alstl said:
I never really thought about this much previously. I have played with a Schon for quite a while and it doesn't screw together tight, you can use your fingertips to turn it. Last week I came across an old McDermott d-9 in a pawn shop and you have to grip it to screw it together.
Do you think it makes a difference in playability whether it screws together tight or loose, and do the big pin flat faced cues tend to be tighter than the steel jointed cues like my Schon?
Al, any cue can be modified and made to screw together tight. However, too tight is not a good thing either, and generally it is caused by the threads binding, especially in older used cues, like the McDermott you are talking about.
You stated that your Schon did not screw together tight, this can be caused by two things. First it could be that the brass insert is worn due to use and time, but in most case metal inserts are made slightly large to prevent binding. Second, Schons come with a Stainless Steel joint that is piloted, and the reason many shafts do not fit cues made this way tighter, is because the pilot on the shaft is under sized doesn't actually go very deep in to the joint collar.
With cues that have a wood to wood joint normally the threads start out tight and loosen as the cue begins to age in most cases. If the shaft on an old cue fits real tight, more than likely the cues threads have swelled do to some form of moisture. If the threads in a wood to wood joint are so tight that it takes force to screw the cue together, it could crack the shaft.
The insert or the pilot on any shaft can be changed to something that will fit tighter by adding a phenolic insert in place of a metal one, or by machining the pilot on the shaft and add a phenolic pilot that is larger in diameter.
Hope this helps
