, no joint rings, carbon fiber pad, layered tip, and no bumper.
now when i play at a bar with a cement floor, i will have a rubber bumper on my cue.
hit the wrong button, on carpet, at home i play with a cue that is one piece wood butt, wood pin, wood shaft, no ferrule, no joint rings, carbon fiber pad, layered tip, and no bumper.
now when i play at a bar with a cement floor, i will have a rubber bumper on my cue.
harmonics
A while back Bill Stroud posted, on here or the one pocket forum I think, that he was playing with accelerometers and trick software. He just kind of threw it out there and no one asked about it. I'll guess he's trying to find out just the kinds of things discussed in this thread. Pretty interesting.
A while back Bill Stroud posted, on here or the one pocket forum I think, that he was playing with accelerometers and trick software. He just kind of threw it out there and no one asked about it. I'll guess he's trying to find out just the kinds of things discussed in this thread. Pretty interesting.
A cue can be mild feeling but still very powerful & hard hitting. The harmonics (feel) can be dampened to the point where the cue feels dead. Limb Saver is a great example. They screw into where the bumper goes & kill a huge percentage of vibration. The cue is still the same cue, just feels a lot different now. Not many players like the feel of a very dull cue, but not many are fond of the jolt that you get from some bumperless cues, either. There's a happy medium for feel & every individual has their own unique sweet spot.
We as builders have are often known for how consistent our cues play from one cue to the next. Mastering this consistency has a lot to do with all of this, being able to choose materials & construction techniques to make various different cues play & feel similar enough to identify. Combined with taper shapes & such, a builder can build & tune hundreds of cues that are all very similar in performance though no two cues look alike. It's challenging. But once a guy figures it out, he can manipulate his cues to all play alike. Then buyers know fairly certain what they'll be getting before they buy it. That makes them more comfortable ordering a cue. There's a level of certainty there.
Bill Stroud is a clever fellow, for sure. He does some things differently than the rest of us & some of it leaves me scratching my head. But it all works out well for him.
Interesting thread. Seriously, I love the look and had no idea the ping and the stiff hit on my Brunswicks were due to not having a bumper.
Of the few things I do know about cue making, I can add one more thing to my list of things.
PH into maple and pretty decent shafts from LP. I thought thats where it came from.
And here I thought it was all about pretty.
Thanks.
Of the few things I do know about cue making, I can add one more thing to my list of things.
PH into maple and pretty decent shafts from LP. I thought thats where it came from.
And here I thought it was all about pretty.
Thanks.
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A bumper is a muffler and protector.
As far as Rambow cues, people forget that he was using a plastic that didn't shatter, was not all that hard and didn't have any finish on the bottom. The butt caps would actually get little dents in the bottoms.
Rugs came around a lot later that Rambow. The typical floor back then was wood and when you wanted to tell someone they made a good shot, you would tap the butt of your cue on the floor. It wasn't until the 50's and after that the average player started to use the increasingly more available and fancy custom cues, ala Paradise, Palmer, etc that a need for protecting the butt cap arose. Palmers for years had no bumpers. It wasn't until the 70's that they bacame standard.
The amount of vibration damping and noise absorption they produce is a function of a niuber of factors including bumnper size and attachment method. As far as affecting the way the cue plays, the bumper is very unlikely to do anything other than mess with the mind of the too easily distracted shooter. If he is paying attention to his bumper he should stop betting.
As far as Rambow cues, people forget that he was using a plastic that didn't shatter, was not all that hard and didn't have any finish on the bottom. The butt caps would actually get little dents in the bottoms.
Rugs came around a lot later that Rambow. The typical floor back then was wood and when you wanted to tell someone they made a good shot, you would tap the butt of your cue on the floor. It wasn't until the 50's and after that the average player started to use the increasingly more available and fancy custom cues, ala Paradise, Palmer, etc that a need for protecting the butt cap arose. Palmers for years had no bumpers. It wasn't until the 70's that they bacame standard.
The amount of vibration damping and noise absorption they produce is a function of a niuber of factors including bumnper size and attachment method. As far as affecting the way the cue plays, the bumper is very unlikely to do anything other than mess with the mind of the too easily distracted shooter. If he is paying attention to his bumper he should stop betting.
Those were the days!
GREAT POST PAUL! I started playing pool in 1966 in an old pool hall with oak floors and a shoe shine stand in the front. Whenever a guy made a great shot we'd tap the butt of the cue on the floor to compliment them. Course we were playing with one piece house cues with no bumpers. Nice to remember the old days of pool! Thanks for the reminder!!!!
GREAT POST PAUL! I started playing pool in 1966 in an old pool hall with oak floors and a shoe shine stand in the front. Whenever a guy made a great shot we'd tap the butt of the cue on the floor to compliment them. Course we were playing with one piece house cues with no bumpers. Nice to remember the old days of pool! Thanks for the reminder!!!!