Full Splice vs. Regular Cues

I'm on a mission

Bavafongoul said:
Tom,

Thanks for the post.....very informative........this was very succinctly explained by a well respected name in cue-making........thanks Eric...........a terrific synopsis incorporating very pertinent observations.

Matt B.
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Matt, I have yet to try your personal "holy grail", I really want to. If anybody in WI has a ivory flat face joint with ivory ferrules and gets around Madison please let me know. I really want to give it a shot. Eventually I am gonna get back out to Cali to the oil fields of my youth, I used to live in Bakersfield, and look forward to meeting up with you. Personally right now the Runde Shaft with GE "Micarta" and Wizard M tip on a Schon butt is the cue of my choice. I like a stiff cue and this is. If I get my hands on a Sugartree though look for the review, I want to try one more than anything. On a different note, what kind of music do you listen too, check out Crackers new 2 disk release. Couple songs, San Bernadino Boy and King of Bakersfield. Great Band Cracker
 
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9Ballr said:
I have never known what the deal is on the full splice cues.
Never owned one. Naturally we've all played with house cues.

But I wanted to ask what some of the the differences are
between full splice and a regular cue?

I've been talking to a cue maker and this came up as an option
and I'm not sure if I should go regular or full splice.

Seems like the full splice is somewhat cheaper but I'm not willing
to buy one if it means it's not as good a cue.

Any full splice guys out there who could tell me the difference in
feel vs. their regular cues?
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A good cue is a good cue, be it full splice, non-A jointed cue, or with A joint.
The hit of a cue is very subjective - your impressions are the only ones that matter.
 
Full splice refers to the way the cue is constructed. Glue in the past were made from horses, cows and and were not as efficient as today's epoxies. Full splice gives the maximum bonding surface for the glue to set.

If you look at the house cues in your local pool hall, they're typically full spliced. Herman Rambow and George Balabusha used premium 1 piece house cues (often a Titlist) as the basis of their two piece cue conversions. Later the quality from Brunswick went down, and people like Gus Szamboti and Burton Spain stepped in to make their own blanks.

Here is an interview from Gus Szamboti as he proudly shows off his veneered full spliced forearm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9EtqCqbUaE

As others have pointed out, its a matter of personal preference. Some cue makers buy blanks, and others prefer to make their own.
 
ctyhntr said:
Full splice refers to the way the cue is constructed. Glue in the past were made from horses, cows and and were not as efficient as today's epoxies. Full splice gives the maximum bonding surface for the glue to set.

If you look at the house cues in your local pool hall, they're typically full spliced. Herman Rambow and George Balabusha used premium 1 piece house cues (often a Titlist) as the basis of their two piece cue conversions. Later the quality from Brunswick went down, and people like Gus Szamboti and Burton Spain stepped in to make their own blanks.

Here is an interview from Gus Szamboti as he proudly shows off his veneered full spliced forearm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9EtqCqbUaE

As others have pointed out, its a matter of personal preference. Some cue makers buy blanks, and others prefer to make their own.
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Great video! Although, it should be pointed out that's a half splice, not a full splice.
 
Bishop said:
:thumbup: well you got me there. I guess that would fall under category "other". No A joint and no splice.

I assume you mean a cue that for example would be a 29'' shaft/joint/29'' piece of bocote. Would be a fine playing cue.
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No the other category I am talking about. I know one maker that cores his traditional full splice cues for stability. Since he likes to use highly figured wood. The other, other category is short spliced cues that are built on a one piece core. Then there some other, other categories I haven't thought of yet.

Larry
 
So what I'm gleaning here is that we should buy a cue that looks good and feels good without worrying about whether it's a full splice or not? Feel and looks are both totally subjective, right?
 
pwd72s said:
So what I'm gleaning here is that we should buy a cue that looks good and feels good without worrying about whether it's a full splice or not? Feel and looks are both totally subjective, right?
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That would be my suggestion !

Larry
 
I cant tell the difference in play between a full splice and a short splice.

Personally, I think it is like picking fly $hit out of pepper.

JMO

Ken
 
ctyhntr said:
Full splice refers to the way the cue is constructed. Glue in the past were made from horses, cows and and were not as efficient as today's epoxies. Full splice gives the maximum bonding surface for the glue to set.

If you look at the house cues in your local pool hall, they're typically full spliced. Herman Rambow and George Balabusha used premium 1 piece house cues (often a Titlist) as the basis of their two piece cue conversions. Later the quality from Brunswick went down, and people like Gus Szamboti and Burton Spain stepped in to make their own blanks.

Here is an interview from Gus Szamboti as he proudly shows off his veneered full spliced forearm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9EtqCqbUaE

As others have pointed out, its a matter of personal preference. Some cue makers buy blanks, and others prefer to make their own.
Click to expand...



Thanks for the video.
Nice to see the legend.
 
???

63Kcode said:
No the other category I am talking about. I know one maker that cores his traditional full splice cues for stability. Since he likes to use highly figured wood. The other, other category is short spliced cues that are built on a one piece core. Then there some other, other categories I haven't thought of yet.

Larry
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I know nothing about cue building but coring a full splice does not work in my head?
 
A purpose of coring is to minimize warping. We now have available and use a larger variety of woods (exotics), and ornate designs that were not practical in the past. Coring is usually the only way to make it stand up for daily use.

Shooter08 said:
I know nothing about cue building but coring a full splice does not work in my head?
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When I was a kid playing Pool, some of the old timers would talk about cues & they spoke of the spliced cues as having a shock joint... some kind of dampening of the feel, at impact. I always thought the energy forces would run down through the one piece cue, to the splice joint & the angled surfaces would dissipate the energy, like a shock absorber.

here are some articles about cue making I found

http://dbkcues.ru/articles-2/investigation-in-some-wave-properties-of-a-billiards-cue/?lang=en

http://mcu8.ru/for_kstr/TurningAPoolCue.pdf

It's real science, to be sure. The type of tip & ferrule also have something to do with the feel of the cue, when striking the CB.
 
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