Does a Break Cue have to be a Break Cue?

[Surly]

I know there was a long thread on Break Cues about 3 months ago, but I can't find it...

A friend of mine has an Allison Fisher CueTech cue that he uses for breaking, simply because of it's fiberglass construction. He let me break with it several times and there was a significant difference from the bar sticks I usually use - my breaks felt much more powerful and the balls scattered beautifully.

So should I get a "Break Cue", or is it really the shaft construction that makes a cue a good breaking cue?

 

[jrt30004]

alot of people have different opinions on this so here goes mine. i say use what feels good, the price and construction won't change your break as much as your skill will. hustlers and pros can smash racks with house cues. personally the best break cue i have is a players 21oz. plain jane black cue with no wrap a guy sold to me for 25 bucks. i just spent 80 on a 21oz. players jump break because i wanted to learn how to jump and didn't want to spend a fortune to buy a big name jumper, but the 25 dollar one still feels better on the break. the last thing i will say is technique more than cue. i am a big guy and break pretty hard with no technique but a local guy was giving me some lessons recently and my break has gone through the roof. so to sum it all up, cue you feel comfortable with and learn some breaking skills. should equal all you want.

 

[iLLwiLL]

i use a players to break also, the main reason being is i dont want to mushroom my playing cues tip.

~Will.

 

[tjlmbklr]

alot of people have different opinions on this so here goes mine.........

amen to that.

Until I got my Varney J/B I always had "cue demotion" Old cues got hard tips and became my breaking cue. Ironically most of my league partners used that cue for playing then. And I at one time had a Earl Strickland series Cuetec that I did just that.

Years back I had a Cobra...yep I said Cobra. I bought it when I was like 16-17. Don't know if they are still around and don't know who made them. All I know is it was all black butt with black warp and a solid 13mm Maple shaft. I still to this day had my best breaks from that cue.

But what do I know....?

 

[RBC]

Surly,

Some will tell you that bread cues should be weighted more towards the rear of the cue, but that has not made a significant difference for me. The 2 things that have made a difference is the overall weight, and using a low deflection, or squirt, cue shaft.

The weight should typically be lighter than you would originally think. The theory behind this is that cue speed makes the most difference in breaking power, and a lighter cue will move faster. This has helped my break a tremendous amount.


The most important thing is to use a low deflection cue shaft. LD Shafts will help you to hit the front ball square, even when you miss the center of the cue ball slightly. We have many customers that swear by using our OB-1 to break with. So many that we are working on an OB shaft specifically for breaking.


Try those 2 things and I think you will be very happy.


Royce Bunnell
www.obcues.com

 

[mdavis228]

I think a break cue's "results for you" are more important than any banter you may apply. There's a lot of human & construction technique and materials involved in the match, but in the end how it matches what you do is what matters. Do you use a closed bridge? What game are you playing? Head ball break, as in 8 ball & 9 ball are technically a lot alike, but with the weight of 6 extra balls opposing the cue ball you'd be nuts to expect equivalent spread & control for the same cue speed. Can you control the cue well enough to support an extremely stiff taper? The taper length has to be comfortable going thru your fingers. A pro taper in itself can make an improvement in your break if it frees up your follow thru as opposed to the "fatter fast" straight taper on a bar cue.
Use what works for you, and don't waste time with what doesn't.

 

[mooseman]

I honestly believe that using what is comfortable to you is the answer. Now the technology behind some of the dedicated Break Cues or J/B cues can help improve a weak breaker's break.

I recommend picking up a copy of Charlie Bond's book "The Great Break Shot" and Joe Tucker's video/DVD about breaking. Charlie had a booth in Vegas at the BCAPL nationals last year selling his BreakRak. He helped me a little bit with some recommendations on what I needed to change. For me it was a longer bridge that gave me time to smoothly accelerate my cue. It has made a difference. There is a ton of Youtube videos as well. Some are good and not so good.

I believe there are 2 reasons why folks use a separate Break cue. 1. So they don't flatten or mushroom their playing cue tip. 2. If you have a nice expensive player you might be apprenhensive to let loose and hit hard. Also what do you do if you are breaking with your player and you pop a tip.

For me personally I use a separate Break cue as I've killed 2 cues in the past. Snapped one shaft and broke my Joss behind the joint. This was a problem with my technique at the time because I would get a pretty good flex/bend in my shaft.

So what is my answer? I believe it helps to use a second cue for breaking for reasons listed above. Does it have to be a specialized Break cue? Not really, just a cue you feel comfortable breaking with.

With that in mind IF you are looking for a good break cue, check out my signature....:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[hangemhigh]

I like a lighter cue(15oz.)with a European taper 13.5 m.m. shaft.

 

[mdavis228]

Surly, if you're considering buying a JB & can spare the change - Mooseman has an X Breaker for sale that is the nuts. A great JB and gorgeous to boot.

 

[ShootingArts]

Cue Construction

For transmitting power, cue construction is the key. The tip is the most important thing, next is the ferule. This is where a real catch comes in to breaking with a house cue, most have soft ferules. The shaft is the next consideration. Both material and design come into play here. Using a parabolic taper and a slightly faster taper in the "pro" section will make the shaft much stiffer regardless of how the blank is made. I suspect the folks at OB are working on something along those lines. I have to say that low deflection doesn't matter if you hit the cue ball square however hitting it square every time is an issue for most people so a decision might have to be made there.

Moving on in cue construction, the joint is next in level of importance. Diameter, contact surface, and material all matter as does which pin is used. The butt is a gray area, the fore arm definitely matters, the handle and grip comes into play also but I do not know to what degree.

Assuming a hard tip will be used, shaft and ferule are of the most importance and most cues will be a respectable break cue if you have a break shaft made for it. Proving the importance of the things behind the shaft, I tried making a break shaft for a Budweiser sneaky that I had changed the joint collars out to phenolic on and replaced the pin with a quality stainless 5/16" pin after coring the fore arm a ways and inserting a maple dowel to allow me to center the pin. This was starting with one of the throw away Budweiser cues. It still did not break as well as a house cue. I think a new wrap would help somewhat as the wrap on this cue was pretty loose. However I don't think the skinny joint and fore arm are going to allow this to be a decent break cue no matter what else I do.

This is a long winded way to explain, if you are going to get a cue to break with, get one that is designed end to end to be a break cue. You might as well gain all of the advantages that you can. For a home break cue or if I had a place to keep one at a pool hall I might be very happy with a house cue to break with, changing only the tip and ferule. The design isn't perfect for breaking but probably better than the average two piece cue.

Hu

 

[nancewayne]

Break Cue ?

A phoenolic tip transfers energy better. A bigger diameter tip, stiffer taper, hard ferrule, and Stainless Steel joint also help. The butt, other than being light weight, really doesn't make any difference.
Your ability to accelerate the shaft via good coordination (including wrist snap) is probably more important for overall results than equipment.
F.Y.I.

 

[jrt30004]

Surly,

Some will tell you that bread cues should be weighted more towards the rear of the cue,


bread cues? damn you guys at ob are always working to come up the new stuff! just foolin with ya, that typo was just to good to pass up:thumbup:

 

[tjlmbklr]

I like a lighter cue(15oz.)with a European taper 13.5 m.m. shaft.

I agree on the weight. I guy I know has a Stealh that weights like what feels like 13-14oz. You can really swing it fast and smash the rack.

 

[mooseman]

Surly, if you're considering buying a JB & can spare the change - Mooseman has an X Breaker for sale that is the nuts. A great JB and gorgeous to boot.

Thanks I appreciate the post.

FYI... I just picked up a Hunter Classic Custom J/B (which is the ONLY reason I am selling the XBreaker). To ShootingArts post this new cue meets those specifications he listed. I played with it last night. During practise breaking I believe I broke 10 9-ball racks in a row. I believe I only had one rack that came up dry. The best rack I made 4 balls. On all breaks the spread was outstanding. Wes's specs:

1. Wes's new tip (compressed milk dud or similar). He is experimenting.

2. Linen Melamine ferrule

3. Conical taper (STIFF)

4. Phenolic Joint (3/8 x 8 Pin)

5. Padauk forearm

6. Wrapless Tulipwood handle

7. Padauk butt

When he handed it to me he called it his "Orange Crush"

As I said in another post about stiff shafts, I actually OVERSTROKED several drawshots (considering this is my new Breaker). I used it as my player for the later tournament. With this I digress..... The bottomline is all the above posts are valid when looking at a second Break cue.

 

[Surly]

Thanks for all the great replies.

I'm thinking of the Cuetec Meteor, or the low end Players Break Cue.... My husband turned his nose up at the 19oz Meteor, but he may be changing his mind.

I just want a Break Cue for Christmas. I'm tired of breaking with fat, sticky, warped bar sticks.

 

["T"]

So should I get a "Break Cue", or is it really the shaft construction that makes a cue a good breaking cue?

Cuetec's are unique in that they are regular playing cues, but the construction of the fiberglass wrapped shaft also lends itself to being an acceptable break cue. I can't think of any other type of shaft that really fits into that category.

I used my old Cuetec as a break cue for a year or so and was pretty happy with it, especially after putting a phenolic tip on it. ($20 investment) However, I eventually splurged on a BK2 with a leather tip, and then later added an extra shaft with the phenolic and have not looked back since.

Besides stronger/stiffer shaft construction, I think most people would agree that the weight and type of tip are really the biggest factors in how a break cue plays.

Good luck!

 

[ceebee]

Good Break Cues are designed & built to do that explicit job. That being said, it is not an end all statement. You can use a wall cue or a fiberglass cue or whatever cue to start the game, in order to save the tip on your play cue. I like using a cue that was made to do the job of breaking (not a Jump-Break or a substitute Cue)

Column strength (shaft dia & good wood) in the shaft, tip selection & configuration, short ferrule & weight can all become good ingredients of a very nice Break Cue.

Good Luck in your quest. When you find a good Break Cue, hang on to it.

 

[Pinocchio]

????Breakcues????

I've had different break cues over the years an I've come to the conclusion that what probably works for me won't work for you and
vice versa. Many cuemakers make many different kinds of breakcues an I think thats what works for them. Pool is a game of individuality, find out what works for you. Experiment with as many different styles as possible. I've posted a couple of my break cues they are made to my style of breaking and are quite simular in construction tecniques. They both weigh in the 17 an a half to 18 an a half range. They both have 12 3/4 mm shafts. They both have phenolic ferrules with phenolic tips. They both have extra shafts for playing. When playing one-hole I use a cue reach on
one of these cues as I'm not proficient with a rake.
I believe the break is a stroke. My break cues are merely extensions of my playing cues but much lighter and with phenolic tips. I have no trouble generating power so this is what works best for me.........................
Pinocchio

 

[sugeknight]

.02

I've always considered buying an expensive custom break cue, but my J&J works so well.
You can get a J&J jump/break cue brand new for around 60 bucks. look em up in the for sale section.
Everyone who has tried one agrees that for the price, you can't beat them!
good luck

 

[Cuebuddy]

I would tend to believe that tools that were designed for a specific purpose will work better then ones that were not. That being said there are exceptions with everything. I bought a older Schmelke about ten years ago and when I received it I was disappointed. It was made out of a choice piece of cocobolo but very thin and it had a stainless and brass joint that is nearly 2.5 inch's long. It also has a shaft that is also very thin about 11.5 mm and is slightly warped. I would not even try it for a playing cue so I took it to a tournament to sell it to a girl who was interested,she tried it as a break cue and I noticed a difference in how hard she hit them. She ended up not buying it and I have used this skinny cue ever since as my breaker and it slams them. I have had many people comment on how loud the break is when I use this.