Cue Maker "Core/Standard" Specifications

[HawaiianEye]

Aloha all,

I have a question for cue makers that I think may help potential customers in deciding what cue is right for them. I know many cue makers will custom build a cue to whatever specifications that the customer wants, but several cue makers refuse to budge from some of their "core/standard" building specifications.

I am interested in learning what are the "core/standard" specifications that cue makers use that they think make their cues stand out from the rest or that they refuse to budge from.

One of the reasons I ask is because I am always interested in different cues and I know exactly what I don't like in a cue (butt too fat, too skinny, shaft taper, etc.), but I have nothing to compare them to.

In my case, it would greatly benefit me if I knew the "standard" butt diameter, joint diameter, type of shaft taper, etc. of particular makers because I don't have the opportunity here in Hawaii to "see/touch" a variety of cues from different makers before I may decide to buy one.

An example of what information I think would be beneficial is something like:

- xx" ferrule, material, capped or not
- xx" xxmm shaft, pro tapered to xx"
- xx" stainless steel (or ivory, or phonelic, etc.) joint, diameter .xxx
- xx" butt diameter, measured at top of wrap (or xx" inches from joint)
- xx" butt diameter measured at bottom of wrap (or at end of butt cap)

I'm not asking anyone to reveal their "secret formulas", I'm just attempting to get a baseline so that people can compare different builds to determine what is appropriate for them.

Thanks in advance for any information that anyone is willing to provide.

 

[cuejo]

Subscribing to see if anyone shares

 

[Rodney]

Everyone's different. You should get some calipers, and measure your favorite cues, then you can have "your" standard to compare to other cues you may purchase.

Rodney

 

[Gabraael]

My basic playing cue recipe has been the same for the better part of the last 10 years or so. I generally start with two complementary woods for the butt. I pick a lightweight wood for the handle, and a denser (sometimes oilier) wood for the forearm. I prefer to select two woods that will give me a ballpark total cue weight of around 19 ounces. I prefer to keep the denser wood in the forearm so the cue stays more balanced and tends to have more of a rigid feel. The denser forearm wood seems to transmit energy and "feel" to the handle a bit better, but that is just my opinion.

Once the butt is assembled with collars and a butt cap, I taper the butt over the course of the next year or so. I generally do this in three phases with the final phase done (preferably) in either the spring or the fall when climate conditions are near their median levels for the midwest US. The third tapering pass brings the cue down to just over its final diameter. The tailstock is offset .200" which ends up making the butt cap 1.250" diameter, and the joint is .850" diameter after finish sanding.

I use phenolics almost exclusively in my cues due to its beauty and its resistance to chipping and cracking. I can't say I have ever used any regular thermoformed plastics in any cue I have ever built. Since I primarily build break and jump/break cues, I have geared my shop to produce excessively-strong cues to withstand the abuse that some of my extremely strong customers put my cues through. These construction practices carry over to my playing cue designs as well.

I use two different joint pins in a majority of my cues. Standardly, I like to use the 3/8" x 10 McDermott style pin because they are inexpensive and relatively strong. I bore a machining center hole into each of these pins to make future maintenance work easier. I also offer the Radial pin in all of its varieties for people who want to chuck out an extra 25 bucks or so. The Radial is stronger by a long shot, but adds a bit of extra cost that many people would just rather not pay for. I only "recommend" the Radial to my customers who have a notoriously hard break shot. One nice thing about the Radials is that they have such a diverse range of weights. This allows me to further tune the weight and balance of a cue. I avoid the use of any 5/16" joint pins because of the necessity of having a brass insert.

Shafts are difficult for me to really say I have a "standard" for. I build each shaft to order, and they almost always are ordered very specifically to match some "favorite" shaft that the customer already has. I have never built two shafts that were the same, unless they were for the same player who orders them at the same time. I don't have the time to build any cues in advance, all of my cue work is done on commission. That may be one reason why I don't have a "standard" shaft... I simply don't have time to make cues just to sell in the future. If my workload ever slows down, I guess I will have to eventually come up with a "standard" playing shaft some day.

My break shafts are the closest thing to a "standard" that I have. My break shafts are .860" at the joint, and progress in a modified pro taper down to .540" at the ferrule. Even with my break shafts, almost every customer ends up making changes to that recipe to accommodate their personal preferences.

Most of my playing shafts are either maple or white ash. Virtually all of my break shafts are either african ipe or bloodwood. All of my ferrules are either tan or black phenolic. I don't use any ferrule that isn't a composite of some sorts. I have replaced hundreds of broken ferrules for other people, and I attribute most of those breakages to the poor quality plastic materials that get put on so many factory made cues. I seem to remember understanding this even before I started building cues. I build my own ferrules from solid rod stock, and mine are all capped with at least .250" of solid phenolic material. My ferrules are one inch long, and I drill them to .750" deep to allow a nice thick and strong cap under the tip. To this day, I have never had to replace a ferrule that I built due to cracking.

I hope this info helps. I don't have any "secrets". In fact, I spend a lot of time helping new cue builders get into the craft. I have a lot of customers who come to my shop and actively participate in building their own cue, too. To me, cue building is more of an art than a business. I would continue to build cues until the day I die even if I knew I would never make another dollar doing it. I would freely share anything I know with anyone who asks!