conical taper and a closed bridge

N

newcuer

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have read that players who use a closed bridge the majority of the time prefer a pro taper (as opposed to a conical taper) on their shaft.

Is this a more of a psychological 'feel' thing or is it actually detrimental (I guess, more 'scientifically') to shoot with a closed bridge and a conical taper?
 
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newcuer said:
I have read that players who use a closed bridge the majority of the time prefer a pro taper (as opposed to a conical taper) on their shaft.

Is this a more of a psychological 'feel' thing or is it actually detrimental (I guess, more 'scientifically') to shoot with a closed bridge and a conical taper?
Click to expand...
Because a conical taper grows in diameter fairly rapidly shooting with a closed bridge is for many, me included, uncomfortable. Most, not all, conical users tend to shoot off open bridge.
 
Thats a good question for a newcuer. I play on my home table primarily with a pro taper and an open bridge and at work I play with conical taper cues. It only makes a difference to me when I think about it while playing closed and conical. If I don't think about it then it is fine.

I believe that on power shots the closed taper works a little better for me but since I switch back and forth either one is ok.

I believe my closed bridge is still loose enough and my stroke is somewhat short so the Euro taper is not a problem.
 
I have small hands,i vary from closed to open hand bridge

I have had extreme thich tapered cues and as far as the bridge hand goes

I never noticed anything

I prefer european thick taper,i hate pro taper personally
it seems to deflect the ball
 
newcuer said:
I have read that players who use a closed bridge the majority of the time prefer a pro taper (as opposed to a conical taper) on their shaft.

Is this a more of a psychological 'feel' thing or is it actually detrimental (I guess, more 'scientifically') to shoot with a closed bridge and a conical taper?
Click to expand...

It has nothing to do with 'psychological feel.' It has to do with dimensions and basic physics. A conical shaft has a constant taper, meaning that it is never the same diameter anywhere on the shaft. So, if you use a closed bridge, your bridge will always be too lose or too tight as you stroke back and forth. If you want to use a conical shaft you have to commit to using an open bridge all the time.
 
Funny a friend of mine plays with the Z shaft, just last week he was telling me about how it wasn't comfortable using closed bridge with the Z shaft, thus he wanted to swap to something with 12.5 diameter shaft, he doesn't understand taper, but he knew that he was not comfortable, and most 12.5mm shafts are pro taper which is why he wanted to switch and he says that he is comfortable with closed bridge when he uses my shaft, "meucci the pro"
 
Agent 99 said:
It has nothing to do with 'psychological feel.' It has to do with dimensions and basic physics. A conical shaft has a constant taper, meaning that it is never the same diameter anywhere on the shaft. So, if you use a closed bridge, your bridge will always be too lose or too tight as you stroke back and forth. If you want to use a conical shaft you have to commit to using an open bridge all the time.
Click to expand...
The big exception here is 3c players. They use stiff, conical tapers with closed bridges due to the force involved in that game. I used to play a lot of bar pool off-the-wall and i never did get used to that conical feel that most bar cues have. Most of the time i was robbin' pigeons so it really didn't matter that much. ;)
 
deanoc said:
I have small hands,i vary from closed to open hand bridge

I have had extreme thich tapered cues and as far as the bridge hand goes

I never noticed anything

I prefer european thick taper,i hate pro taper personally
it seems to deflect the ball
Click to expand...
You hate pro taper but love Schons? Every Schon i've had or used was a pro taper shaft.
 
garczar said:
Because a conical taper grows in diameter fairly rapidly shooting with a closed bridge is for many, me included, uncomfortable. Most, not all, conical users tend to shoot off open bridge.
Click to expand...

Do you, (or anyone) feel like they use more pressure on the bridge hand, when using an open bridge vs a closed bridge, or visa versa, or no difference?
 
I’ve been playing with a conical taper all my life....I hate pro tapers.

....and I prefer a closed bridge over 50% of the time at pool, snooker, and 3-cushion.

An old Canadian champ showed me how to handle it....my bridge is very firm on the cloth....
...but my thumb and fore-finger on my bridge is flexible...I tend to keep the same pressure
on the shaft at both ends of my stroke.
 
I agree with Pt

I prefer the conical,when I made the deano cues
before many of you were here

I made conical shafts and many didn't like the feel part
but everyone claimed to play better

I sold 70 here in the first week

Danny Janes of Joss examined the shaft and said
there ws no doubt in his mind that they played better but he sold pro taper because that was what people were convinced were better

I think the play is better for me,I draw better,I follow better, I hit the cue ball where I am aiming

As far as delection,I never could figure it out ,but I think it was better with conical taper

I tried to quit hitting side english because i missed too many shots and went to center ball

I played better

Not to say I played good,I just maintained my speed closer to the top of my limited skill range
 
garczar says schons have a pro taper

I didn't even know that, they seem to play stiffer than
what I thought was pro taper

All this proves is that I don't know much

I do know I play good with South West,Schons, Vigus,and the Deano that John nemic made

and I had trouble with

Szamboti,Meucci,Scruggs even though I was friends with Tim and Barry and wanted to
play their cues



I really don't know why
 
Agent 99 said:
if you use a closed bridge, your bridge will always be too lose or too tight as you stroke back and forth. If you want to use a conical shaft you have to commit to using an open bridge all the time.
Click to expand...

The first statement is false, and the second is doubly false.
 
deanoc said:
garczar says schons have a pro taper

I didn't even know that, they seem to play stiffer than
what I thought was pro taper

All this proves is that I don't know much

I do know I play good with South West,Schons, Vigus,and the Deano that John nemic made

and I had trouble with

Szamboti,Meucci,Scruggs even though I was friends with Tim and Barry and wanted to
play their cues



I really don't know why
Click to expand...

Originally pro tapers all had rise in them, the whole straight cylinder more than likely started as a copying error having not measured precisely. One can have negligible rise and provide stiffness but a cylinder is much more prone to loss of spine.

Schons have a little rise.
 
deanoc said:
I agree with Pt

I prefer the conical,when I made the deano cues
before many of you were here

I made conical shafts and many didn't like the feel part
but everyone claimed to play better

I sold 70 here in the first week

Danny Janes of Joss examined the shaft and said
there ws no doubt in his mind that they played better but he sold pro taper because that was what people were convinced were better

I think the play is better for me,I draw better,I follow better, I hit the cue ball where I am aiming

As far as delection,I never could figure it out ,but I think it was better with conical taper

I tried to quit hitting side english because i missed too many shots and went to center ball

I played better

Not to say I played good,I just maintained my speed closer to the top of my limited skill range
Click to expand...

I had fun driving that ebony demo around back when. It played well.
 
newcuer said:
I have read that players who use a closed bridge the majority of the time prefer a pro taper (as opposed to a conical taper) on their shaft.

Is this a more of a psychological 'feel' thing or is it actually detrimental (I guess, more 'scientifically') to shoot with a closed bridge and a conical taper?
Click to expand...

Know this...majority of players know very little about their bridge, and the variants in the types....not all closed bridges make a loop nearly touching skin to the shaft on its whole circumference....some are more multiple points of contact which can let a taper rise grow without impedance in the fingers.


All the error is coming from the back hand generally speaking, no bridge will be the cure to a sloppily delivered stroke by the back hand.
 
conically-tapered cue user here
while I primarily use a open bridge
I have no problem using a closed bridge
the closed bridge form I seem to use most often
is to rest the cue where my thumb and index finger meet (kind of "v" shape)
with support coming from my middle finger, and gravity
there is room in the bridge, but the cue stays pretty snug once it's in

this said, I only use a closed bridge when needed
I used to use it a lot more often
but now find the open bridge to be a simpler, more effective form
my draw stroke has much improved
I suspect this is due, in part, to using an open bridge
being able to get lower on the ball, and being able to sight it more easily
I also have been breaking with an open bridge, all games
it works

still
take all of this with a bucket of salt
I'm an amateur pool player
still learning as I go
maybe you can relate
try things
and experiment for yourself
people can tell you their truth
but only you can know
your truth
 
conical + closed bridge = great

I love conical tapers like my several WX900, Z3, OB Pro+ , Meucci UW, Lucasi Slim, etc. and I don't have a problem using a closed or open bridge.

My closed bridge is slightly different that average, as a "V" is created between my middle finger and thumb with the index finger just resting on top, gently looped over.

Even when I bust out my Riley 9.5mm snooker cue with its crazy taper, I'm using both closed and open bridge shots.
 
I use a tight closed bridge on the majority of my shots and that makes me prefer a pro taper.

For most of the years I played, I always had my shafts made at 14mm, so I didn't lose much "spine" since the shaft was so thick.

For smaller diameter shafts, I think some of the "spine" is lost when you have a long pro taper.

I am kind of like the Chinese and Taiwanese players when it comes to shafts. I prefer 13mm, or a bit larger.

However, most of the cues I've acquired over the last several years do not have shafts that thick and I still play with them.

I only have one shaft that is conical and it rarely ever gets played.
 
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