mcdermott quick release joint

poolshooter74

poolshooter74

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
has anyone fixed any of their quick release joints?

my cousin had one that the glue seemed to let loose a little, and now my teammate's cue seems to be having a similar problem. so i just thought i would ask you guys to see if this is a common problem with these joints.

thanks
 
I've got what I would call a fair amount of experience with them.
I build matching Predator and OB shafts for them on a semi-regular basis.
I've written a couple of posts related to this joint.
My opinion of them is that it's not a very good joint design.
The problem that you site is due to their major design flaw, that being that the pin
does not go down into the forearm. It only exists on the joint collar's face.
The SS jnt. collar and the pin are one pc. The jnt. collar is actually a threaded cap.
You've got 30" of shaft acting as a lever on the jnt/cap.
The epoxy & the 5/8x18 threads on the inside of the collar/cap can't stand-up to the leverage.

There are actually two versions of this design, both suffering the same flaw.
One is a QR 10 thrd. which is quite rare. I've seen two of them in 12 yrs.
The other is the QR 3/8x16 which is far more common.

Is there a 'fix'??? Yes, but it's not cheap.
When I make a repair, I don't just bring the cue back to factory condition.
I do it better than the factory did so the client never has this problem again.
Most repair people would probably remove the collar and use fresh epoxy to put it back in place.
Since that's how the factory did it, it must be right. WRONG
That's how the factory did it and that's why it came loose. It's a bad design.
I would change the way the joint is constructed and do what the factory failed to do.

If you have need of my services, please PM.

KJ
 
thank you kj, i figured it had to be something with that type of joint. never heard of any other cues doing this.
thanks again
 
My M33A has the QR joint and I am amazed at how softly it hits. Are the sticks with problems being used by "9-ballers"? In other words serious break players? I only play Straight and One Pocket so my breaks are not very hard, am I doomed or will the joint hold up? Also I am confused why anyone would not have it repaired under warranty by McDermott. I know they say their warranty only extends to original owners but in my experience they cover what an honorable company should cover.
 
fhopper said:
My M33A has the QR joint and I am amazed at how softly it hits. Are the sticks with problems being used by "9-ballers"? In other words serious break players? I only play Straight and One Pocket so my breaks are not very hard, am I doomed or will the joint hold up? Also I am confused why anyone would not have it repaired under warranty by McDermott. I know they say their warranty only extends to original owners but in my experience they cover what an honorable company should cover.
Click to expand...
my cousins cue m7qr6, was very well used... for breaking, shooting, etc...
the cue with matching predator shaft was around $1000 brand new, so he took care of it. i think that over time the joint will fail, as kj mentioned. it is a poor design which will fail not if but when.(IMO) just to be safe! lol
 
I have been playing with a Masterpiece McD since around 1993. It had the forerunner to the quick release joint in that it was machined out of one chunk of stainless. No problems what so ever.

While it might not be stronger than a conventional piloted, steel collared joint, it will last indefinitely if proper care is used...ie....no excess side pressure.

I was in on some tests,...TAKE THESE CUES AND SNAP THEM, BREAK THEM....and guess which were usually salvagable......the cues with the one piece joint construction. They mostly broke off clean at the joint ring and the shafts were saved. The piloted joint cues usually split the forearm below the joint collar because of the depth of the seperate joint screw.

McDermott would be the ones to contact regarding any issues with your cue, they have a quick turn around repair department and if the joint is loose, they will probably fix it for free.
 
The idea of having a contest with the intent of determining which cue comes through with the most
salvageable parts after being subjected to excessive lateral force is interesting indeed.
Is McD. on to something here??? The break-away joint!
"Abuse your cue all you want. Break it over your knee if you're so inclined. It can easily be repaired".
My hat's off to you McD. That's what I call forward thinking.

I totally agree with Robin regarding his suggestion. If you have a problem with this joint, contact McD.
If it ever comes about that they get tired of fixing them, they may improve the design.
Until then, good luck & be careful out there.

KJ
 
Jayme from McDermott Cue here.

I was just forwarded this post. I have processed all repairs at McDermott for the past 10 years and we may get 6 cues a year returned with loose QR joints. I would not consider that to be a design flaw.
We have honored all of these repairs under our warranty and have had zero reoccurring problems with loose QR joints after the repairs were made.
You may contact me at 1-800-666-2283 if you have any service questions.

Jayme Cernicka
 
Post

McDermottCue said:
Jayme from McDermott Cue here.

I was just forwarded this post. I have processed all repairs at McDermott for the past 10 years and we may get 6 cues a year returned with loose QR joints. I would not consider that to be a design flaw.
We have honored all of these repairs under our warranty and have had zero reoccurring problems with loose QR joints after the repairs were made.
You may contact me at 1-800-666-2283 if you have any service questions.

Jayme Cernicka
Click to expand...

-
It's great to see reputable team members of mcdermott posting and showing support of pool/billiards..
Ive always heard "from cue dealers" they are good people and very professional at McDermott.


Rob.M
 
KJ - can you swap out a QR joint pin for a Predator unilock?

this will be my first quick release McDermott joint.
have the cue showing in signature area below,
i'll stay in touch, let everybody know how it goes.
jamie, thanks for posting, good to know your onboard.
 
Yes, I have done several conversions of this joint and would be happy to provide this service for you.
The pic will give you an idea of what the conversion's outcome looks like.
I do a thin-wall SS collar sleeved over phenolic with the Uni-QR pin set into the forearm.
This keeps the wght. of the cue and particularly the joint's wght. the same as it was before conversion.

PC5.jpg

Jayme states that he oversees the repair of maybe 1/2 doz of these joints a year at McDermott.
What he may be overlooking is that there are at least 2,000 CMs and repair people in this country alone.
While McD may have repaired only 6 in a year, I myself have repaired at least 3 in the same time period.
I'm just one out of a couple of thousand. How many have the other CMs done?

This little debate is a fine illustration of one of the differences btwn custom and production.
While production tries to defend the numbers of a less than perfect design,
custom CMs take the position that one failure is one too many.

KJ
 
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McDermott Quick Release Joints

So .... How have those flawed McDermott Quick Release joints hold up since the last post?
 
I love McDermott and the Quick Release Joint

I have/had several McDermott cues and my regular player for years has been a Knight with the QR joint. I break with it and bang it around in league play and it has held up for more than a decade. And I know that if I ever have a problem, McDermott will fix it in a week or two. McDermotts don't get a lot of love on this site but I think their products are great and their customer service is the best. Plus they will refinish McDermott cues to like new condition.
 
There are a lot of McDermott quick release cues in my area. I re-set one joint over the years. All others are still fine. I like it. I am also very appreciative of the communication I recieve when I contact the staff there. Very helpful and professional.
 
KJ Cues said:
Yes, I have done several conversions of this joint and would be happy to provide this service for you.
The pic will give you an idea of what the conversion's outcome looks like.
I do a thin-wall SS collar sleeved over phenolic with the Uni-QR pin set into the forearm.
This keeps the wght. of the cue and particularly the joint's wght. the same as it was before conversion.

View attachment 292823

KJ
Click to expand...

Um......Nevermind.
 
Mike,

If you've got something to say, please say it.
"Um......Nevermind." says pretty much nothing.
Is there some reasoning to your post ?
Some things we agree on, some we don't.
It's not the end of the world; it's life.

KJ
 
KJ Cues said:
Mike,

If you've got something to say, please say it.
"Um......Nevermind." says pretty much nothing.
Is there some reasoning to your post ?
Some things we agree on, some we don't.
It's not the end of the world; it's life.

KJ
Click to expand...


Nah. I'm good. Gonna take this can of worms and go fishing.
 
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