Ideas for break cue experiment?

N

ndakotan

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm 6' tall and 210 lb, but not real strong, don't really have strong break stroke. My hypothesis is that a heavier break cue (21 oz) is better for my style than a 18 oz. I never get to test hit many cues due to where I live, so my thinking is to buy 5 cues of the same model but different weights so I (and anyone else that's interested up here in the boondocks) can try out different weights to prove with confidence what works best.

I understand and know for a fact that my stroke and aim have more to do with my break than the cue does, but I'm looking at a few break cues and internally debate the weight question so much that I don't do anything about getting a cue.

My question is what is a cheap break cue that would tell me how more weight would affect the cue. For instance, I think the J&J break cues ($50?) are pretty good and a selection of those cues would be representative of most cues as far as how weight affects the cue. Granted, some custom break cues may be built differently than the J&J, but the relationship between break quality and weight should be independent of design. Any thoughts? Would I learn anything by getting 4 or 5 cues of different weight and then using the results of that experiment in selecting a higher quality break cue? Maybe just get 4 or 5 house cues of different weight instead?

In order to round out the debate, I have a 16 oz Schmelke, a 25 oz sneaky pete break cue, a 35 oz break cue, and an aluminum break cue. I'm thinking of buying a 18 oz, 19 oz, 20 oz and 21 oz as a representative selection of the sweet spot in weights (18-21).
 
I know you said 5... but there are sets of 4 Dufferin house cues (1 and 2 piece sneakies) for about $80 on ebay... typically come in 18-19-20-21 oz flavors...

Might be helpful to you.



Side note: How do you like that 25oz? Been thinking of getting it as my break is a little lacking as I'm really not that great at a powerful break stroke and use my typical hard stroke for breaking.
 
ndakotan said:
I'm 6' tall and 210 lb, but not real strong, don't really have strong break stroke. My hypothesis is that a heavier break cue (21 oz) is better for my style than a 18 oz. I never get to test hit many cues due to where I live, so my thinking is to buy 5 cues of the same model but different weights so I (and anyone else that's interested up here in the boondocks) can try out different weights to prove with confidence what works best.

I understand and know for a fact that my stroke and aim have more to do with my break than the cue does, but I'm looking at a few break cues and internally debate the weight question so much that I don't do anything about getting a cue.

My question is what is a cheap break cue that would tell me how more weight would affect the cue. For instance, I think the J&J break cues ($50?) are pretty good and a selection of those cues would be representative of most cues as far as how weight affects the cue. Granted, some custom break cues may be built differently than the J&J, but the relationship between break quality and weight should be independent of design. Any thoughts? Would I learn anything by getting 4 or 5 cues of different weight and then using the results of that experiment in selecting a higher quality break cue? Maybe just get 4 or 5 house cues of different weight instead?

In order to round out the debate, I have a 16 oz Schmelke, a 25 oz sneaky pete break cue, a 35 oz break cue, and an aluminum break cue. I'm thinking of buying a 18 oz, 19 oz, 20 oz and 21 oz as a representative selection of the sweet spot in weights (18-21).
Click to expand...

Why wouldn't you get an "lesser expensive" break cue that you can add/subtract weight bolts out of rather than buying one cue for each of the different ounces? That way you only invest in one cue...but have 4-5 different 1oz weights you can add into it???

Jason
 
JAMSGOLF said:
Why wouldn't you get an "lesser expensive" break cue that you can add/subtract weight bolts out of rather than buying one cue for each of the different ounces? That way you only invest in one cue...but have 4-5 different 1oz weights you can add into it???

Jason
Click to expand...

I debated that, but in order to cycle through them, I think I'd rather just have 4-5 cues.
 
Break Cue

Side note: How do you like that 25oz? Been thinking of getting it as my break is a little lacking as I'm really not that great at a powerful break stroke and use my typical hard stroke for breaking.[/QUOTE]

I'm not really convinced the 25 oz is the right idea, but it does break well. I think a well-designed gulyassy or something similar breaks much better. My girlfriend uses the 25 oz for breaking more than I do, but then I let her test hit a Mace cue and she was real impressed with an 18 oz Mace (as was I).

I frankly use the heavier cues for training my stroke. It seems that it is easier to pick up on the poor elbow alignments with the heavier cue and it builds the muscle memory better.
 
Get in touch with Schmelke & explain your experiment to them. They'll do something custom just for you, in all likeliness. It won't cost a ton, either. Super nice folks.
 
My suggestion would be to figure out where you want your cue to balance as well. I tend to pay more attention to how my cue feels in my hands than how much it weighs. You might want to explore using different woods in the nose of the cue as well, as that will change where your cue balances. Hope this helps a little.:smile:
 
Break Cue

It might be a moot point after I tried out my new TNT purpleheart shafted cue last night. I got very good action with the cue on the break and it jumped very well (considering I'm not real good at jumping). Will have to evaluate my options this weekend.
 
Why not go to the local pool hall and grab 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 oz. cues off the wall? They will all be the same except for the weight and likely all have the exact same tip as well.
 
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