cutting down a ferrule

D-Rock

D-Rock

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have a cheap sneaky pete cue that I decided to make into a break cue to replace my mcdermott I've been using. I want to cut down the ferrule to make a firmer hit. Is this something I can accomplish at home? The only tool I really don't have access to is a good lathe. I have a shaft spinning one I built but its really only good for reconditioning shafts and putting on tips. anything I should know before taking the shaft to the old miter box??..lol
 
I would never do any of mine like that, but hey it's not my cue ! As long as you have a flush cut at where or how much ferrule you want it may be ok, but then you have to think if you had a capped ferrule before or not cause once you do this you don't anymore !!! LOL.. Then you have to face off the ferrule meaning sanding it flush so you can put the tip on that you want. And sand the bottom of the tip also .. Let us see how it looks when you are finished, just for shitz and giggles !!!:grin: OH ,,PS.. Thats why I bought a lathe , no rigging stuff just makeing it right ..<<ED
 
yea, I will have a lathe eventually, but that may still be a year down the road. I'm purchasing chris hightowers' book and going to read that through first. then I'll decide whats right for me. for now, I just have a really cheap hustler stick I want to use to break with to save some wear and tear on the tip of my mcdermott since thats my "bar cue" when i'm in those shady beer drinking places and not the pool hall!!!... If I'm going to make it a break stick, might as well make it break as good as the little guy is able to...:wink:
 
D-Rock said:
If I'm going to make it a break stick, might as well make it break as good as the little guy is able to...:wink:
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I had a similar idea recently. I had a old Fats graphite cue lying around. My cuemaker replaced the crappy unknown tip and plastic ferrule with a capped Saber-T ferrule and a Kamui hard tip (which I also had in my box of pool stuff). The ferrule, tip and cost of installation was actually more than what that cue was worth. But hey... I was bored and had nothing to do last weekend :o. Works pretty well so far
 
You'll be better off just putting a hard tip on. I don't see how you can expect a firmer hit with less ferrule.
 
D-Rock said:
I have a cheap sneaky pete cue that I decided to make into a break cue to replace my mcdermott I've been using. I want to cut down the ferrule to make a firmer hit. Is this something I can accomplish at home? The only tool I really don't have access to is a good lathe. I have a shaft spinning one I built but its really only good for reconditioning shafts and putting on tips. anything I should know before taking the shaft to the old miter box??..lol
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I'd leave the ferrule alone unless it's loose or damaged.
You stand to gain nothing and will wind-up with a shorter shaft.

The determination as to what makes a better break shaft is in the shaft's diameter and it's taper, not how long the ferrule is (for the most part).

But hey, it's your shaft and you can do anything you want with it.
 
put it to you this way I had a meucci sneaky pete about 5years ago, I cut the 1" ferrule down to 1/2" and it took alot of the whip out of the cue. I also did that to another cheap but good ol cue about 3months ago. And both times I used a tubing cutter(what i cut stainless steel tubing with offshore) and the tweeten cue top sander. But a hacksaw and a miter box would work fine, just be dam sure you got a square face to that ferrule when your done. Thats where either a cue top sander or a lathe comes in really handy.

You can do it and its not hard at all just take your time and be careful! Tho you must remember like was said above your shaft will be shorter.

As for if it works or not, yes it will to some degree. Your lessening the end weight of the shaft so your going to get less deflection. I myself would never do it to a good cue, but I'll tell you that if I get a custom made the ferrule is never longer than 1/2"-3/4".

hope that helps,
GreyGhost
 
Sounds to me like the cue is worth more as a sneaky pete than it is as a breaker. Why try and change what it was intended for. If it has no joint collars & you use it as a breaker you are taking the chance of blowing out your joint. Especially if you are successful in improving its power. Give one of your buddies $40 bucks for an Orchid or something else that has a strong looking joint and hits like a club. Then rip into it and have some fun.

That said, if the shaft taper is for shooting and not breaking, I'd change the entire ferrule to like black phenolic or G-10. Even with a hard tip your ferrule will still just absorb the higher impact you are getting with the hard tip. Hard tip, hard ferrule, strong taper = Run out.

I'm all for creativity and my hat is off to you for trying to take the plunge yourself. Good luck.
 
DanO said:
Sounds to me like the cue is worth more as a sneaky pete than it is as a breaker. Why try and change what it was intended for. If it has no joint collars & you use it as a breaker you are taking the chance of blowing out your joint. Especially if you are successful in improving its power. Give one of your buddies $40 bucks for an Orchid or something else that has a strong looking joint and hits like a club. Then rip into it and have some fun.

That said, if the shaft taper is for shooting and not breaking, I'd change the entire ferrule to like black phenolic or G-10. Even with a hard tip your ferrule will still just absorb the higher impact you are getting with the hard tip. Hard tip, hard ferrule, strong taper = Run out.

I'm all for creativity and my hat is off to you for trying to take the plunge yourself. Good luck.
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never ever ever ever seen this happen, never ever heard of anyone that happened to either, if its a well built cue I'd have to say thats a myth. Just the same as all the bar players thinking that breaking with your cue is going to ruin the shaft. That old Meucci sneaky was almost 20yrs old when I got it, the original owner is a strong breaker and so am I. The only cue I've ever broken while breaking (Norwela custom)had a highly figured birdseye forearm and a not so perfectly inserted pin and it snapped a few inches below the joint....but was a faulty cue either in construction or b/c of the highly figured birdseye. The first cue I ever built with Joel weinstock had a pink ivory piloted joint and i always broke with it...charlie bryant couldn't break the joint on that cue...like I said MYTH


Myth Buster,
Grey Ghost
 
D-Rock said:
I have a cheap sneaky pete cue that I decided to make into a break cue to replace my mcdermott I've been using. I want to cut down the ferrule to make a firmer hit. Is this something I can accomplish at home? The only tool I really don't have access to is a good lathe. I have a shaft spinning one I built but its really only good for reconditioning shafts and putting on tips. anything I should know before taking the shaft to the old miter box??..lol
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shortening the ferrule wont give u a firmer hit. just put on a hard tip.
 
greyghost said:
never ever ever ever seen this happen, never ever heard of anyone that happened to either, if its a well built cue I'd have to say thats a myth. Just the same as all the bar players thinking that breaking with your cue is going to ruin the shaft. That old Meucci sneaky was almost 20yrs old when I got it, the original owner is a strong breaker and so am I. The only cue I've ever broken while breaking (Norwela custom)had a highly figured birdseye forearm and a not so perfectly inserted pin and it snapped a few inches below the joint....but was a faulty cue either in construction or b/c of the highly figured birdseye. The first cue I ever built with Joel weinstock had a pink ivory piloted joint and i always broke with it...charlie bryant couldn't break the joint on that cue...like I said MYTH


Myth Buster,
Grey Ghost
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I've actually broke my sneaky mcdermott on the shaft side of the joint breaking once already, although my cue does have a pretty good bend on the end of my break stroke! Luckily, I send it in to them and they replaced the shaft for me. Thats another reason why I'm trying to stay away from using that as a break stick. I'm not about to spend 350 bucks on a deditacted bk2, my break is pretty powerful just using a playing cue with a triangle on it, but If I can make some small cheap upgrades to this huslter stick I got for "free" with my last cue purchase then why not.
 
Just put a harder ferrule material and a break tip of your choice on it.
I use an Eliminator sneaky ($25, wood to wood and a 5/16th - 18 pin), had the local cue repair man use the hardest material he had for a ferrule and put a Super Pro on it.
So far must have broke several hundred racks with (ok, exaggeration a bit, maybe 2 hundred racks) and its no worse for wear. I don't think messing with the ferrule length is going to save you, specially if you have a HillBilly Bryant break.
 
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D-Rock said:
I've actually broke my sneaky mcdermott on the shaft side of the joint breaking once already, although my cue does have a pretty good bend on the end of my break stroke! Luckily, I send it in to them and they replaced the shaft for me. Thats another reason why I'm trying to stay away from using that as a break stick. I'm not about to spend 350 bucks on a deditacted bk2, my break is pretty powerful just using a playing cue with a triangle on it, but If I can make some small cheap upgrades to this huslter stick I got for "free" with my last cue purchase then why not.
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if your getting a big bend in the shaft then your not getting full power on your break anyway, your stroking down on the ball instead of level. Try workin on that, and remember that you only need to break as hard as you need to not as hard as you can.

untill tomorrow,
Grey Ghost
 
greyghost said:
if your getting a big bend in the shaft then your not getting full power on your break anyway, your stroking down on the ball instead of level. Try workin on that, and remember that you only need to break as hard as you need to not as hard as you can.

untill tomorrow,
Grey Ghost
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really???...I have you ever seen Thorsten Holmen, or Mike Segal break? many others also have a large bend in there cue stick. you don't lose power with it, just means your bridge hand is firmly planted and your body is in it. almost all my body weight is planted on my bridge hand during my follow through because I shift it that direction. Pretty hard not to bend the stick, if fact if I didn't bend it my break would be less powerful with my style of breaking.
 
I've never understood, why do you need to bend your shaft on a break. Is it the trendy in thing to do? I've seen it done, it looks cool. Whats the purpose of it.
 
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Blue Hog ridr said:
I've never understood, why do you need to bend your shaft on a break. Is it the trendy in thing to do? I've seen it done, it looks cool. Whats the purpose of it.
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Some people feel that standing up as they stroke the break shot makes them break better. If they do this, and keep their bridge hand planted, you get the ol' "Captan Hook" style break. (Cue bent like a fishing pole with a big one on.) I've always felt that a horizontal shift of the hips is quite sufficient, and that jumping up like someone just goosed you serves very little purpose. Especially considering most of that movement is done AFTER you've hit the ball.
 
i'm done with this thread. I had a simple question about cutting down a ferrule. If you don't know an answer to my question then don't f&*%$#@! respond. Now were talking about jumping up on breaks????...fine, tell Jasmin she's breaking wrong then. This thread is not about that, its about a ferrule plain and simple.
 
D-Rock said:
really???...I have you ever seen Thorsten Holmen, or Mike Segal break? many others also have a large bend in there cue stick. you don't lose power with it, just means your bridge hand is firmly planted and your body is in it. almost all my body weight is planted on my bridge hand during my follow through because I shift it that direction. Pretty hard not to bend the stick, if fact if I didn't bend it my break would be less powerful with my style of breaking.
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well your fussing everyone(and we already told you what cutting a ferrule down does, people are going off on tangents b/c the issue was answered already), and then backing up this style of break that some pros do it? If your bending the cue then your stroking down on the ball, if your stroking down on the ball in any degree your shooting a jump shot, if the ball is hoping off the break then your losing power, as the slate absorbs some of the energy, its simple physics.

Upward velocity is not the same as a forward velocity, your losing power. Thats why you see archer extend forward more than going upwards. The less vertical action you have and the more horizontal forward velocity you get the more powerful the break. But like I said before more power isn't the most important thing on the break to begin with.

Your wasting motion, (don't care what thorston and mike do)
Grey GHost



Just b/c Jeff Bagwell hit homeruns stepping backwards doesn't mean its how you hit home runs.
 
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