*********Lets talk about Shafts*********

jmurphy

jmurphy

SWEET
Silver Member
I have seen plenty of threads talking about who makes the best hitting cue etc............ Obviously the shaft taper is a major part in how a cue plays.
Below is a list of cue-makers that I have seen great feedback on how their cues play. I would like to find out what kind of taper these cue-makers use for their cues..

1. Searing
2. Black Boar
3. Ginacue
4. South West
5. Joss West
6. Scruggs
7. James White
8. Paul Mottey
9. Cognoscenti
10. Szamboti
11. Lambros
12. Ed Prewitt
13. Bill Schick
14. TAD

What kind of taper do the above cue-makers use?
I am wondering if a pattern will emerge?
 
Don't some of these guys customize the taper to the customer's order? Or they only do one?

I figure it's a preference thing even if it turns out ten of them use the same taper.
 
CreeDo said:
Don't some of these guys customize the taper to the customer's order? Or they only do one?

I figure it's a preference thing even if it turns out ten of them use the same taper.
Click to expand...

I think most of these cue makers do the shafts their way or the highway..lol
 
jmurphy said:
Obviously the shaft taper is a major part in how a cue plays.
Click to expand...
How a cue feels.

The only concrete difference in objective playability seems to be the amount of squirt generated.

Feel is important, but it's not about how a cue "plays" for everybody - it's about how well it might suit an individual's taste (which can change over time).

pj
chgo
 
Last edited:
I picked up what is believed to be a Scruggs shaft for my block letter JOSS.

You didn't mention JOSS in your list but Scruggs and Stroud both came from that shop so there is a shared heritage I think. I talk about that in my thread about my new (to me) shaft where I compare and contrast the JOSS, Stroud, and Scruggs shafts. http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=282001


I believe there is a clear shared heritage or pedigree among them. I also believe that you will see some evolution among the makers as well, so their early work will not necessarily have the same taper characteristics as their later work.

Of course, they may sometimes do a custom taper, or a shaft may be re-cut, so we should assume we are talking about the "standard" taper from any particular maker.

To me, the Scruggs, JOSS, and Stroud shafts I have all play on the stiff side. Although they are similar, and to me have an obvious shared heritage, they are clearly different. The Scruggs seems to strike the best balance of qualities from the other two. But my Stroud shafts are very old, 1970's, so I can't comment on his later work in this regard. So these view are purely my own subjective observations of a limited sampling.


Of note, when mentioning shaft development in general, the names I mention here have been leaders IMHO.
.
 
jmurphy said:
I have seen plenty of threads talking about who makes the best hitting cue etc............ Obviously the shaft taper is a major part in how a cue plays.
Below is a list of cue-makers that I have seen great feedback on how their cues play. I would like to find out what kind of taper these cue-makers use for their cues..

1. Searing
2. Black Boar
3. Ginacue
4. South West
5. Joss West
6. Scruggs
7. James White
8. Paul Mottey
9. Cognoscenti
10. Szamboti
11. Lambros
12. Ed Prewitt
13. Bill Schick
14. TAD

What kind of taper do the above cue-makers use?
I am wondering if a pattern will emerge?
Click to expand...

Tough to answer. I have cues form about half the list that have tapers and diameters to my requested specs. Plus 'standards' in shaft tapers and diameters have generally changed over the last 30-50years.
 
I know Ernie (Ginacues) will only vary slightly from his specs for customer requests. His thinking is if its gonna have the Gina Logo on it then it will be built the way he wants it, which has worked pretty good for him.

I also can think of a situation Searing was telling me about where he was OK with doing a certain thing a customer's way, but didn't want to sign it.

Other guys have different opinions on customization and everyone provides a different service.

Thanks

Kevin
 
jmurphy said:
I have seen plenty of threads talking about who makes the best hitting cue etc............ Obviously the shaft taper is a major part in how a cue plays.
Below is a list of cue-makers that I have seen great feedback on how their cues play. I would like to find out what kind of taper these cue-makers use for their cues..

1. Searing
2. Black Boar
3. Ginacue
4. South West
5. Joss West
6. Scruggs
7. James White
8. Paul Mottey
9. Cognoscenti
10. Szamboti
11. Lambros
12. Ed Prewitt
13. Bill Schick
14. TAD

What kind of taper do the above cue-makers use?
I am wondering if a pattern will emerge?
Click to expand...


What I am looking for is someone who can list the type of taper each of the above cue makers use.

IE: South West ( Parabolic taper)

Pro Taper etc............
 
Last edited:
Well...if you want something more specific about specs you have to remember that those makers evolved and probably have more than one primary design over the years. I would be that the cue makers could respond in such a way, with more specifics, if you posted in their forum.

Just a thought.

But "parabolic" is really just a catch phrase from what I understand, and even pro-taper could have many, many variations. I think conical is clear, but not many pool shafts are conical, especially among the better ones I think. My JOSS, Scruggs, and Stroud shafts would have pro taper in my opinion, but I have not measured them. It seems that the length of taper goes from shortest to longest in the order I listed them with JOSS being the stiffest, Scruggs in the middle, and Stroud being the longest or least stiff among them...but my Stroud shafts are from the seventies so they may be different from later work. I was even once told by Paul Mottey that my Stroud shafts are parabolic.

I don't think the answers would be as straightforward as one might want.






.
 
Most of mine were made by Tim Scruggs, who preferred a middle of the road stiffness in his shafs. However, he would make them how I wanted them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top