Joint Pin Opinions

SSDiver2112

Escott Cues
The Pechauer I have been playing with has a 5/16-14 pin. I am very happy with this cue and the pin has been reliable and stays secure. As I have started to make my own cues it was natural for me to go to what I knew for the joint pin and have installed this pin in the cues I have made so far.

I have been looking up all I can on different pins and most of the discussions descend into hit and feel.

As cuemakers, is it just personal preference for using one pin over another or are there structural or installation reasons.

Why choose 3/8-10 over 3/8-11 (or vice versa) or 3/8 versus ball joint.

I know there are a bunch of them. I wanted to hear about the pin rather than the feel since everyone argues about whether you can tell anyway.

Scott
 
I used to do radial pins. But, that long pilot became a turn-off for me .
3/8 10 and 3/8 11 flat bottom have very little difference.
.308 minor vs .3125 minor and one more thread for the 3/8 11.
3/8 10 is more common. You can get aftermarket shafts a little easier than 11.
 
I used to do radial pins. But, that long pilot became a turn-off for me .
3/8 10 and 3/8 11 flat bottom have very little difference.
.308 minor vs .3125 minor and one more thread for the 3/8 11.
3/8 10 is more common. You can get aftermarket shafts a little easier than 11.
Nice answer Joey !

Dave
 
I used to do radial pins. But, that long pilot became a turn-off for me .
3/8 10 and 3/8 11 flat bottom have very little difference.
.308 minor vs .3125 minor and one more thread for the 3/8 11.
3/8 10 is more common. You can get aftermarket shafts a little easier than 11.
Small difference structurally but huge difference to the consumer. As someone with a few 10s and a couple 11s I'm curious as to why someone would pick the 11. Had a bunch of 11 pins laying around? Want to be exclusive? (<--my real guess)
 
I used to do radial pins. But, that long pilot became a turn-off for me .
3/8 10 and 3/8 11 flat bottom have very little difference.
.308 minor vs .3125 minor and one more thread for the 3/8 11.
3/8 10 is more common. You can get aftermarket shafts a little easier than 11.
For the 3/8-10 flat bottom pin I assume my 3/8-10 tap is not recommended. I saw one on Atlas that says piloted but is out of stock. Any suggestions or can the regular tap work.
 
I used to do radial pins. But, that long pilot became a turn-off for me .
3/8 10 and 3/8 11 flat bottom have very little difference.
.308 minor vs .3125 minor and one more thread for the 3/8 11.
3/8 10 is more common. You can get aftermarket shafts a little easier than 11.
Secondly from some pictures I have seen you post it looks like you use a phenolic insert in the shaft and also for the pin in the joint. Is this for all or only some for a particular reason.

Thanks
Scott
 
Secondly from some pictures I have seen you post it looks like you use a phenolic insert in the shaft and also for the pin in the joint. Is this for all or only some for a particular reason.

Thanks
Scott
Most of my cues go to Asia now. It's very humid there . Woods swell there .
So, I use inserts .
 
Small difference structurally but huge difference to the consumer. As someone with a few 10s and a couple 11s I'm curious as to why someone would pick the 11. Had a bunch of 11 pins laying around? Want to be exclusive? (<--my real guess)
11 was the earlier version of flat bottom . 10 just came later .
I prefer the 11 myself but can make 10 easily as I have .307 reamer to size the hole .
 
For the 3/8-10 flat bottom pin I assume my 3/8-10 tap is not recommended. I saw one on Atlas that says piloted but is out of stock. Any suggestions or can the regular tap work.
I live thread mine with my own flat bottom threader .
I've never seen a tap made specifically for a 3/8 10 flat bottom.
 
I live thread mine with my own flat bottom threader .
I've never seen a tap made specifically for a 3/8 10 flat bottom.
The one the site has a pilot to keep it centered in the hole.

IMG_8368.jpeg
 
Is the pilot .308?
Yes it was, however Atlas is no longer selling it, and just hadn't removed it from the site yet. They said that most people were just using the normal 3/8-10 tap.

I do not have the benefit of live threading at this point, so using a tap will have to be my method.

Will the tap wander though?

Is it ok to just bore out the hole and tap it, or is it better to bore the hole for the regular tap and then finish boring it to the .308 after it is tapped?

Is a reamer beneficial in this process or not needed?

Of course I will be practicing on some scraps first, but I would rather waste money on tools I don't need for this.

Scott
 
Yes it was, however Atlas is no longer selling it, and just hadn't removed it from the site yet. They said that most people were just using the normal 3/8-10 tap.

I do not have the benefit of live threading at this point, so using a tap will have to be my method.

Will the tap wander though?

Is it ok to just bore out the hole and tap it, or is it better to bore the hole for the regular tap and then finish boring it to the .308 after it is tapped?

Is a reamer beneficial in this process or not needed?

Of course I will be practicing on some scraps first, but I would rather waste money on tools I don't need for this.

Scott
It won't wander if you bore the hole to the size of the pilot.
After tapping, rebore the hole to .307-.308. Some like a tight fit so they rebore at a little under .
 
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