Cues comparison

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fish2

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Two cues, same radial joint, same joint material.
Cue 1- Cocobolo forearm and butt sleeve with birdseye maple handle. All cored with maple
Cue 2 - Birdseye maple forearm and butt sleeve with cocobolo handle. All cored with maple
Would both cue feel the same?
 
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I think they would feel the same in your hand. I do not think you can physically feel the difference between the two woods after they have been finished. Just saying
 
Who knows, it's wood. Could be a subtle difference, could feel identical. Might feel identical to one person and different to another.

Even if they were the same exact types of wood, they came from a different tree, could be of different densities, could be subtly different.

And that doesn't even get into dimensions. What is the joint diameter, diameter at the end of the butt, diameter through the handle. Is it straight tapered or more of a parabolic style taper. And what about the shaft? Are we putting the same shaft on each or would they each have their own shafts?

Too many factors in a wood cue for anyone to be able to say. If all dims are the same and both are cored with maple and they're using the same shaft between them....then I would guess they'd be awfully similar....but that is just a guess.
 
fish2 said:
Two cues, same radial joint, same joint material.
Cue 1- Cocobolo forearm and butt sleeve with birdseye maple handle. All cored with maple
Cue 2 - Birdseye maple forearm and butt sleeve with cocobolo handle. All cored with maple
Would both cue feel the same?
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no. a buddy has two sideways-W JossWests. Almost identical ebony 4ptrs, one made in Tulsa and one in Colo.Springs. Same weight,shaft size, butt size. While very similar they do not hit the same. No two wood cues do. You shouldn't expect them to.
 
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The shaft weight, taper, ferrule, and tip type will affect the cue hit as well - and as others have said - even if all is equal above the cue joint and below the cue joint - two wood cues could just have a different hit.
I have played with identical well known maker cues and some just play much better than others for me. I know that some custom cue makers are known for a high consistency of cue hit characteristics - such as Tim Scruggs and Bob Frey cues
 
No two things made from wood are the same. No two guitars/violins/cellos sound the same even if made by the same artisan with exact same woods. I've never had two wood cues that played alike, close sometimes but again i'd never expect them to. I think CF technology will enable cues to play virtually identical. You don't have grain and wood densities to worry about, cf cues are like baking, if you get the recipe right you can come very close to duplication.
 
Kim Bye said:
Coco is heavier than maple, so the balance would be slightly different, but we are splitting hairs here..
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I made a pair of cues out of ebony and stabilized spalted maple. The ebony was about 15 lbs per cubic foot heavier than the maple. The pair was inverted design, one had a maple handle and the other ebony. Cores were identical maple as were all other design features.

The cue with the ebony handle was almost an ounce heavier than the other one. Are they going to feel different playing? I think so and I don't think it's going to be subtle.
 
Coos Cues said:
I made a pair of cues out of ebony and stabilized spalted maple. The ebony was about 15 lbs per cubic foot heavier than the maple. The pair was inverted design, one had a maple handle and the other ebony. Cores were identical maple as were all other design features.

The cue with the ebony handle as almost an ounce heavier than the other one. Are they going to feel different playing? I think so and I don't think it's going to be subtle.w
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An ounce is quite a bit, more than I initially thought, but I think you're right Ebony and coco are pretty close in density.
 
With all said above being true I believe the tip has the most to do with the hit of a cue and that by comparison if the cues have similar density wood the differences would be subtle. Its been said that joint type and joint material affect the feel of a cue so if you have the joint differences and wood differences cues would be wildly different from one another. Sure there are differences but how many differences actually make cues wildly different from one another?? To my feel cues my feel different but I wouldn't say wildly different and if there is a large difference you must factor in tips.
 
no two cues feel the same. but almost all cues after you play with them enough will seem to feel right.

unless it isn't tailored for your tastes or something is wrong with it.
 
fish2 said:
Two cues, same radial joint, same joint material.
Cue 1- Cocobolo forearm and butt sleeve with birdseye maple handle. All cored with maple
Cue 2 - Birdseye maple forearm and butt sleeve with cocobolo handle. All cored with maple
Would both cue feel the same?
Click to expand...
Excellent question. They'd feel similar and hit close, but certain words when paired affect the hit, or so I was told by a famous cuemaker I won't mention as he's passed on. Made perfect sense to me. I'd want the predominant maple cue myself. Just saying...
 
mikemosconi said:
The shaft weight, taper, ferrule, and tip type will affect the cue hit as well - and as others have said - even if all is equal above the cue joint and below the cue joint - two wood cues could just have a different hit.
I have played with identical well known maker cues and some just play much better than others for me. I know that some custom cue makers are known for a high consistency of cue hit characteristics - such as Tim Scruggs and Bob Frey cues
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That's where I first heard about that. From those guys. Knew how to build an axe. Bar none!!!👍🏻
 
Kim Bye said:
Coco is heavier than maple, so the balance would be slightly different, but we are splitting hairs here..
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Yes, cocobolo is heavier. Back in the day, I ordered a (mostly) cocobolo cue from McDermott. I wanted 19 oz. and they said the lightest they could make it was over 21.
 
Mensabum said:
Excellent question. They'd feel similar and hit close, but certain words when paired affect the hit, or so I was told by a famous cuemaker I won't mention as he's passed on. Made perfect sense to me. I'd want the predominant maple cue myself. Just saying...
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The order of words as well as the weight will affect the balance as well as the perception of weight and balance.
 
Obviously, some woods are denser than others. Some woods may have been cut, dried, re cut, dried- more turns than others depending on the cue maker. Cue balance is more about how a cue feels in your hands and the effort as it moves through your stroke ; not really about how the cue actually reacts upon striking the cue ball ( cue hit).
 
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