How can you tell if a cue is straight?

Cuemaster98

Cuemaster98

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I don't know what people are doing..but my test has alway been to roll it on a pool table and check is there are variance (wobble) in the roll.
I first roll the shaft and butt seperately and then together. If separately they roll straight then generally the cue will be straight together.

If it wobble together (butt and shaft) and depending on where the cue are generally not straight. Unless it wobble at the joint..which could mean that it needs refacing at the joint to correct this. If the cue wobble near the handle, it mean the handle wasn't joined correctly. Sighting the cue is also a good test and the truest test would be to put the cue on a lathe.

One thing that I can never still understand is why does over 50% of all Southwest cues wobble. They all play good but it just frustrate me to know that the cue is not straight. I don't like paying $1800 for a cue that is not straight. I check and it not there taper...it's just not straight! I hear stories that Southwest take 7 years to turn down a shaft (1 pass per year) and yet I think 50% of their shafts still wobble. Maybe it just me...but even when I put them on the lathe, you can see the vibration and variances. While some cue like schon and especially a bill mcdaniel are just dead nut perfect!

A lot of people would consider a slight roll to be straight but I'm a little fuzzy but granted all the best playing cues that I ever played with have a slight roll in them. My old Jerry Mcworter have a slight roll in it but it was one of my best playing cue. Go figures!!

The only other way to check if is straight is by rolling it on a pool table rail. With the butt on the table and the handle on the rail..so it give u an idea if the pin is straight.

Any other suggestions on how to determine if a cue is straight??

Thanks,
Duc.
 
Could you please explain "sighting the cue"? Is it as simple as just looking down the cue with your eye as close to it as possible? Thanks.
 
Well, the short answer is.. Yes, I roll it on the table.

Long answer is.. It doesn't matter if the cue is straight.

Seriously. When I was playing my best, I was perfectly capable of stringing racks with a warped bar cue, as long as the tip was good. The key is using natural angles around the table, and a minimum of english. Having a good pocket speed stroke on every shot, too.

I know this doesn't really address what you were saying with the SouthWest cue, but just thought I'd throw this in there.

Russ
 
Russ Chewning said:
Well, the short answer is.. Yes, I roll it on the table.

Long answer is.. It doesn't matter if the cue is straight.

Seriously. When I was playing my best, I was perfectly capable of stringing racks with a warped bar cue, as long as the tip was good. The key is using natural angles around the table, and a minimum of english. Having a good pocket speed stroke on every shot, too.

I know this doesn't really address what you were saying with the SouthWest cue, but just thought I'd throw this in there.

Russ
Click to expand...

i mean no disrespect Russ and to make this a short post....first YES it does matter how straight a cue is. second some english is used on 80 to 90% of all shots by pro's whether to "more" insure pocket entry, ball position or just to take the "exactness" out of the aim. third your right. your not addressing the question. ;) i think the way your already checking is good. "sight" the cue first then roll each piece individually and look for light under them then roll while together and watch for a "swaying" wobble. the trick is knowing what to look for and most of it is obvious.
 
Russ Chewning said:
Well, the short answer is.. Yes, I roll it on the table.

Long answer is.. It doesn't matter if the cue is straight.

Seriously. When I was playing my best, I was perfectly capable of stringing racks with a warped bar cue, as long as the tip was good. The key is using natural angles around the table, and a minimum of english. Having a good pocket speed stroke on every shot, too.

I know this doesn't really address what you were saying with the SouthWest cue, but just thought I'd throw this in there.

Russ
Click to expand...


When you were playing at your best, did you sell alot of warped cues? what was your selling point? You stating that you are a shortstop and it doesn't matter how crooked a cue is as long as you have a good pocket speed stroke and a good tip? Well in response to the actual question, SW are different to tell the straightness of it. All SW cues seem crooked from rolling it on the table. The straightness test on them is a bit different.

PUT A MOORI ON A BOOMERANG AND RUSS RUNS OUT LIKE WATER<----------:D
 
A cue should be relatively straight, you just need to make certain that it is not simply what some people refer to as taper wobble. That means that the taper is not exactly even all the way down the shaft. While sometimes a shaft might come this way from a cuemaker, most of the time it is the result of being sanded down by players. Even a small amount of uneven sanding, over time, will cause some light to appear when you roll a shaft on a table. Putting the shaft on a lathe is the best way to determine whether a shaft/butt is warped.

The roll of a Southwest cue (sometimes referred to as the Southwest wobble) is the result of the compound taper used by Southwest to produce the hit so many people look for. I believe Kerry Zeiler (Zylr) cues, and a few more cuemakers, use a compound taper. Exactly how the taper goes is out of my league, but rolling these cues across a table is no way to check them for straightness.
 
I've always rolled the butt and shaft on a level pool table or level TABLE, even rolling on a pool table sometimes doesnt help if the slate is bad.

I've taken a shaft on one table an rolled it and it would look like its warped, took it too another table and it rolls perfect.

Rolling the cue together doesnt mean anything, because the joint could be off my a MM or something and it will cause a bit of wobble.

dave
 
Unless you are intending to roll out pastry dough with it...

Cuemaster98 said:
I don't know what people are doing..but my test has alway been to roll it on a pool table and check is there are variance (wobble) in the roll.
I first roll the shaft and butt seperately and then together. If separately they roll straight then generally the cue will be straight together.

If it wobble together (butt and shaft) and depending on where the cue are generally not straight. Unless it wobble at the joint..which could mean that it needs refacing at the joint to correct this. If the cue wobble near the handle, it mean the handle wasn't joined correctly. Sighting the cue is also a good test and the truest test would be to put the cue on a lathe.

One thing that I can never still understand is why does over 50% of all Southwest cues wobble. They all play good but it just frustrate me to know that the cue is not straight. I don't like paying $1800 for a cue that is not straight. I check and it not there taper...it's just not straight! I hear stories that Southwest take 7 years to turn down a shaft (1 pass per year) and yet I think 50% of their shafts still wobble. Maybe it just me...but even when I put them on the lathe, you can see the vibration and variances. While some cue like schon and especially a bill mcdaniel are just dead nut perfect!

A lot of people would consider a slight roll to be straight but I'm a little fuzzy but granted all the best playing cues that I ever played with have a slight roll in them. My old Jerry Mcworter have a slight roll in it but it was one of my best playing cue. Go figures!!

The only other way to check if is straight is by rolling it on a pool table rail. With the butt on the table and the handle on the rail..so it give u an idea if the pin is straight.

Any other suggestions on how to determine if a cue is straight??

Thanks,
Duc.
Click to expand...


...rolling a cue on a table is a waste of time,
at best it shows how ROUND the cue is, not how straight.
the compound tapers, so common in custom shafts,
and many butts, are often mistaken for 'wobble'
by cue detectives.

hold the cue like a rifle, by sighting down the length
you should easily see if it is straight or not

HTH
Dale
 
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Obviously tongue in cheek humor is wasted here?

Of course you WANT a straight cue... Sheesh.....

Russ
 
StormHotRod300 said:
I've always rolled the butt and shaft on a level pool table or level TABLE, even rolling on a pool table sometimes doesnt help if the slate is bad.
dave
Click to expand...

What happens if the table isn't level:p
 
Cuemaster98 said:
I don't know what,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Any other suggestions on how to determine if a cue is straight??

Thanks,
Duc.
Click to expand...

most cues aren't straight, or warp a tad over time. i think it's better, if you've had the cue for a while, not to bother testing it unless it FEELS crooked. it simply becomes a distraction.
 
a wise old man once said "if you can't shoot with anything, then you can't shoot with ANYTHING".
M.C.
 
skins said:
i mean no disrespect Russ and to make this a short post....first YES it does matter how straight a cue is. second some english is used on 80 to 90% of all shots by pro's whether to "more" insure pocket entry, ball position or just to take the "exactness" out of the aim. third your right. your not addressing the question. ;) i think the way your already checking is good. "sight" the cue first then roll each piece individually and look for light under them then roll while together and watch for a "swaying" wobble. the trick is knowing what to look for and most of it is obvious.
Click to expand...
The pros in my opinion can still play close to 100% with a warped butt but with a straight shaft. Really, the most important thing is the shaft from the bridge hand to the tip has to be straight. The butt being warped a little shouldn't bother them b/c they can still see that shaft line.
I roll the jointed cue from just under the joint on top of a pool table rail and look at the ferrule if it's wobbling.
 
Many a night the best players in a town have been busted by a stranger with a warped cue. How could that guy play so good with that old warped cue they'd ask. The secret; when the tip hits the cueball at the spot intended then the cueball does what is intended.

Rolling a cue on the pool table, any part of it, is pool's equivalent of tire kicking. Some tables will have slates that are off on one side which makes the cue appear horribly warped. Roll it on the good slates and the same cues appears perfectly straight. Most rails have small waves in them due to the cloth being pulled unevenly. Thus the cue can appear to have varying degrees of warp depending on the table.

Throughout the years of horse trading on cues I have never lost one due to a cue being not perfectly straight. I always let the buyer shoot some pool with it and that is usually all there is too it. I don't buy warped cues and I don't sell them. I do buy and sell cues that have a little bounce to them. As long as that tip does not move then the cue is straight enough for me.

I agree with Russ about a good player being able to play with a warped cue. I have seen many such players and am one. All the old timers will confirm that the warped-cue move is one of the best.
 
Cuemaster98 said:
Any other suggestions on how to determine if a cue is straight??
Click to expand...
Put another cue next to it and see if it makes a pass.

Fred <~~~ rolling is misleading
 
Here's how I tell if a cue is straight:

1. Assemble it, sight down lit like a riifle, and slowly turn it. If the shaft is warped or the joint is not square, I guarantee you you will see the slightest deviation. If it passes this test, the cue is plenty straight to play.

2. Disasembled, place the shaft on a flat surface like a countertop. Holding both ends in your fingers, slowly turn it and watch the gap between the cue and the surface. If the gap stays constant, the shaft is straight. Do the same thing with the butt and see if there is any gap change or lifting of the joint or buttcap.

3. If each piece individually is straight, but the cue doesn't pass sight test #1, the joint needs to be squared. This is a minor $15 repair on most cues by a cue-maker. Also, clean the joint of dirt and debris.

4. Rolling a cue does show you deviation, but a lot of times it's just a bump in the wrap or a misaligned butt sleeve. It doesn't tell you if the cue is playable.

I run the first 3 checks on cues when inspecting them.

Most of the time a warped handle doesn't affect the way a cue plays. A warp shaft definitely will affect the way the cue plays.

Chris
 
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BlindWizard said:
Anyone who can't judge the straightness of a cue by sighting down the shaft is probably too blind to play pool.
Click to expand...

That's me to a "t". I can't sight it & my game
proves it. I can look down it till I'm blue in
the face & can't tell a damned thing!
 
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