Does the weight bolt system differ from line to line? Some of their lines are made overseas and I was wondering if their construction varies also, since that would cause a variance in balance weight and the ability to change it.
McDermott cue question
- Thread starter jed1894
- Start date
ratcues said:
That's why the first question was posed like that, I think quality is quality and that they are very aggressive about their quality overseas. I was at Predator for many years and have seen cues from Asia, Europe and the US, there is good and bad everywhere.
Sorry - I mistook "lack of playability" to mean they played poorly. By "lack of playability", you meant exceptional value, right?WheatCues said:
I've got 2 McDermotts, both with I2 shafts on them. One is the Dubliner, the other is an older George Breedlove Guardian Spirit. The butt on the Breedlove is slightly narrower than the Dub because it was made to George's specs. The I2 had to be narrowed at the collar to fit flush on the cue.
Both were purchased as 19 oz cues, but with the I2 I don't know the exact weight. Both have a balance point that is just in front of the wrap. both have phenolic joint material. They perform almost identically. I have a third cue on the way from McD also with an I2. If it plays the way the other 2 do I will be satisfied.
I think McDermott's have a consistent feel from cue to cue. I think they are well made and the company stands behind the product. I think they are a great value for the money. Both of my cues each with a standard and an I2 shaft cost less than $500 each (one was less than 400) and I even spent the extra $15 so the rings on the I2 would match the Dubliner.
B
Both were purchased as 19 oz cues, but with the I2 I don't know the exact weight. Both have a balance point that is just in front of the wrap. both have phenolic joint material. They perform almost identically. I have a third cue on the way from McD also with an I2. If it plays the way the other 2 do I will be satisfied.
I think McDermott's have a consistent feel from cue to cue. I think they are well made and the company stands behind the product. I think they are a great value for the money. Both of my cues each with a standard and an I2 shaft cost less than $500 each (one was less than 400) and I even spent the extra $15 so the rings on the I2 would match the Dubliner.
B
McDermott
Ok i'm getting off course with this............long story short I think McDermotts are a lil butt heavy.
My first nice cue was a McDermott back in the late 80's. A D-8 or D-9 can't remember. But as I started playing better I tried some other players cues and realized that their cues felt better as far as balance. Some were Schon and others were Joss. So....I sold my cue and bought a Schon, weight is more forward and seems to have a more solid feel. Of course everybody has a different idea of what they like to play with.jed1894 said:
Ok i'm getting off course with this............long story short I think McDermotts are a lil butt heavy.
ratcues said:
That's funny. But after several other people failed to break it free as well, using screw drivers, vise grips and allen wrenches, I'm giving up. It has to be glued. Even McDermott could not tell me for sure that it had not been glued without looking at it. It may have been glued by the distributor because of past problems or something. I may try to heat it up tomor as one last effort but after learning that I'm only going to get about 1/2 inch more forward balance, I don't think it's worth the trouble.
Thanks for all the replies.
JED
I have never seen a McDermott weight bolt glued in before either.
You can just leave the bolt out, and gain more forward balance. However the McDermott bumper won't have anything to hold it in. To alleviate that problem, you can put a wooden 'plug' inside the butt. Drill a hole in it for the bumper, and you're good to go.
You can just leave the bolt out, and gain more forward balance. However the McDermott bumper won't have anything to hold it in. To alleviate that problem, you can put a wooden 'plug' inside the butt. Drill a hole in it for the bumper, and you're good to go.
If you want to heat the bolt...
If you want to heat the bolt without damaging the cue I would try a electrical soldering Iron. You should be able to heat bolt and not touch the sides. Make sure you heat the tip and clean it with a wet rag before trying it to get off all the old solder.
Good Luck.
Nick
If you want to heat the bolt without damaging the cue I would try a electrical soldering Iron. You should be able to heat bolt and not touch the sides. Make sure you heat the tip and clean it with a wet rag before trying it to get off all the old solder.
Good Luck.
Nick
Rick S. said:
Yeah, I thought about that too, but I have to get the bolt out first. Also, on my cue, the bolt has nothing to do with the bumper. It does not keep it attached....it does not touch the bolt and will stay in without the bolt.
I don't think I have a soldering iron, so I'm going to try the drill technique first sometime today between beer and hog meat. I got a crowd coming over .... I'll let the young studs have a try at the bolt. After today, I may have a Mcdermot shaft for sale because the butt will probably be destroyed.
HAPPY 4TH EVERYONE!
jed
Good luck!!
It's hard to believe it's in THAT tight....If it's an Allen, get a large t handle wrench, and insert something ( long screwdriver?) thru it to turn for leverage. Slowly turning it would be much better than trying to 'yank' it.(Causing undue stress)
Hope you get it!
It's hard to believe it's in THAT tight....If it's an Allen, get a large t handle wrench, and insert something ( long screwdriver?) thru it to turn for leverage. Slowly turning it would be much better than trying to 'yank' it.(Causing undue stress)
Hope you get it!
Make damn sure you have a firm grip on the buttcap. The bolt can only be bound in one of two places: 1) where the head of the bolt lands on the buttcap flange or 2) the tapped threads in the wood. Have you tried a little penetrating oil around the bolt head? Keep us posted on the outcome. BTW I have a buddy looking for a 13mm 3/8-10 shaft LOL. I sure hope you don't screw it up, since I'm the jerk that suggested messing with the bolt in the first place.
billyjack said:
Well, the allen wrench part of the bolt is now stripped. The flat head screwdriver head is almost stripped. The bolt is still in the butt. I bought a set of nice T allen wrenchs (had to buy whole set to get the one I wanted) and it had plenty of leverage. Also tried a screw driver about 3 foot long for leverage. Had 5 different people try with me holding the butt....negative results. It is glued or screwed (welded-like) into the wood. I tried oil too. Anymore pressure will bust the wood. The only thing I can think could be the problem is that the cue was returned before I bought it because of a lose bolt and they fixed it good.
By-the-way, I didn't try the heat yet. The butt is back in the case.......
Thanks for the suggestions -- I guess I'm just a wimp! (and so are my friends)
JED
WheatCues
Banned
Shawn Armstrong said:
No !
I stated that is MY opinion... which means what I think and feel "personally" about it because the cue is a tool and is completely subjective to one's tastes and preferences.. just like "dewalt" and "makita" are tools of preference as well.. they both get the job done.. but you are going to favor the one that feels the most comfortable and reliable to your needs"
So I assume you already knew what I meant becasue I DID state it was my personal opinion, and are just trying to be cute and are attempting get one more "un-needed quarrel" started becasue you are bored.....
You obviously are a McDermott fan... that's great !!!
I happen to be a Meucci ORIGINAL fan and have a couple from 1988 era... back when they cared about quality and craftsmanship....abd played with it for 15yrs in between building my own playing cues and selling them...
Meucci's now-a-days are complete 100% junk !
THAT'S RIGHT BOB !!! your current Meucci line is pathetic... I have seen cracked tenons at the joint collars with 1/8" gaps right at the face of the pin "highly visible" atleast 2 dozen times in the last 5 years and you can feel EVERY single inlay and ringwork in EVERY cue and that shows Meucci doesn't give a damn about their product or they wouldn't ship it out like that !
And I'm almost embarrassed to even state that I am a Meucci fan becasue of the complete 180 degree turn they have made over the years from quality being first and now it's the $$$....
Now that above statement about Meucci also my opinion... whether there is factual evidence to back it up or not.. it's still MY opinion of MY personal feelings about Meucci and McDermott cues...
Anyways, I think you get my point.....
Take care, Eddie Wheat
WheatCues said:
(A) I wasn't being cute. You said that McDermott cues lacked playability. They do not lack playability, otherwise no one would play with them. What they don't have is playability FOR YOU. I don't knock the playability of your cues, which might hit like a brick according to me. I can run balls with a McDermott or a house cue. It's the indian, not the arrow.
(B) I'm not a McDermott fan. I'm just sick and tired of custom cuemakers that feel production cues don't play well because they are made by the 1000s. It's as if the belief is that the cuemaker all of a sudden becomes less focused on quality the minute he produces more than 1000 cues. Schon, Joss and McDermott all produce good products. If you care to bark up the Meucci tree, I dare you to take a look at the new Medici line from Meucci. It seems that going to an offshore manufacturer has actually increased their quality. I sell the odd cue for McDermott, as I feel they are an excellent value for a beginning or intermediate player. I prefer a stainless steel joint, forward balanced cue with a stiff shaft. That's about as non-McDermott as you can get. I do still think they make an exceptional cue for the money, and are an excellent investment for league players.
(C) Keep your personal commentary to yourself. I have no need to start a fight with you. I find you opinionated enough, and really find no entertainment value in making you "go off". The issue that I have is I decided to tone my commentary down on custom cues, since one of the senior cuemaking members asked me politely to not mention names of custom makers, as it could affect their livelihood. The people at the McDermott plant need to make a living too, and when a "custom" cuemaker comes in here and spouts off about Meucci and McDermott, I feel like I'm keeping up my side of the bargain, but the custom guys aren't. They have a right to sell cues like you do. How would you like it if I hit with one of your cues and posted the exact same thing you said regarding McDermott about your cues? You'd go off like a fireworks show on the 4th of July.
WheatCues
Banned
Shawn Armstrong said:
Thanks for your response !
Actually I have nothing to prove on HERE anymore !
Once again, I said it was MY opinion and that is the point...I will NOT get into a quarrel with you over a McDermott or Meucci becasue it's trivial to me... production cues have their place in the market just as custom cues do as well !
All fellow AZ'rs Know who I am by now and do NOT need to hear another sales pitch or why the custom market is advantageous to a "player" who reqiuires a little more out of a cue than what the production market offers !
For this simple reason... How many top pro-players do you know that play with a production line cue that has NOT been secretly customized to thier specs ???
There's a logical reason behind the fact that an average length cue with avg. balance point, avg taper, and avg. diameter is to sell to the average person....
Well, how many of us "players" do you think have the same arm length, stroke range, height, shoulder width, balance point and the same shooting style ???
With that being said, now you understand why custom cuemakers have a valid stance in this industry and you cannot compare custom cues with production...
I played with production line cues for years witrh "good" results and yes "I CAN hit the back rail !" and I will assure you as a player that there are certain advantages to custom cues vs. production.. especially since you stated it not the arrow it's the indian...
Well Tonto, I'm here to tell you... if you have an ARROW that's too short, unbalanced, crooked, etc... you may be able to overcome the oddities and adapt to it and make it work but why should "you" be the one to have to adjust ??? that's a little backwards if you ask me... why not just have an arrow that is longer to accomodate your armspand and properly balanced to your unique style of shooting ??
With that being said... THEY DO ! I used to BowHunt and arrows have to be long enough for your draw range of your armspand so that you have proper draw length and control over the arrow "just like a pool cue" !
SO your analogy only confirms what I offer in this industry as a custom fitted cuemaker... and once again validates our neccessary existance in the market and since I can personally guarantee an overall 25% performance increase with my custom-fitted techniques...it only makes sense to me !
If you are completely comfortable with your equipment then you will have confidence in it.. and since confidence is part of the 90% equation that makes up the mental part of pool.. that makes one hell of a difference between winning and losing percentages under competitive conditions....
And once again, just in case you missed it the last few times... this is MY opinion and have stated how I PERSONALLY feel about the subject and questions at hand !!!
Oh, and one last thing regarding your remark about my cue's hit... Since I build the cues to hit and play exactly like YOU want it too then there would'nt be any negativity about my cues from each customer's opinion !
THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY !!!!:smile:
- Eddie Wheat "building custom fitted arrows for every indian's unique physical attributes and style of shooting"
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