oscargrouch
Active member
I'm no xylologist, but I can't imagine a joint with metal screwing into wood over and over again would stay the same for very long.
Joint pin choice, Radial or 3/8x10?
- Thread starter Shooter08
- Start date
Pictures with newspaper or signed dated proof, or not buying it. Maybe a cue pic too. Oops, Mattel. Not Hasbro.
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
Yeah, because your opinion matters that much to me. I've posted photos of cues in progress and of my machine in progress.
You are all butthurt over my reply, but you were the one who started this thread because you couldn't rely on your own opinion. You then received more suggestions for a real thread, but still opted for the joke. Then you attempt to call me out about things that you probably don't know enough about to warrant an opinion.
I asked for opinions, lol.
I own cues with 3/8x10 (steel pin), 3/8x11 (brass pin), and radial (steel pin) flat faced joints.
The best hitting cue I ever played with was a flat faced wood joint but durability was always
a lingering worry on my part. So I’ve remained using a flat faced cue joint instead of piloted.
Richard Black initially used a flat faced steel joint when he started cue making but it just did
not perform like he expected so he abandoned that design and emulated George Balabushka’s
fondness for a 5/16x14 piloted steel joint. It is the most popular joint for pool cues and for darn
good reason. When Bob Runde founded Schon cues with Terry in ‘81, their fame was founded
around precision milling and being able to enjoy interchangeability of shafts from cue to cue.
When I met Bob at the Inaugural BCA trade show in Ft. Worth, Schon was relatively new but after
Bob put over a dozen Schon cues on the display table and a couple dozen shafts still in plastic, he
told me if I found any shaft that was not a seamless fit on any cue butt, I could keep the cue for free.
Well, me and two of my pals tried every shaft on every cue and guess what? None of us got a free
cue that day. But Bob was gracious with his time and we got along really well and asked him if he
would build me a custom cue but it had to be different, a one of a kind pool cue. We sketched out a
design the last day of the weekend cue show. I went to the show all 3 days and spoke with the top
cue makers in America attending the show. Bob impressed me more than any other cue maker.
I played with that Schon cue Bob made for me with a 5/16x14 piloted steel joint for two decades. I
switched to strictly big pin flat faced cue joints in 2004/5 after I got my first one, Scruggs radial pin.
Thereafter, I continued adding cues but tried 3/8x10 versions. Of the two, the radial pin plays softer
than the 3/8x10 in my cues. And my cues have the same tip (Kamui Black Clear Soft), ferrules and
matching cue weights so the comparison seems fair, IMO. The 3/8x10 joint feels like it hits harder.
It merely feels more firm of a stroke than the radial pin but make no mistake, both cue joints feel
so much softer than piloted steel which is the most durable cue joint. Just play with what you like.
The 3/8x10 is more popular and therefore, commonly used in cues versus a radial cue joint. I don’t
think anyone would be disappointed with a radial or a 3/8x10 pin. They are very close. If I had my
druthers, and had to pick one, then I’d go with a radial pin because my Scruggs cue plays like a
Stradivarius violin. It is just an exquisite hitting cue with great acoustical sound and tactile feedback.
It is the best feeling cue I own but then again, it was made by Scruggs but Bob’s cues are very close.
The best hitting cue I ever played with was a flat faced wood joint but durability was always
a lingering worry on my part. So I’ve remained using a flat faced cue joint instead of piloted.
Richard Black initially used a flat faced steel joint when he started cue making but it just did
not perform like he expected so he abandoned that design and emulated George Balabushka’s
fondness for a 5/16x14 piloted steel joint. It is the most popular joint for pool cues and for darn
good reason. When Bob Runde founded Schon cues with Terry in ‘81, their fame was founded
around precision milling and being able to enjoy interchangeability of shafts from cue to cue.
When I met Bob at the Inaugural BCA trade show in Ft. Worth, Schon was relatively new but after
Bob put over a dozen Schon cues on the display table and a couple dozen shafts still in plastic, he
told me if I found any shaft that was not a seamless fit on any cue butt, I could keep the cue for free.
Well, me and two of my pals tried every shaft on every cue and guess what? None of us got a free
cue that day. But Bob was gracious with his time and we got along really well and asked him if he
would build me a custom cue but it had to be different, a one of a kind pool cue. We sketched out a
design the last day of the weekend cue show. I went to the show all 3 days and spoke with the top
cue makers in America attending the show. Bob impressed me more than any other cue maker.
I played with that Schon cue Bob made for me with a 5/16x14 piloted steel joint for two decades. I
switched to strictly big pin flat faced cue joints in 2004/5 after I got my first one, Scruggs radial pin.
Thereafter, I continued adding cues but tried 3/8x10 versions. Of the two, the radial pin plays softer
than the 3/8x10 in my cues. And my cues have the same tip (Kamui Black Clear Soft), ferrules and
matching cue weights so the comparison seems fair, IMO. The 3/8x10 joint feels like it hits harder.
It merely feels more firm of a stroke than the radial pin but make no mistake, both cue joints feel
so much softer than piloted steel which is the most durable cue joint. Just play with what you like.
The 3/8x10 is more popular and therefore, commonly used in cues versus a radial cue joint. I don’t
think anyone would be disappointed with a radial or a 3/8x10 pin. They are very close. If I had my
druthers, and had to pick one, then I’d go with a radial pin because my Scruggs cue plays like a
Stradivarius violin. It is just an exquisite hitting cue with great acoustical sound and tactile feedback.
It is the best feeling cue I own but then again, it was made by Scruggs but Bob’s cues are very close.
Hmmm. Dr. Dave here is a retired mechanical engineering professor. I'm hoping he can weigh in on this...
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
I'm no machinist, I've known too many great, good, and mediocre machinists to ever call myself one. I'm a mechanical engineer who can machine well enough to fool the masses. I can usually design parts that I can make to serve the purpose.
If you can take a block or bar of steel cut it and make working parts from it
Your a machinist in my book
does this qualify for the 3/8x10 modified being better than a standard 3/8x10?
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
I like the 3/8-10 modified well enough. I don't agree that the minor diameter should be used as a locating feature, but I use it, mostly because it is easy to get and I like the locating barrel. If the female threads are cut with the flats, they are stronger.
The thing is, there should be clearance in the minor diameter of the pin, that is where any contaminating debris is supposed to go in any real world situation. Threads should be clean when assembled, but things happen.
Are you getting a Schmelke?
Butterfly Project cue from AZ Member Anton_Bzh3:
shurikencues@gmail.com
Sold my last Jackpot by Schmelke for sale, still have mine, reinvesting in a Shuriken Cue to support Ukraine and I've heard from reliable sources they are awesome. Shooter08
I had always heard that the radial pin, was a variation of a surgical screw. I have no idea if that is accurate. I have owned both 3/8-10 pin cues, and radial pin cues. They both played as well as the bonehead who was using them could shoot that day.
i appreciate your honesty/transparecy
Per Bill Stroud:
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