Compound tapers

fbass4u

fbass4u

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have a custom made cue that is brand new, and one day after I had played a few games I thought to roll it just to see the straightness, and to my surprise the joint bounced up and down, and I know some have said this is no way to check a cue. But if something is straight it will roll flat across a flat surface, well this cue does not. Well I sent the cue back to the cuemaker, which in return told me that the cue was perfectly straight and the bounce I was seeing was the compound taper that he uses on the cues, My question to you all is? what is the purpose of a compound taper? and what cue makers are known to use them? And if your cue has a compound taper does it bounce up and down as it is rolled across a flat surface? Thanks for any insight.:confused:
 
The purpose of a compound taper is to have a stiff forearm and still have a slim handle. It also keeps the weight more balanced by adding more beef on the forearm.
SW and DPK probably are two most prominenty compound tapered cues.
 
Compound tapers will still roll straight if they are cut between centers, and the whole butt is joined. If the butt is joined finished size with compound tapers, they will usually not roll straight. The more the taper of the forearm, the more noticeable.
 
fbass4u said:
I have a custom made cue that is brand new, and one day after I had played a few games I thought to roll it just to see the straightness, and to my surprise the joint bounced up and down, and I know some have said this is no way to check a cue. But if something is straight it will roll flat across a flat surface, well this cue does not. Well I sent the cue back to the cuemaker, which in return told me that the cue was perfectly straight and the bounce I was seeing was the compound taper that he uses on the cues, My question to you all is? what is the purpose of a compound taper? and what cue makers are known to use them? And if your cue has a compound taper does it bounce up and down as it is rolled across a flat surface? Thanks for any insight.:confused:
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how to say this diplomaticaly, yet forcefully enough.

Your assumption about 'if it is straight, then it must roll flat'
is simply incorrect - I know this a common opinion. I encounter
it often, too often

As a mater of curiosity, what will it take to convince you the cue is straight<assuming it is>? Or, more importantly, why are you still
so concerned? Are some local cue dectives telling you it
just has to be warped?

Dale
 
my question is unless the tip is coming up 1/4" off the table, how does a slight warp affect the playability of the cue? i have seen shafts that had a very slight wobble in the center portion of the shaft if you roll the shaft by itself, i see no way that could have an ill effect on shooting pool. am i wrong?

guy
 
Michael Webb said:
Has anyone seen the new movie called the ILLUSIONIST,
What a good movie.
Click to expand...
Great movie, kind of like the "The Sixth Sense". Takes a long time to set-up, then in the last 10 minutes it all unfolds and you're like, "Whoah, didn't see that one coming!".:)
 
just a side note

let me say this, I work in a machine shop and it is a common pratice to check roll pins and tappered pins on a granite surface to see if it is straight. This in fact will not tell you the amount of roll out but will give a good idea within a few thousand. Dale what I'm concerned about is, lets say you are going to buy said cue, and you roll it or what ever you do to check it and you notice the indifference, how do I explain that to a possible customer? as not being defective? and for Guy, this is a brand new cue, and its not the shaft that I am talking about,its when you roll the butt alone you can see the pin move up and down, and when it is put together you can see the wobble at the joint only.lets assume it is straight and its the rings or its out of round or something like that. would that not be considered a defect? this cue has been inspected by the cue maker, and he said it was perfect. lets say you bought a pool table and notice one of the dimonds was out of place, does not really affect the play of the table, but you know its there. do you keep it or have it replaced? thanks guys I really appreciate you opinions
 
I do not understand the question here. Either a cue is straight, and it is machined on a common center axis or it isn't. Yeah some shafts will drift a tad when the weather goes nuts, but only a little bit, and not as a rule. How can any self respecting craftsman claim that a multi taper will make the cue bounce? And who would ever believe that? Why spend weeks leveling lathes, indicating shafts and tooling if it is all that easy? It is the prep time , and patience that makes a good cue! It is not rocket science!
 
I did not think he was intending to say some craftsmen use illusions.

I thought he was saying you might see something when you roll the cue on the table and think it is warped, but you might be seeing an illusion. Maybe I am wrong...maybe it was both... Mike?

At least Mike and Jer convinced me to add the movie to my NetFlix queue. :p

Kelly
 
fbass4u said:
let me say this, I work in a machine shop and it is a common pratice to check roll pins and tappered pins on a granite surface to see if it is straight. This in fact will not tell you the amount of roll out but will give a good idea within a few thousand. Dale what I'm concerned about is, lets say you are going to buy said cue, and you roll it or what ever you do to check it and you notice the indifference, how do I explain that to a possible customer? as not being defective? and for Guy, this is a brand new cue, and its not the shaft that I am talking about,its when you roll the butt alone you can see the pin move up and down, and when it is put together you can see the wobble at the joint only.lets assume it is straight and its the rings or its out of round or something like that. would that not be considered a defect? this cue has been inspected by the cue maker, and he said it was perfect. lets say you bought a pool table and notice one of the dimonds was out of place, does not really affect the play of the table, but you know its there. do you keep it or have it replaced? thanks guys I really appreciate you opinions
Click to expand...
Have you tried putting it between centers on a lathe?
How does it look with the shaft joined?
 
olsonsview said:
I do not understand the question here. Either a cue is straight, and it is machined on a common center axis or it isn't. Yeah some shafts will drift a tad when the weather goes nuts, but only a little bit, and not as a rule. How can any self respecting craftsman claim that a multi taper will make the cue bounce? And who would ever believe that? Why spend weeks leveling lathes, indicating shafts and tooling if it is all that easy? It is the prep time , and patience that makes a good cue! It is not rocket science!
Click to expand...

THANK YOU!!!
 
If the cue is straight............it is straight! [butt / shaft~~~apart or together............]
Whether it is conical from end to end or has 32 different tapers from end to end.........will not make one bit of difference in effect if the cue is straight or not. Weather, misuse, improper storage, holding your mouth wrong while stroking, and of course the ultimate....poor construction techniques will all make a cue wiggle or wobble whether rolled on a table, on one rail and the bed, on two rails or between centers.......it has nothing to do with the tapers of the cue.
JMO............
 
olsonsview said:
I do not understand the question here. Either a cue is straight, and it is machined on a common center axis or it isn't. Yeah some shafts will drift a tad when the weather goes nuts, but only a little bit, and not as a rule. How can any self respecting craftsman claim that a multi taper will make the cue bounce? And who would ever believe that? Why spend weeks leveling lathes, indicating shafts and tooling if it is all that easy? It is the prep time , and patience that makes a good cue! It is not rocket science!
Click to expand...
You are right. It is either straight or not. But a compound taper does magnify any wobble. You might not even notice a little butt wobble if the taper is straight. If it is a compound taper where the joint normally never touches the table it will magify 1/100" wobble to look like 1/16". Rolling a cue held up on a rail instead of flat on the table also magnifies any wobble. How many cues are perfect? Would any cuemaker on here claim to build perfect cues? If so let the other cuemakers inspect it and give an honest opinion. I bet we could find flaws. Please don't look at mine under a micro scope as you will surely find plenty of flaws. You will probably find a few with the naked eye.
Chris
www.cuesmith.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
 
again thanks for your input guys, this really looks to be a very debaitable topic as far as what is straight or not. I do like the way the cue shoots and looks,so it looks as though I'll keep it, but it is a steping stone to better cue when it comes time to buy one, so for all that says its fine, please dont blame me if I sell you a crooked cue:D just kidding but you get the point.
 
cueman said:
You are right. It is either straight or not. But a compound taper does magnify any wobble. You might not even notice a little butt wobble if the taper is straight. If it is a compound taper where the joint normally never touches the table it will magify 1/100" wobble to look like 1/16". Rolling a cue held up on a rail instead of flat on the table also magnifies any wobble. How many cues are perfect? Would any cuemaker on here claim to build perfect cues? If so let the other cuemakers inspect it and give an honest opinion. I bet we could find flaws. Please don't look at mine under a micro scope as you will surely find plenty of flaws. You will probably find a few with the naked eye.
Chris
www.cuesmith.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
Click to expand...

We have a winner:) ---thanks
 
JoeyInCali said:
The purpose of a compound taper is to have a stiff forearm and still have a slim handle. It also keeps the weight more balanced by adding more beef on the forearm.
SW and DPK probably are two most prominenty compound tapered cues.
Click to expand...

Who, here in this forum, using a "double- angle/ compund" taper?
If you don't mind me asking......PM if you'd like.

Thanks in advance.
Chris
 
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