Has anyone tried this bridge head???

kaznj

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What is the height of this tiger bridge? when playing straight pool I want to be able shoot over a large cluster.
 

Bob 14:1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What is the height of this tiger bridge? when playing straight pool I want to be able shoot over a large cluster.

Dunno; hence in reality the basic reason for this thread. I was hoping someone had tried it. I'm intrigued with the properties of Delrin; however. May give the cheapo white one above a shot if it does't have mold marks to be dealt with. I do most of my shaft damage trying to get the bridge head and cue tip out of the way in 14.1. I only use pretty expensive LD shafts so that's why all the questions.


Acetal (Delrin)
Acetal provides high strength and stiffness coupled with enhanced dimensional stability and ease of machining. As a semi?crystalline material, acetal is also characterized by a low coefficient of friction and good wear properties?especially in wet environments. Because acetal absorbs minimal amounts of moisture, its physical properties remain constant in a variety of environments. Low moisture absorption results in excellent dimensional stability for close?tolerance machined parts.
In high mositure or submerged applications, acetal bearings outperform nylon 4 to 1. Acetal is ideally suited for close tolerance mechanical parts and electrical insulators which require strength and stiffness. It also offers resistance to a wide range of chemicals including many solvents.
Delrin, a homopolymer acetal, is also manufactured and stocked in rod and plate. It offers slightly higher mechanical properties than Acetron? GP Acetal, but may contain a low?density center, especially in larger cross?sections. Copolymer acetal also offers better chemical resistance than homopolymer acetal.
 

rikdee

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I should think nylon would provide a very smooth surface. Does the Russo bridge have to be sanded and tinkered with to provide a smooth glide without grabbing, vibrating and chattering?

My 314/2 plays fairly well with the Moosehead. My Schmelke sings and groans on each and every stroke. I've tried all grits from 400 to the yellow Q-smooth and I've also tried polishing it to a sparkling black finish. Darn bridge will just not shut up.

Never had to tinker with mine. Play the same as they did thirty years ago, still on the same bridge sticks.
 

Bob 14:1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Never had to tinker with mine. Play the same as they did thirty years ago, still on the same bridge sticks.

Does it have the mold line going right thru the area where the cue makes contact with the bridge? Thanks! :smile:
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I should think nylon would provide a very smooth surface. Does the Russo bridge have to be sanded and tinkered with to provide a smooth glide without grabbing, vibrating and chattering? ...
Originally the material was called "delrin". I don't know whether they have changed to nylon. I don't see any chattering as you do with some of the thin, plastic bridges.

For me the big advantage over a simple nylon bridge head is the ability to stack two bridges vertically. But then I play a lot of one pocket and straight pool where bridge shots are frequently over multiple balls.

As to where you can get them for $2: http://russobilliardbridge.com/ If you order 100 they're $1.90 each including shipping. If you are going to run into me and warn me ahead of time, I'll sell you one in person for $2. Or 10 for $20. I'll be at the SBE and the U.S. Open 14.1 in CT. Not to mention the US Snooker Championships in Houston this May.
 

RakRunr

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think the bridge is important enough that I carry my own bridge cue and head with me every where.

- My pool hall has the Russos on every table. I don't like them because the injection mold seam runs through the stroking area, plus they only have a few positions, and the bridge itself blocks the view of the shot on tall bridges.

- When I started carrying my own, my first bridge was a moose head. It's a fine bridge and very inexpensive. Although it feels a bit cheap (and what do you expect for a few bucks?), it works fine and offers more variety than the standard house bridge.

- After a few months of the moose head, I bought a Jump Caddy (small):
31qpI9rcVLL.jpg

I love this bridge. The shot variety is very good. The side with the jump ring is a bit offset, so you can use it to reach around balls. The jump ring itself works very well for jumping, but there is an additional feature that sets this bridge ahead of the rest: the gap between the bridge body and the jump ring allows you to see the cue tips position. This is awesome when the blocking ball is very close to the cue ball.

- For Christmas, I received a Justabridge. I really love the engineering: the cam idea is great, and the shot variety is practically infinite. It got a lot of attention from my fellow players. That being said, I used it for about a month, and had a consistent problem with the felt "grabbing" the cue stick. I constantly felt as though I was fighting the bridge and forcing the stroke through the felt. I can't tell you how many times this caused me to stroke either way too soft or way too hard, but it cost me enough one-pocket games that I went back to the Jump Caddy.

My complaint with all of these is that the systems that connect the heads to the cue stick is far from universal. The Justabridge idea is sound, but still doesn't work on most house cues or my custom bridge cue. And all of them are too small for my jump cue.

So, my final recommendation is the Jump Caddy (small). I haven't tried the large one, but it must look ridiculous.
 

pt109

WO double hemlock
Silver Member
Originally the material was called "delrin". I don't know whether they have changed to nylon. I don't see any chattering as you do with some of the thin, plastic bridges.

For me the big advantage over a simple nylon bridge head is the ability to stack two bridges vertically. But then I play a lot of one pocket and straight pool where bridge shots are frequently over multiple balls.

As to where you can get them for $2: http://russobilliardbridge.com/ If you order 100 they're $1.90 each including shipping. If you are going to run into me and warn me ahead of time, I'll sell you one in person for $2. Or 10 for $20. I'll be at the SBE and the U.S. Open 14.1 in CT. Not to mention the US Snooker Championships in Houston this May.


I'm thinking this may be a great bridge head for a pool hall....if it has mold lines, they can be fixed easily.


Does the Brianna have that annoying injection mold mark throughout all the contact points as does the Moosehead? Do you get any drag or chattering when using it without having to polish or sand down the contact points?

I don't require an Erector Set for a bridge since I just shoot in my basement and not in leagues, etc. I actually like the idea of a lightweight bridge. For me, it's difficult to hoist a heavy bridge out of the way; particularly within the sometimes tight confines of straight pool.

I just hauled out my Brianna bridge head.....
...the mold lines show up at the bottom where the bridge touches the cloth.
It is very smooth where ever the cue would touch it...
...I did not make it smooth.....so, it was done before it hit the market.
 
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Bob 14:1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I just hauled out my Brianna bridge head.....
...the mold lines show up at the bottom where the bridge touches the cloth.
It is very smooth where ever the cue would touch it...
...I did not make it smooth.....so, it was done before it hit the market.

That's just what I needed, sir. Thank you for responding!!
 

moose man

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have one of these Tiger bridges, and overall I'm quite happy with it. I think its strong suit is mostly on using the highest opening to bridge over one or more balls. The one thing that I've noticed about it that I don't like is that when using some of the lower positions it can block quite a bit of visibility, depending on the shot. In those situations, I typically just use the regular plastic bridge from the pool hall. I mostly bought it for the tall position, and that's where it excels. Hope this helps! Shoot straight!
 

ctyhntr

RIP Kelly
Silver Member
Okay, so it's not just me then.

I've came into the situation where I given up making the shot because I couldn't control the cue ball speed, and just go for a safety instead.

What is an air bridge?



No, using the bridge can be incredibly awkward, especially in 14.1 where it's often used for bridging over a ball. In fact, I will often shoot opposite handed instead of the bridge. I'll even use an opposite-handed air-bridge in situations where you might need to stack two bridges.
 
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