Full Time Extension Fad....
- Thread starter gregnice37
- Start date
:grin:I believe the extension weighs 4 ounces (probably making the cue weigh 23 ounces overall)- I got one (cuetec) and started playing with it about a year ago. I like it. It won’t dramatically improve your game but I think it helps. I can’t exactly explain why, but I just like the feel better.
I am six foot two. I need more cue. Who can build me a five foot four inch cue? Any makers
that have made more than just one of them? Who builds the best/most?
that have made more than just one of them? Who builds the best/most?
Extensions have been around a lot longer than most realize.
They are not a fad for some. For others, they may be. Either way, who cares How long someone else's cue is?
They are not a fad for some. For others, they may be. Either way, who cares How long someone else's cue is?
I have a mid extension that I've used for about 5 years. Mine was also built by Mike Webb. It was his idea. I'm tall with long arms, and always believed a longer cue would benefit me. Mike suggested trying a mid extension as an inexpensive way to see what a longer cue feels like. I specifically wanted to use a G10 pin to keep the weight as low as possible. Since I have a 3/8-10 joint, no metal was needed at all in my extension. It is 4 inches and weighs just an ounce.
Since playing with it, I have come to absolutely love the feel and hit of my cue with the extension. Since the extension itself is fairly low weight, it actually makes my cue balance beautifully. Plus, I have the benefit of removing it whenever I need my cue shorter. Overall I'm extremely happy I went this direction.
I had never seen that sort of mid extension prior to Mike making mine, now I know a bunch of people have them from him around here. I would highly recommend consulting with Mike about any sort of cue extension, particularly the mid type.
KMRUNOUT
Since playing with it, I have come to absolutely love the feel and hit of my cue with the extension. Since the extension itself is fairly low weight, it actually makes my cue balance beautifully. Plus, I have the benefit of removing it whenever I need my cue shorter. Overall I'm extremely happy I went this direction.
I had never seen that sort of mid extension prior to Mike making mine, now I know a bunch of people have them from him around here. I would highly recommend consulting with Mike about any sort of cue extension, particularly the mid type.
KMRUNOUT
I see lots of players with extensions on permanently. Most of them are normal height. IMO it's a fad, and a stupid one at that. Once you get up against the rail, all the extension does is make the shot harder. 99% of shots do not require an extension, anyway. They're in the way when you Massè, jump, shoot over balls, etc. That would be ok if they at least improved the normal shots. As far as I can tell, they don't. Sure, lots of people around here bought really light cues some time ago. Putting an extension on, might make the cue a more appropriate weight for them, but it would be much better to buy a cue, made to be the desired weight in the first place.
Players with extremely finely balanced cues, some REALLY expensive cues, make their cues into ugly, poorly balanced, poorly hitting "mutts" that do nothing for their games. It's the same with people buying finely made customs with selected maple shafts, then using Predator shafts on them that make them hit EXACTLY the same as a cue 20% of it's value. Just buy a Lucasi and put a Predator shaft on it. There, you saved 1K+.
I'm not angry about it, I just think it's really, really stupid.
Players with extremely finely balanced cues, some REALLY expensive cues, make their cues into ugly, poorly balanced, poorly hitting "mutts" that do nothing for their games. It's the same with people buying finely made customs with selected maple shafts, then using Predator shafts on them that make them hit EXACTLY the same as a cue 20% of it's value. Just buy a Lucasi and put a Predator shaft on it. There, you saved 1K+.
I'm not angry about it, I just think it's really, really stupid.
Have you tried shooting with one for an extended period of time?
Of course you are entitled to your own opinion, but all I know is that I like the feel of it. It is more than just extending one’s reach. It just has a more substantial feel to it.
I think it is relatively arbitrary that cues are 58 inches. Some people may be more comfortable with a longer or perhaps a shorter cue.
As someone who plays/played both pool and snooker, I've tried using exensions a lot. Long before it became a trend. Many snooker cues come with multiple extensions of a very high quality, because they are needed much more often on the larger surface. Strangely, no snooker players use them all the time (that I know of). OF COURSE they've tried it, it's right there, in the bag. It's just that it does nothing for the game. It makes the cue heavier and longer. That's it. If you need a heavy and long cue, buy one. It's going to much better hitting and more perfectly balanced than even the finest extended cue. Also, unless you have a very long wingspan, you are going to have some trouble with rail shots etc.
I also had an extension for my Mezz, several, in fact. All they do is dull the hit and make the cue heavier. My cue was the perfect weight and I loved the hit. Why ruin it?
The accuracy is in the fundamentals, and especially the alignment. No cue can give you that. The length of cues have carefully been worked out over time and is the length it is for good reasons. Try a full cue jump shot with a 64 inch cue. Unless you are extremely tall, it's going to be very tough indeed.
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Long for me
When I got back into pool in 2012 I bought a 58" McDermot and felt it was to short. A buddy's Uncle made me an 8" extension that screwed into the butt and I liked it.
A few months later Meucci made me a 62" sneaky with a 31" butt and a 31" Black Dot shaft. Once they finally found the cue in a corner some where they mailed it and my game improved. That cue still rolls straight and will never win a beauty contest.
A few months after that I joined AZ and became aware of Pat Diveney and since I was born in Iowa I started ordering cues from him. I have two players with 31" butts and 30" Diveney shafts and both are threaded for the 12" extension his son made.
That extension comes in handy and for me and it beats the bridge I am mediocre with. I am going to have Diveney cues make me a 4" extension up and I may send the butts to him as he has a new bumper design for extensions.
I will try playing with it and see how it goes. A 58" cue feels odd and restrictive to me now. The one thing on long cues I notice is the bridge Shane, Jayson and Earl use. It is long and I don't have enough control/stroke to use the same length of bridge. When I do I often miscue and scoop the ball.
At 6'3" I am a fan of at least a 60" or longer cue. Cue length beyond 57or 58 inches is a natural progression in this day and age and I think the tables should be 4 inches higher to for us tall old guys with a big gut!
Finding cases for long cues is a pain unless one goes with a 58" cue and puts the extension on when ready to play.
When I got back into pool in 2012 I bought a 58" McDermot and felt it was to short. A buddy's Uncle made me an 8" extension that screwed into the butt and I liked it.
A few months later Meucci made me a 62" sneaky with a 31" butt and a 31" Black Dot shaft. Once they finally found the cue in a corner some where they mailed it and my game improved. That cue still rolls straight and will never win a beauty contest.
A few months after that I joined AZ and became aware of Pat Diveney and since I was born in Iowa I started ordering cues from him. I have two players with 31" butts and 30" Diveney shafts and both are threaded for the 12" extension his son made.
That extension comes in handy and for me and it beats the bridge I am mediocre with. I am going to have Diveney cues make me a 4" extension up and I may send the butts to him as he has a new bumper design for extensions.
I will try playing with it and see how it goes. A 58" cue feels odd and restrictive to me now. The one thing on long cues I notice is the bridge Shane, Jayson and Earl use. It is long and I don't have enough control/stroke to use the same length of bridge. When I do I often miscue and scoop the ball.
At 6'3" I am a fan of at least a 60" or longer cue. Cue length beyond 57or 58 inches is a natural progression in this day and age and I think the tables should be 4 inches higher to for us tall old guys with a big gut!
Finding cases for long cues is a pain unless one goes with a 58" cue and puts the extension on when ready to play.
My personal experience, when i played with an extension on all the time, all shots felt good at any time. Now that i play with a screw-in extension only when i have a need for reach, the particular shot doesnt feel all that great right at that moment, most likely because of the diffedent feel of the cue.
Thats my experience, so YMMV.
that’s great that you know what works for you. Like many things in pool it just comes down to personal preference. I also think it helps to have an extension built especially for the cue rather than a generic extension. For example,The extension for cuetec screws in nicely and isn’t excessively heavy
I can think of at least two credible benefits possible with an extension: the added length adds a little resistance to stroke error and the added weight allows a little less stroke speed.
pj
chgo
Very true.
There is a visual advantage as well. Not sure what the term is but can describe it:
Put cue ball and object ball 5 diamonds apart. Get down on cue with a very low stance and use a very short bridge of 6 inches. Notice how much bigger the cue ball looks compared to the object ball.
Now, with balls in same location, use a 12 inch or so bridge. Get very low on cue and notice how the cue ball now appears closer to the same size as the object ball.
Some say extensions do nothing, lol......ignorance is not always bliss imo.
Rake
A longer bridge might also make it easier to see the stick while stroking. Of course you can lengthen your bridge without an extension too, and lengthening the bridge with an extension reduces the "rear ballast" benefit.
pj
chgo
If I lengthen my bridge without my mid extension I have to hold the cue to close to the butt-cap, which really causes issues for me.
As for balance, I much prefer forward balanced cues. On a 60" cue, I like the balance point to be ~20" from end of cue, not counting the bumper.
Rake
Not balance; ballast. Only the extra length that extends behind the grip hand is “ballast” that resists sideways movement.
pj
chgo