I like the outside the box thinking using stacked change. 9 pennies would be 14.4 though. I just need to buy a dang caliper.
Cue tip size help
- Thread starter nj82tj
- Start date
I like the outside the box thinking using stacked change. 9 pennies would be 14.4 though. I just need to buy a dang caliper.
Full disclosure is, I'm not sure. I bought it used but it looks like it is new. The tip is definitely new. (minus the few games I have on it now)
You can buy a tip gauge for about a dollar ..... Mueller's has them.
Or ... get a wooded clothespin, slide the end you hold with your fingers over the tip until it touches ... mark the clothespin with a pen .... and get a ruler.
Or ... lay the shaft on a piece of paper ... mark either side with a pencil or pen ... get that same ruler.
Or ... get a wooded clothespin, slide the end you hold with your fingers over the tip until it touches ... mark the clothespin with a pen .... and get a ruler.
Or ... lay the shaft on a piece of paper ... mark either side with a pencil or pen ... get that same ruler.
I think you're right. Horizontal stripes make people look fat too!
If you have a sharpie marker, the cap diameter is 13mm at its largest, and right below the cap on the barrel, the diameter is 12.5mm. You can use one or both as a rough visual comparison. 
Or maybe Slim would measure his chest hairs for ya........ :thumbup:
Or maybe Slim would measure his chest hairs for ya........ :thumbup:
I guess that's what can happen when on the eBays.
I would wrap a string around it, mark where it rejoins itself, then try the other shat.
Actually it's not unusual for Predator shafts to be lower than 12.75 close to the tip, in my experience. OBs tend to be closer right at the tip. Predator seems to measure their standard a few inches up the shaft where the hand would normally be, I think. In other words, I think Predator seems to make closer to a conical taper shaft than OB.
It's also possible your Predator could have had a few tip changes with aggressive cue repairmen, but this is my experience with the two shaft-makers.
All the best,
WW
It's also possible your Predator could have had a few tip changes with aggressive cue repairmen, but this is my experience with the two shaft-makers.
All the best,
WW
Bingo, without knowing, it could be from years of hand sanding as well.....
OP, would you rotate it and measure it to make sure its not egg shaped?
It was my friends caliper so I was sure to measure each 3x for a good avg. I guess after all is said and done, turned down or aggressively serviced it still plays nicely. I do like the feel of the skinnier shaft, but I think the OB plays nicer if that makes any sense. I guess my ideal would possibly be an OB-2 shaft. Anyone want to trade? Ha.
I would definitely rotate the shaft around and measure it, although that tends to make more of a difference with a straight grain shaft. With hand sanding, they tend to end up larger at the end-grain sides (harder surface), and smaller at the sides with the large grain edges (softer surface).
I wonder how many people know what we're talking about... But anyhow, this shouldn't be a factor with either Predator or OB with their laminated construction, but who knows. Only a good micrometer and a steady hand really can tell.
All the best,
WW
I've had my share of Predator shafts and not one of them has been off spec and I mean at the very tip of the ferrule, where the tip is glued, that's where each shaft has been exactly what they advertize.
In my opinion those OB measurements are way off spec and someone needs to recalibrate their machines....or workers....because that's about 12.9 mm and they don't advertise their shafts as 12.9 but 12.75.
This fits right in with my experience with OB because very shaft I've bought has always had an imprecise joint that causes wobble. Just off a little. Enough to have to send it to the cue maker for refitting.
Never had that with any of the Predator shafts I've bought.
Probably just my luck but it is what it is.
My burning question now is, should I send the OB back to the manufacturer and have it turned down to 12.25mm (since I'm not the original owner, I don't have a warranty) or should I just suck it up and play it as it is? If it goes back, it's getting a new tip too.