Mottey thread size question

[JoeW]

I have a 1987 Paul Mottey cue and I need to replace the Predator shaft. Someone told me the thread is 5/16 18 and I wanted to check with a knowledgeable person here to see if someone has a definitive answer before I buy a new shaft.

My old Z2 broke. A week ago the ferrule broke in half. I placed a Le Pro tip on the half ferrule (ala Bob Jewett’s ferrule less shaft) and it lasted for about a week. Cue has not played right with a half ferrule. I miscue more often than usual. Tonight the shaft split when I was making a medium hard shot with low right English.

Can’t really blame the cue I have thousands of hours of use in the cue and can’t complain. Things do wear out over time. Now I have to buy a new shaft but I think I will get the regular 314 not the Z. I have noticed that the Z has a lot of wiggle after the hit. Should not make any difference but I don’t like it so I will go the thicker shaft.

 

[Ktown D]

Most Motteys I have seen (and owned) have had a 5/16-14 thread. A 5/16-18 is a very fine thread (aka Meucci). Post a pic and I am sure you will get the correct answer.

 

[TheCueHunter]

I have a 1987 Paul Mottey cue and I need to replace the Predator shaft. Someone told me the thread is 5/16 18 and I wanted to check with a knowledgeable person here to see if someone has a definitive answer before I buy a new shaft.

My old Z2 broke. A week ago the ferrule broke in half. I placed a Le Pro tip on the half ferrule (ala Bob Jewett’s ferrule less shaft) and it lasted for about a week. Cue has not played right with a half ferrule. I miscue more often than usual. Tonight the shaft split when I was making a medium hard shot with low right English.

Can’t really blame the cue I have thousands of hours of use in the cue and can’t complain. Things do wear out over time. Now I have to buy a new shaft but I think I will get the regular 314 not the Z. I have noticed that the Z has a lot of wiggle after the hit. Should not make any difference but I don’t like it so I will go the thicker shaft.

First order of business, I LOVE the profile pic:thumbup: second, I have never seen a Mottey with a 5-16 18....Paul uses 5-16 14 if it has a pilot. I will say that his pilot can be tricky and not always fit some other 5-16 14 joints I've had. If I remember right the predators have very short pilots and I suspect that's because they are more apt to fit anything....I'd say you would be fine with the predator 5-16 14

 

[subdude1974]

First order of business, I LOVE the profile pic:thumbup: second, I have never seen a Mottey with a 5-16 18....Paul uses 5-16 14 if it has a pilot. I will say that his pilot can be tricky and not always fit some other 5-16 14 joints I've had. If I remember right the predators have very short pilots and I suspect that's because they are more apt to fit anything....I'd say you would be fine with the predator 5-16 14

Agree. I have seen Paul use just about every pin out there except for the 5/16x18 pin. I would bet it is a 14 pin. I have seen him use a flat face 14 before. But I am sure it is a piloted 14.

 

[Ktown D]

First order of business, I LOVE the profile pic:thumbup: second, I have never seen a Mottey with a 5-16 18....Paul uses 5-16 14 if it has a pilot. I will say that his pilot can be tricky and not always fit some other 5-16 14 joints I've had. If I remember right the predators have very short pilots and I suspect that's because they are more apt to fit anything....I'd say you would be fine with the predator 5-16 14

Agree. I have seen Paul use just about every pin out there except for the 5/16x18 pin. I would bet it is a 14 pin. I have seen him use a flat face 14 before. But I am sure it is a piloted 14.

Yeah, I agree too..... oh, I already said that.

 

[JoeW]

Thanks guys. I will post a photo tomorow.

 

[JC]

5/16 18 is a common size for industrial use. It's called 5/16 coarse. Bring your butt to a hardware store and try a nut on for size. If it's a 5/16 18 you will find a nut to screw on it in short order. If nothing they have fit's the thread pitch it's a 5/16 14 which is a specialty size "not found in nature". Then you can be confident which shaft to buy.

JC

 

[Chopdoc]

Post a pic, it will be obvious.

I have never seen an 18 thread Mottey, and I have seen a of of Motteys, I am from Pittsburgh.

That's a fairly early Mottey cue though, so I guess anything is possible. Being a custom cue, and a Mottey at that, I personally would prefer to have the shaft matched by a competent cue maker rather than buy "off the rack" anyway.

 

[JoeW]

Here is a picture of the Mottey thread.

I measured with a ruler and it appears to be seven threads per half inch.

Here is a picture of the Mottey cue. I bought it in 1992 for $600.00 from a player needing money and have used it nearly every day. Paul Refinished it in about 2005 and I dinged it about two weeks later. I taught at YSU for 25 years and last lived in Negley, Ohio before retiring to Florida. Negley, OH is 20 miles West of Beaver Falls, PA.

Thanks for all the help.

I am guessing it is a 5/16 - 14.

 

[ipoppa33]

I'm no expert but that looks like a 5/16-14 to me. If I owned that beautiful cue, I'd buy a predator partial shaft and have a cue maker match the ringwork and make the pilot fit really nice.

Good luck.

Stan

 

[rayjay]

Piloted 5/16x14. Have you tried the Mottey shafts?

 

[Chopdoc]

It's a 14 thread. I would get a cue maker to make up a shaft from a Predator blank or whatever kind of blank you want.

Such a cue deserves precise expert attention. After all, you are talking about the "business end" of the thing...have it done the best way possible IMHO.

 

[JoeW]

Piloted 5/16x14. Have you tried the Mottey shafts?

Yeah, and I really like them. They are as true today as the day I bought them. Unfortunately they have ivory ferrules and there is more deflection compared to a Predator Z2 shaft.

I also like the idea of keeping the original shafts for the grandchildren. One day they might make a few bucks or have a truly fine cue when they are old enough to appreciate one.

A friend has a Predator 314 second generation that I will test today to see how well it compares to the original Mottey shafts. Last time I compared to the Z shaft, the Z2 was substantially better.

My preference would be to use the Mottey shaft but I have to go with the results. No two ways about it Paul built great cues. If I were back in Ohio and he was working I might have him swap out the ivory ferrules and then see what I got.

Do I sound ambivalent - well I am.