chromecarz00
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Do these exist? if not, why? if so, where? Looking for a cool-looking and well playing pool cue, and being in the automotive industry, carbon fiber seems to be an ideal material...
Carbon Fiber Pool Cues
- Thread starter chromecarz00
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Carbon Fiber has become an interchangeable phrase with Graphite, as far as sporting goods equipment goes. There are some minor technical differences between the two, but they do make graphite cues. Personally, I can't stand them, and they tend to be cheaper cues, but if you want to try them you can find them. I think my friend bought a Sportcraft graphite cue for like 20 bucks.
There's not really anything to gain.
CF is all about strength to weight ratio which isn't a factor in a typical pool cue. Plus you'd have a somewhat complicated mold with inserts for the joints, butt cap/bumper and some kind of weight system. That alone could be complicated since most ideal cues weigh around the 19oz mark and a certain expected balance point. Weight would be needed in a variety of locations. You need a channel in the mold for a wrap. And then after all is said and done your pretty much stuck with what you got in regards to tapers and shaft ODs.
Now you can machine CF but its' not pretty , and can be a health hazard if not careful.
About all you would gain is some stability. Not a fabulous trade off IMO.
Would look cool though... true visiable weave CF , not plain graphite/carbon composite.
CF is all about strength to weight ratio which isn't a factor in a typical pool cue. Plus you'd have a somewhat complicated mold with inserts for the joints, butt cap/bumper and some kind of weight system. That alone could be complicated since most ideal cues weigh around the 19oz mark and a certain expected balance point. Weight would be needed in a variety of locations. You need a channel in the mold for a wrap. And then after all is said and done your pretty much stuck with what you got in regards to tapers and shaft ODs.
Now you can machine CF but its' not pretty , and can be a health hazard if not careful.
About all you would gain is some stability. Not a fabulous trade off IMO.
Would look cool though... true visiable weave CF , not plain graphite/carbon composite.
The Balacini line of cues sold by McDermott were probably the only true carbon fiber cues ever made. After buying the rights for the cues, it was soon found that it cost more to manufacture them, than they could sell them for....$295...I believe was the original retail target price.
The good thing about polymer based cues is they don't warp.
Perfect for the guy who leaves his cue in the car.
If you are just going to use it to play pool, I would go with a wood based cue.
I know that wood has issues and polymer cues look cool, but at least wood cues are repairable.
Perfect for the guy who leaves his cue in the car.
If you are just going to use it to play pool, I would go with a wood based cue.
I know that wood has issues and polymer cues look cool, but at least wood cues are repairable.
I think most all carbon or graphite cues are just wood cues laminated with the carbon or graphite, not pure carbon/graphite.
I had an Eliminator some years back. It played fine, not good, not bad; I didn't know anything about cues so thought it was cool. Once I learned about cue behavior and figured out what I like, I found it was too stiff. I gave it to a novice friend of mine, and it worked for her. The one overwhelming characteristic I noticed about it is that it didn't vibrate much, which is something carbon and graphite laminates do well... that is, absorbing vibration.
I had an Eliminator some years back. It played fine, not good, not bad; I didn't know anything about cues so thought it was cool. Once I learned about cue behavior and figured out what I like, I found it was too stiff. I gave it to a novice friend of mine, and it worked for her. The one overwhelming characteristic I noticed about it is that it didn't vibrate much, which is something carbon and graphite laminates do well... that is, absorbing vibration.
I make a carbon fiber pool cue and now offer our new shaft as an after market shaft for an existing handle.
We do not stock shafts to sell but make to order. At this stage I do not offer matching ring work, but customers can take the shafts to competent cue makers and have matching ring work installed on a blank( no collar shaft)
The product we make is a proprietary composite that has taken many years of experiments to achieve. Some saw our 1st generation of cue shafts back in 2009 at SBE .
There is a lot of myth about composite materials especially carbon fiber. There are so many different types of carbon fiber on the market today, some did not exist 4 years ago.
So to say it is made of carbon fiber is like saying it is made of wood.I will not reveal the technical specification of our composite.
Over the years, a lot of companies have tried to make a composite shaft that plays as well as a wood shaft.
The shaft pictured is 11.5 mm tip and 29 inches long, .850 joint diameter and weighs 3.9 oz. Tip size range is 10mm to 11.5mm , weigh range is 2.8 to 4.3 oz, length to order , up to 39 inches
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chromecarz00
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Seems like there's a lot of attention on the cheaper side of graphite cues - cuetec seems to have some but they appear to be jumping cues...is that accurate? Also, conetip I'm interested in what you have to offer, do you have a website?
I don't yet have a website, but you can email me.I sent you a PM.
about technical production cues : Longoni produces high end composite butts & shafts for a while , used for carom (small games & 3 Cushion) and 5 pins.
as for examples,
http://www.longonicues.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37:l06&catid=3&Itemid=10
http://www.longonicues.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=38:a06&catid=3&Itemid=10
those shafts aren't carbon-fiber based AFAIK, but glass fiber & aramid, probably with polyester resin. the white external cloth coat we can see on ther L06 is glass cloth afaik.
I suspect the the G06 top coat to be the same, the colour is IMHO due to a colored resin, but the different stiffness shows than the core structure is different.
the shafts are hollowed. no wood core. may be a foam inside, dunno, we should break one to see the internal secrets
).
http://www.longonicues.com/index.ph...view=article&id=104:githium&catid=5&Itemid=15
this one is very stiff.
i tested a L06 ( from a friend) with a balkline (=short) Lithium shaft, and i must say that it is a very good cue, makes the small draws really easier, due to the shaft flexibility/flex point. The confort is stunning !
the only problem is the "feel"/hit, which is so different from wood, than personnally i do prefer to play with "old school" cues .
composite masse shafts by Longoni are used by many world class artistic billard players, because they are very, very, very performant.
There is a french artistic billard player who crafts special masse shafts in composite (CF based) . He works in the space industry, a composite specialist. very good shafts.
Dunno if pool players would love the "feel" of products like the Lithium & Aurum longoni shafts , but IMHO , if they were producted with tapers adapted to pool ,it would be an excellent product.
if one day you can try the longoni composite cues, go for it, then you'll change your mind. they are very, very performant. Personnally, i will remain stucked with my Barenbrugge pool cue because I love it, and after all, i am sure than training is everything !
as for examples,
http://www.longonicues.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37:l06&catid=3&Itemid=10
http://www.longonicues.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=38:a06&catid=3&Itemid=10
those shafts aren't carbon-fiber based AFAIK, but glass fiber & aramid, probably with polyester resin. the white external cloth coat we can see on ther L06 is glass cloth afaik.
I suspect the the G06 top coat to be the same, the colour is IMHO due to a colored resin, but the different stiffness shows than the core structure is different.
the shafts are hollowed. no wood core. may be a foam inside, dunno, we should break one to see the internal secrets
). http://www.longonicues.com/index.ph...view=article&id=104:githium&catid=5&Itemid=15
this one is very stiff.
i tested a L06 ( from a friend) with a balkline (=short) Lithium shaft, and i must say that it is a very good cue, makes the small draws really easier, due to the shaft flexibility/flex point. The confort is stunning !
the only problem is the "feel"/hit, which is so different from wood, than personnally i do prefer to play with "old school" cues .
composite masse shafts by Longoni are used by many world class artistic billard players, because they are very, very, very performant.
There is a french artistic billard player who crafts special masse shafts in composite (CF based) . He works in the space industry, a composite specialist. very good shafts.
Dunno if pool players would love the "feel" of products like the Lithium & Aurum longoni shafts , but IMHO , if they were producted with tapers adapted to pool ,it would be an excellent product.
if one day you can try the longoni composite cues, go for it, then you'll change your mind. they are very, very performant. Personnally, i will remain stucked with my Barenbrugge pool cue because I love it, and after all, i am sure than training is everything !
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Well, I used to play for a couple of months a McDermott Element cue. From their promo : "Element pool cues feature F2 Dual Fiber Core Technology that utilizes multiple strands of thin carbon fiber, overlapped and reinforced with our resin fiber-polymer. This combination makes them incredibly strong for their weight. The high strength-to-weight ratio provides optimal balance and durability while maximizing the power and stability of your stroke.". The cues retails from $89 to $129. I got that cue for $20 in a pool bar on Father's day. FWIW the cue plays better than a Cuetec, hehe! It got a Triangle tip, a 3/8 x 10 steel joint and hits in the stiff side. Mine is a light 18.5. Not bad of a player IMHO.
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CF Cues
I used one for a bottle jack handle:shrug: it worked good:grinning-moose:
you asked
MMIke
I used one for a bottle jack handle:shrug: it worked good:grinning-moose:
you asked
MMIke
I once saw an interesting post, someone asked:
"If you could make a sword today, using the most modern materials possible, with unlimited resources, what would you make it out of?"
The answer was steel. Sometimes there is no better mousetrap.
Wood is light, flexible, inexpensive, easily carved into the appropriate shape, easy to inlay, easy to modify if you want a new taper or tip diameter, and so on.
"If you could make a sword today, using the most modern materials possible, with unlimited resources, what would you make it out of?"
The answer was steel. Sometimes there is no better mousetrap.
Wood is light, flexible, inexpensive, easily carved into the appropriate shape, easy to inlay, easy to modify if you want a new taper or tip diameter, and so on.