Conical or Pro Taper on your break cue?

[Keystone87]

Hey guys, I like to play with a pro taper and break with one too so far. I was wondering if anyone has tried breaking with a conical taper after using a pro and felt it added stiffness that provided an advantage for their break..?

 

[ENGLISH!]

Hi Keystone,

There are some varying thoughts on what type of cue or shaft should be used for breaking. One thought is, as you metioned, that stiffer yields more power & it may very well do that provided that one can still make very good center contact on the cue ball with one's break stroke. If not the cue ball will deflect/squirt off & result in a non-solid hit of the rack appex ball. Another theory is that by using an LD shaft any mis-hit of the cue ball will be lessoned by the less squirt of the cue ball yield a better hit on the appex ball.

Another debate is heavy vs lighter. I think this, as in most dilemmas, the decision depends on the individual. For any individual, as the weight of the cue is increased, a point will be reached where it is past their limit to propel it at its fastest & thus the cue ball at its fastest. What is that point for you. One needs to experiment with different weight cues to determine what weight is best.

I think the same should be done with stiffness. How well do you strike the cue ball on the break. Very well, more stiffness may be beneficial. If not maybe a shaft with more deflection(LD shaft) might be benefical.

I hope this helps or at least gives you more food for thought.

Regards,

 

[Jimmy Reid]

Pro Taper !

 

[The Renfro]

Hey guys, I like to play with a pro taper and break with one too so far. I was wondering if anyone has tried breaking with a conical taper after using a pro and felt it added stiffness that provided an advantage for their break..?

:clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping:

I see your post found the main forum :thumbup:

 

[Chrippa]

Hi,

You can have stiffness and LD. If you jump the cue easily I would suggest a more flexible shaft. Pro taper comes in many different tastes..................

I have a M Lambros 3c cue with a very stiff setup - against a pool cue anyway. LD and I can play really well at the pool table with it but you have to be aware when you raise the back of the cue and hits down on the cue because it´s easy to get it a bit airborne.
For me it´s breaks good also but I do my best to come in to the cue with a level stroke and minimize the jump (you "always" jump a little when you break).

So for me a stiff tapered shaft but still with some flex in it is the best, also with LD.
I break and jump with a Lambros B/J. Or I use my playing cue, on the stiff side and with LD. Solid maple shaft/s with taper "all the way" but it has short ferrule. Have many playing cues and they all play "similar".

I hope this helps you out a bit and I would be happy to see other replies of what you guys think. Love to learn new stuff and here peoples opinions.

Take care

Chrippa

 

[AlexandruM]

I don't like conical taper.

 

[naji]

Hi Keystone,

There are some varying thoughts on what type of cue or shaft should be used for breaking. One thought is, as you metioned, that stiffer yields more power & it may very well do that provided that one can still make very good center contact on the cue ball with one's break stroke. If not the cue ball will deflect/squirt off & result in a non-solid hit of the rack appex ball. Another theory is that by using an LD shaft any mis-hit of the cue ball will be lessoned by the less squirt of the cue ball yield a better hit on the appex ball.

Another debate is heavy vs lighter. I think this, as in most dilemmas, the decision depends on the individual. For any individual, as the weight of the cue is increased, a point will be reached where it is past their limit to propel it at its fastest & thus the cue ball at its fastest. What is that point for you. One needs to experiment with different weight cues to determine what weight is best.

I think the same should be done with stiffness. How well do you strike the cue ball on the break. Very well, more stiffness may be beneficial. If not maybe a shaft with more deflection(LD shaft) might be benefical.

I hope this helps or at least gives you more food for thought.

Regards,

Hi Rick, maybe we can add here , since break shot really uses usually longer bridge hand, players might have the shaft in bridge before tip contact for almost say 12 to 16" so if player holding shaft at say 16" the conical taper variation might change tip position at contact slightly (raise it. So let say one wants center hit, tip might go to 1 mm above and cause a role, or wants slight draw, and go to center!! or a player uses english, there might be slight movement left to right or right to left depending on stroke..A thought.

 

[Ghosst]

I will go against the current replies and say that I much prefer the conical taper on my break cue. I haven't yet met anyone who's tried it and not loved it, including BK2 owners.

It is a McDermott NG-05 with a Samsara tip and weighs 17oz.

.

 

[RBLilly]

Conical Taper

I personally prefer a Conical taper and the largest diameter tip allowed, which I believe is 14mm or something like that?

I did that with my custom break cue, and I used the hardest wood known to man to make this thing stiff as possible. We used a maple butt to put the weight of the cue with a slightly forward balance. I put a water buffalo tip on it and this thing breaks like a freaking Beast! I wouldn't want anything else to break with. I love my break cue!