Cue Tip Contact Myth-Busting Truths in Super Slow Motion
- Thread starter dr_dave
- Start date
Let's try to return to mature and civil discussion and debate. (I know ... I'm dreaming.)
Does anybody have and questions or comments about the video and the results?
kanzzo
hobby player
Very nice stroke ^___^
Great action with hard tip.
Have youna way to get this draw of yours on camera with 1000 fps? Would really love to see, if contact time stays the same.
(Tend to believe now, that it does but my other theory would be, that for these extreme draws you need a little different accelerated stroke and perhaps it does change the contact time. So softer tip has more "room for error" and it's easier for beginners to draw with softer tip.
But watched a old Bustamante Pagulayan Match on video yesterday and noticed, that they were both using very hard tips and I changed to harder tip over the years. So if your stroke does support it, harder tip does seem the way to go.)
Still a big thank you to test the theory with the most extreme shots, I could come up with and getting them on video with phenolic tip. Nice to know, what is possible.
Good stuff Doctor.
I certainly feel like it is easier to apply more spin, without miscueing, with a softer tip than a harder tip. Is it because I can aim further from the center more confidently? Is it because it is more difficult to chalk a harder tip, so that I may have under-chalked it? Is it because when I use a hard tip, it is generally for breaking, so I'm using a faster and less controlled stroke? Or some combination of those? Or is it all in my head?
I can validate that. I HAVE noticed that the tall ‘milk dud’ I’m using now deflects more than the LePro that my cue originally came with.
Actually, the degree of polish on the CB (and it’s construction/type) has the most influence on draw RPMs (IMHO).
And the weight of the ladder.
Awesome video...I was a disbeliever. It is something I will try.
Thanks.
All you need to good draw is a low tip and good cue speed at contact. To achieve this, you need smooth, relaxed acceleration over a long stroke per the info and demos here:
But you do not need acceleration during tip contact. That is very rare among good players per the info and demos here:
I would expect the contact time to be a little longer for both soft and hard tips with off-center hits since the tip rides on the CB surface a little as the CB starts to rotate, but I don't know for sure. Regardless, I doubt any difference is really important.
I don't agree, unless the soft tip is holding chalk better and the beginner does not chalk properly or frequently enough.
I look forward to seeing or hearing about what you find with the range of tip hardness you have.
I was afraid I would miscue and pop the ball up into my ceiling when I tried the draw with my BK Rush, but nope. It was much easier for me than with the soft tip.
Next time I get a new tip I’m going to get a hard tip. I’ve been using Kamui med, and right now I’m using a Kamui soft. Does anyone have suggestions for a hard tip they like? I guess just Kamui H?
Thanks.
It is probably a combination, but concerning general play with a playing cue, I think the biggest factor (if there is actually a difference) is: A softer tip tends to hold chalk better than a harder tip (especially a phenolic tip); so if one does not chalk properly, carefully, or often enough, a soft tip might offer an advantage.
I'm glad to hear it. Please let us know how it goes.
A fast, slick, clean, warm, and dry cloth also helps.
I certainly cleaned the CB and cloth (and let in dry) before I started filming. Every little bit helps.
I wasn’t. I did a hands-on review for Inside Pool on the Stinger Break cue when it first was built (mid 2000’s, built by Jericho). My league teammate thought the tip was so hard that he wouldn’t be able to do anything except hit center ball. I handed the cue to him to try a draw shot. The cueball zinged backwards like he’s never seen before. He then started doing full table length power draw shots. He couldn’t believe it. Harder tip sounds like crap, but had more hit efficiency.
I need to pull the InsidePOOL Magazine review up from my archives to see if I mentioned my teammate drawing with the cue.
lol, anyone that has played some can tell that CB was polished more than the Webb telescope.
Lou Figueroa
dendweller
Well-known member
All this talk about being scientific has me wondering about what I've been wondering about for a while. How was the fact that deflection is the same no matter how hard you hit the ball proven. I get the point that it's that the swerve counteracts the deflection so a softer hit seems like it's less.
From my point of view the harder something is hit, the larger the reaction to that hit, so it's hard to believe that deflection amount would not be effected by it.
What type of tests prove that fact or is there some basic physics involved that I'm unaware of. I'm unaware of most physics so there's that.
kanzzo
hobby player
I like to keep things the same. (Less variables the better). I have one shaft with hard tip (put on new few weeks ago) that I never used before this video and all my other shafts (for playing and breaking) have actually the same tip. (Only exception is my jump cue with a phenolic tip). My break cue was my playing cue for over 15 years and it feels the same as my playing cue.
My draws (quality and control) are quite bad. That's the reason I couldn't beat your 93 from Exam I yet.
(I did catch a cold so please excuse the sniffing sounds in the video, but I still wanted to include the sound because of the differences of the 2 tips.)
first tries are with the new hard tip. Last 3 are with my regular shaft and tip.
I do prefer the sound of my regular tip and it seems like I have a little better control with my regular shaft (but this could be the difference between the shafts. The one with hard tip is 314 first generation and my regular shaft is 314-3 generation. But yes, no difference in draw quality. If anything, harder tip seems to generate the draw easier. (I did miscue once with the harder tip. But I miscued like 300 times with my regular shaft on this shot over the last two years.)
Last edited: