Does 3/4 of an oz and 1/2 mm make a difference?

Does it make a slight difference…. Yes
would most people adjust pretty quickly…. Yes

i look at pool cues much the same way I looked at putters when playing golf. It’s such a feel/mental part of the game that small changes can make a large difference in how you approach the shot.

but after a few hours on the putting green, it feels normal, and after a few weeks it could be the best thing ever made. A month later, you can’t make a two footer and might search for something new.

I’ve had some putters and pool cues stay in rotation for long periods of time and then I have switched some quickly when I felt like I needed a change.

at the end of the day, play with what’s comfortable but in my opinion don’t shut yourself off from making some changes because comfort can be a moving target at least for me.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Different ratios of mass/acceleration can produce the same force which will produce the same speed/spin - only the total force matters, not the ratio of its components.
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SSP said:
Different ratios of mass/acceleration can produce the same force......this is true, ........which will produce the same speed/spin.......this can't be true, in order to get equal force you must lower acceleration if you increase mass and vice versa, by lowering the mass of my cue I had to increase the speed of my stroke to get an equal force, this speed helped spin needed for draw/force follow shots.
Click to expand...
The CB only "feels" the total force transmitted from the cue stick - it doesn't react separately to the stroke speed and stick mass (which combine to produce the transmitted force). The spin/speed ratio produced by that total force is determined by where the tip contacts the ball - so hitting the same CB spot with different stroke speeds can produce the same spin/speed ratio if the stick's mass changes accordingly (more speed/less mass or vice verse).

pj
chgo
 
i switch between 12.2 and 11.5 mm, it's a noticable difference for me but i'm well aware of it. i've had those shafts for over a decade. i like the thin one for 1p and straight pool, don't know why. to me taper is more important than total weight or balance point
 
straightline said:
I play good enough for .75 oz. to bother me but not .5mm.
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lol... I know when I first swapped equipment. I went from an 11.7mm Z2, to a 12.5mm wx700. While neither weight difference or tip size altered my ability to move the ball around equally. I never felt comfortable with the larger tip. Well not so much the tip, but more so the increased shaft diameter on my bridge.

Ended up getting a wx900 (12mm) turned down to 11.7 and haven't looked back. Zero change in ability to move the ball around. Creature comfort, nothing more.
 
The_JV said:
I'd say the opposite. The better you play the more you understand what difference there is and how to compensate for it.
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For a lower level player the errors in stroke, aim, speed, and planning overwhelm any problem the cue stick causes. I'd guess the diameter change would affect a good player most on draw shots because they are used to having the top of the tip at a certain height on the ball. The diameter change would move that. I can see them drawing the ball significantly less if they change to larger diameter. Of course they will eventually adjust but until then draw shots will be less accurate.
 
Bob Jewett said:
For a lower level player the errors in stroke, aim, speed, and planning overwhelm any problem the cue stick causes.
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Yes, I suppose. ...so I guess the middle ground is that a better player will be more sensitive to cue differences, but should also be adept enough to understand the physics to compensate. Whereas the lesser player will just blame the cue...lol
Bob Jewett said:
I'd guess the diameter change would affect a good player most on draw shots because they are used to having the top of the tip at a certain height on the ball. The diameter change would move that. I can see them drawing the ball significantly less if they change to larger diameter. Of course they will eventually adjust but until then draw shots will be less accurate.
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Again, this is quickly compensated by a stronger player. "Eventually" is a subjective word. Probably measured in weeks for the beginner, days, hours, racks as you move up the food chain.

I know that when I used to switch from my 12.5 to the 11.7, I would miscue once I attempted a heavy draw shot. It only ever took the one shot to remind me of the adjustment. I'm more a follow type player, so it might even take me several racks before it would happen.
 
I own a predator cue that has the weight system to it. My old cue weighed 19.25oz. So their is going to be some diffrences between and old and a new cue. So i really had to experiment with the weights on the cue. I had to add about an ounce to the cue but the funny thing was i needed two plastic weights in the front to puch the weight/balance a bit back. Doing this i shifted the balance point about once inch back.

In the end i have a 19oz cue with a few plastic .01oz weights and maybe a .05oz and a .04oz weight in my cue.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
The CB only "feels" the total force transmitted from the cue stick - it doesn't react separately to the stroke speed and stick mass (which combine to produce the transmitted force). The spin/speed ratio produced by that total force is determined by where the tip contacts the ball - so hitting the same CB spot with different stroke speeds can produce the same spin/speed ratio if the stick's mass changes accordingly (more speed/less mass or vice verse).

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

Bob Jewett said:
For a lower level player the errors in stroke, aim, speed, and planning overwhelm any problem the cue stick causes. I'd guess the diameter change would affect a good player most on draw shots because they are used to having the top of the tip at a certain height on the ball. The diameter change would move that. I can see them drawing the ball significantly less if they change to larger diameter. Of course they will eventually adjust but until then draw shots will be less accurate.
Click to expand...
For a lower level player the errors in stroke, aim, speed, and planning...... are you filming my practices?
 
Yes……for several reasons…….and your pool playing mind has to adjust to controlling your stroke velocity
and more precise aiming that accompanies smaller diameter shafts so as to avoid creating a little more side
spin than what you intended to use. It’s common to over cut OBs when you first start using a really thin shaft
after playing with 13 mm shafts for a time, especially on a 9’ table long cut shot or frozen ball. After awhile,
by starting with center ball and normal cut angles, your sighting adjusts and you can start applying English
in 1/2 tip increments practicing different shots. Your game adjusts and often is stronger using a thinner shaft.

However, making a change is easier when it’s the only diameter of the wood shaft, not the material composition.
The move to carbon fiber is a more dramatic change; some players ultimately resist the switch & return to wood.

I’ve played with maple shafts so long I really can’t change but Kielwood shafts have recently caught my interest.
That’s something I’ll try but I’m not willing to spend $400- $500. There are so many brands but most of the shafts
are too light for what I want. I understand what happens to the wood during the process but nonetheless, I want
a big pin 29” flat faced Kielwood shaft (12.5 mm & 15-16” pro taper) weighing close to 4.0 ozs…..so far, no luck.
 
Yes.
I can usually tell the difference with a .2 mm difference in diameters, say 12 - 12.2 and for sure with a 12 to 12.5.
How the difference is will vary by shaft taper and cue balance point. A lighter cue can feel heavier when shooting due to the balance. The more weight towards the rear for me, the heavier a cue feels when shooting.

I always tell people don't bother looking at the specs too closely, actually hold and play with the cue. A lot of beginners start with "I am looking for a 20 oz cue" as their only factor in picking one out, which is a bit silly.
 
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