Feather Light Cue

3kushn

3kushn

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
About a year ago I was handed a 14oz cue to try out. It played like a dream. No loss in distance playing 3C and the
amount of spin and hit control was awesome. Since then I couldn't get it out of my mind. Last week I got up the
nerve to call the guy that made it and he sent me a 16oz he made for himself. Same results.

Can you tell of any other reason for the added control and additional English other than just maybe an ultra-lite cue
is what I should be playing with for my style and build? And just maybe after decades of playing I've stumbled into
something that works for me? OR Am I just lying to myself?

Honest answers here please. Answers may be considered and could mean the difference between spending a whole
bunch of cash or not. That's why it took a year to make the call. Been losing sleep thinking of this for a year.

As a side bar I think there should be a Federal Law against cue makers sending samples to try out. No different than
a drug pusher. The first one is free then you have to pay pay pay from then on.
 
I play better with a very light weight cue. I have one that weighs 17.5oz and I'd like to have one that weighs about 16 oz.
 
I played with a 16 oz House Cue, recently. And I loved it.

I haven't heard on 14 oz or less.
 
I'm not asking whether a 14oz or any specific weight is better than another. Those are personal to the player as is stated a thousand times on this forum. I also know all about many of the greatest player in the games history that played with light cues.

My curiosity is why would I seem to notice more action, better hit and speed control taking 2.5 ounces out of the cue weight. Is it an illusion or are there known reasons?

I heard Jimmy Reid suggest cue weights based on height and for my height he was suggesting 17oz. Why is that or is it just his opinion. I know for sure that I can't play at all with a 20oz or heavier cue and have always picked the lightest cue on the rack when forced to use house cues. My theory on this has been I was better able to overcome the deficiencies in a house cue if it were very light. Now I'm thinking my theory is simply garbage and should just lighten up.
 
I to used to play with a really light sneaky like 16 oz, and i played pretty good with it now i play with a 18 oz. I heard somewhere from a notable person in pool say they break with a cue less than 18 oz. The only reason i see for this is better acceleration thru the cue ball, with good mechanics and a forceful stoke i don't see why you couldn't transfer the same amount of power with a slower stoke with a heavier cue i guess it is just preference regarding your comfort with a certain kind of stroke.
 
I started out playing snooker and used a 12- or 13-ounce cue. When I moved to pool, I went to 15- and 16-ounce cues. The 18-20-ounce cues used by others felt like baseball bats to me. Then I shot with a friend's 18-ounce cue one night, and it felt great and I shot well with it; it didn't feel heavy.

I have figured out that - at least for me - the big difference (as was the case with my friend's cue) is in the balance. Light-weight cues lose their weight in the butts and so are more forward balanced than the heavier cues. I now have 18-ounce cues made for me that are forward balanced (at about 20 inches), and they work great for me. They don't feel any heavier to me than a 16-ounce cue, and the additional mass makes for better control - with a lighter stick you need more speed to get the same power transfer to the cue ball.

Howard
 
I've come to the conclusion that Scotty44 has it with "better acceleration". I can't see it or feel it but can't think of any other reason. Nothing has changed but the weight. Balance point is the same. I see no difference in distance/power so I suppose acceleration has to be it.

This is a testimony to working with a custom cue maker rather than buying off the rack. I would have never had the opportunity to just try one out for a few weeks otherwise. Now I have to shed a tear and not only send this one back but send my other cue with it. He's going to match up this butt to my shafts cause I gotta have it. :frown::smile:
 
i am curious as to any correlation to grip strength and cue weight. i used to use a very light cue but wondered why all pros use around 19oz. so I switched back and also learned to successfully grip very very light all the time (i had tried that before but it didnt always work well except with a light cue). once i find my alan wrench i'm going to go back to a light cue and see how it is.
 
Tom...It's just an opinion. According to that theory, somebody who is 6'8" should probably use a 25 oz cue...which would be ridiculous. Cue weight is a personal preference, and nothing more. Making the cue "work", imo, is more related to how good a stroke you have. A couple of years ago Stealth Cues had 100 13 oz break cues made (they were slightly shorter, at 55-56" IIRC). They broke the balls great, and Mark immediately sold out the entire lot. As you know, my cues are 18's, and I love them!

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

3kushn said:
I heard Jimmy Reid suggest cue weights based on height and for my height he was suggesting 17oz. Why is that or is it just his opinion.
Click to expand...
 
scottyr44 said:
The only reason i see for this is better acceleration thru the cue ball, with good mechanics and a forceful stoke i don't see why you couldn't transfer the same amount of power with a slower stoke with a heavier cue ...
Click to expand...

You could hypothetically, but to do so the weight of the cue would have to be ginormous, to the point you couldn't move it.

Think of it this way, your arm can only generate so much force ... IOW you are no stronger no matter what weight cue you use.

Now, if you accelerate a 16 ounce cue X amount of force is used to accelerate the cue and the balance of the force is delivered to the CB ad eventually transferred into the rack.

OTOH, it requires more energy to acclerate a 20 ounce cue because it weighs 25% more ... so with the exact amount of force used in your stroke, you deliver less of that force into the CB and it delivers less of the remaining force into the rack.

Another goo analogy would be if Aroldis Chapman hurls a 10 pound iron ball at my head, as hard as he can, from 60 feet away ... it won't even reach me other than maybe on a slow roll after bouncing.

Yet if he does the same thing with a baseball he can easily exceed 100 mph with accuracy and possibly kill me.
 
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