Evaluating a new cue . . . hit test checklist

[kano]

Suggestions please . . . .

Can everyone chip in with tips on evaluating a new cue. Forget looks and adornments and who made it.

If someone wanted a to sell you a cue without telling you who made it, and said "Here try it out, if you like it we can talk about the price after . . "

Can you list all the shots, which pocket, shot distance, spin etc. you would use and why. To get a feel of how the cue hits and how it plays with the thought of buying a playing cue. Not to add to a collection or display or whatever, a main playing cue.

I remember reading something a long time ago about hitting a corner to corner table length diagonal shot but why? Also I hear to shoot a couple of inside english shots, I'm guessing to test for shaft squirt.

I know some really savvy players have a checklist they go thru . . can you share please.

The collective experience and knowledge on this forum is invaluable!!!

Thanks guys!

kano

 

[Koop]

To be completely honest, none of that matters considering all the secondary shafts on the market.

At least for me, when evaluating a cue, I look at overall weight, balance point, and the joint used. I prefer a cue up in the 20oz range, a balance point approx 19-19.5" inches from the butt end, and a 5/16x14 SS joint.
I don't worry about the shaft, ferrule, or tip because those are easily modified or swapped out for an alternative shaft such as Universal, Predator, Tiger X, etc...

That being said, shaft weight is also very important to me. Anything under 4oz makes the cue too butt heavy for me. My Universal Smart Shaft weighs in 4.55oz and I absolutely love it. My personal opinion is that not enough people take shaft weight into consideration. If you are used to a certain feel it would be wise to know ALL the specs and try to replicate as close as possible. Going from a Universal Shaft to Predator shaft or vice versa could be very difficult without knowing why.

Hope this helps,
Koop

 

[Darth-Pinoy]

This is how I do it;
(What I write below are things I consider first indiviually, then take all into account later. I take note of what I don't like in it first. Not necessarilly disqualifying the cue, but take it as a point to consider later during overall assessment.)

1) Feel the weight of the cue. Hold it in one hand vertically, horizontally, both hands. Get down on the table and run it thru a few test strokes. Does it weigh good for you? Does it stress your joints handling it? Even little/minor stress pressure on any part of your arm should be reconsidered.

2) Test hit it. Not necessarily pocketing balls (not just yet). Hit the CB with the cue using center, left, right, follow and draw. Hit the CB using varying speeds. Does it feel good when the cue hits the CB? Do you like how it feels? How does it sound? Is it a satisfying thunk? Or is there a clinking/clunking sound?

3) Now try to pocket balls. Test for accuracy. Start with simple cut shots you are familiar with. At the same time with making the pot, see if you get the position you want. Try it at different levels. From easy cuts to thin ones. Try it on long cuts. (While doing this, also take note of the speed of the table/cloth, as this also affects accuracy.) Are you able to pocket balls with that cue using your old aiming style? Or do you need to adjust a bit? If so, how much are you adjusting? Is it within an acceptable margin? Or do you have to adjust drastically for it?

(The above I use on the first hour of evaluating a new cue. The last one below I use to see if it really suits me.)

4) Normally, it takes me about 3 days to a week, playing with the cue for atleast 3 hours each day to be able to tell if the cue fits me or not. Such time allows me to play with the cue under different atmospheric conditions (indoors/outdoors) and possibly also see if the cue agrees with my body. I may be shooting with it great one day, then suck with the same cue on another occassion. Coz it happens that I may have been in "deadstroke" at the time I first tested the cue and I may want to re-evaluate it when I am playing bad.

The important thing here is how it feels and plays for YOU and/or the one who will be using the cue. There is no written rule on how a cue is deemed good or bad. It's the player that earns or loses the money. Nevermind if other don't like it. If it's good for you, it's atleast good enough.

Me...I've recently been lucky enough to find something that works for me. I believe I finally found something that feels good in my hands and helps me play the best I can. Some of my friends however, hate the cue I use. But they can't deny that I kick their butts on the table with it!

Good luck on your cue search!

 

[our_auctionguy]

The real hit test

Of course the balance point, weight, length, thickness of butt, wrap, straightness, taper, and joint type have to be looked at, but the hit test.....


I had a beautiful cue that you could have put a steel tip on and the hit would have still felt dead and soft. I got rid of it. The guy that bought it said the same thing and wanted to sell it to someone else after a few weeks. It couldn't open a rack for diddly.
Now, I play with a cue that slam dunks balls of the break like a lightning bolt. My hit test is break with it and find out what she'll do in the quarter mile. If I can't break with my playing cue, it ain't my playing cue for long. Besides, that's why they give you two shafts .... isn't it? Just in case???

 

[av84fun]

A lot of good advice already but for the life of me, I cant figurfe out how you can do a HIT test with various cue sticks that have different tips.

It is, after all, the tip that we hit the cb with...at least when we are reasonably sober. (-:

There is debate on what effect harder vs. softer tips have on ACTION but no debate about their effect on FEEL.

In addition the shape of the tip will influence spin...according to Koehler anyway...given that a rounder radius will allow the shooter to contact the cb further from its center.

Regards,
Jim

 

[IA8baller]

In my experience I wanted to add this.............. to me, the "feel" of the hit changes with the stiffness of the shaft and the hardness/softness of the tip.

Also the type of joint ....... a stainless steel type joint vs a wood-wood type joint makes a difference to me in the "feel" of the hit.

I have 2 shafts with my playing cue (which is a wood-wood type) and one has a slightly less stiff shaft with a little softer tip and the "feel" of the hit differs greatly between those two shafts. Just my $.02

 

[TheBook]

Check out this link to Mike Lambros cues

http://www.lambroscues.com/indexpage.htm

Hit the Education subject in the index on the left side.

It may answer some of your questions, even though it is Mike's opinion and I am sure that he is a little bias about his own cues.

 

[kano]

Thanks Book!!!

That is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I 've never thought about a cue wasting energy like that before, I guess that's what "our_actionguy" meant when he mentioned a cue being "dead" or "soft". It's wasting energy! It's spending it "elsewhere" and not transfering ALL of it to the cue ball.

I recomend everyone check out the information on the Lambros Cues site that The Book mentioned.

 

[IA8baller]

Very interesting read about the hit test, can't wait to try it out on my own cues tomorrow. Maybe I'll post the results.

Thanks from me too Book.

 

[ioCross]

I forgot where i heard this but to my experience it's been mostly true.

Spot a ball on the head dot and set the cueball a foot or so back so you have a straight in shot. the cueball should be somwhere around the side pocket with no angle on the object ball. shoot a straight in stop shot kinda soft, normal speed. try to remember the hit and feel. now shoot the same stop shot about medium speed, then again full force. They should all feel the same.

Now take the same straight in spot shot and use draw so it hits the side rail the cb was originally against. as long as your stroke is decent you should be able to draw to the side rail with minimum draw. Then juice the cb and try to draw back 2 rails. It should sound/feel the same as the soft draw shot.

I've done this test on mutiple cues, and i've found with the frey, scruggs, jerry oliver, and pred cues it mostly feels the same, but with meuccis, action cues, and other lower quality cues the spot shot with a hard stroke almost always feels slightly different, or off.

aside from that, i'd try lots of spin shots and long english shots to see how they feel.

but from what i gather it's mostly personal preference. for example some people really like meuccis but i can't stand them. but then again, i can't play at all with flexible shafts so i'd be prone to favor a stiffer hitting cue.