Question about sneaky petes

alstl

alstl

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
First of all, I'll admit I know very little about cue making. I know that some very good cuemakers who are known for producing cues with excellent playability make sneaky petes along with their high end cues. My question is this: Do the sneaky petes have the same playability as the high end cues?
 
Sneakies

I've always played best with a "quality" sneaky pete. I had a Nitti that comes to mind. I like the way they hit and I seem to be more comfortable with them since they don't cost thousands and I don't spend a bunch of time worrying about accidentally dinging them. I make a lot of them and there are never any suprises. Being a hobby cue builder and lacking experience, I've put some wood combinations together in fancier cues that looked really cool but hit like crap.
 
PoolSleuth said:
Some feel Full Spliced Cues have the BEST Playability...
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Full splice meaning the points aren't inlays, they are spliced together with the forearm wood? (Told you I didn't know much about how cues are made)
 
alstl said:
First of all, I'll admit I know very little about cue making. I know that some very good cuemakers who are known for producing cues with excellent playability make sneaky petes along with their high end cues. My question is this: Do the sneaky petes have the same playability as the high end cues?
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There is no reason why any pro player can't win a world title with a sneaky pete.
I personally think they play better than thousands of dollars cues with ivory points/inlays and silver.
My playing cue now is a bocote sneaky. Hit's a fukkin ton and a half.
 
Sneaky Pete's are some of the best hitting cues money can buy. I have an Abe Rich sneaky that is one of the top 3 cues I have ever hit with. When you think about it a true sneaky is about as pure a hit as you can get. You can spend 2 to 3 hundred on a sneaky that will hit as good or better than most custom cues. IMO.
 
alstl said:
First of all, I'll admit I know very little about cue making. I know that some very good cuemakers who are known for producing cues with excellent playability make sneaky petes along with their high end cues. My question is this: Do the sneaky petes have the same playability as the high end cues?
Click to expand...

There is only one drawback to a Sneak Pete, they tend to be butt heavy. I like to make mine by cutting the butt off, about 3 1/3 " up from the bottom & then doweling up into the butt to lessen the weight. Then I drill out the piece that I cut off & slide it onto the dowel. This gives me less weight at the butt end & gives me a chance to put a deco ring, between the 2 pieces...JER
 
I'm a big fan of Sneakies but I have a question concerning some of the responses that Sneakies "HIT" better.

In some of the threads in the main forum the argument has been made that "HIT" has a lot more to do with the tip, the ferrule and the shaft than the butt.

So how is the Sneaky butt affecting "HIT"?

(I'm a newb to cuemaking too.)
 
BrooklynJay said:
I'm a big fan of Sneakies but I have a question concerning some of the responses that Sneakies "HIT" better.

In some of the threads in the main forum the argument has been made that "HIT" has a lot more to do with the tip, the ferrule and the shaft than the butt.

So how is the Sneaky butt affecting "HIT"?

(I'm a newb to cuemaking too.)
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If you equate cueball action as the "hit", then maybe no.
If you equate "hit" as how the cue feels when striking the cueball, the sneaky petes have one advantage over traditional 3-piece butts ( forearm, handle and buttsleeve ), they are full-spliced. No studs in between the handle and the forearm. Less chance for the vibration to get muffled.
 
BLACKHEARTCUES said:
There is only one drawback to a Sneak Pete, they tend to be butt heavy. I like to make mine by cutting the butt off, about 3 1/3 " up from the bottom & then doweling up into the butt to lessen the weight. Then I drill out the piece that I cut off & slide it onto the dowel. This gives me less weight at the butt end & gives me a chance to put a deco ring, between the 2 pieces...JER
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jer is right. they tend to be butt heavy but there are ways of making them play great just like each makers high end customs. just ask Keith Josey. that's what he's known best for. ;)
 
I'll tell you what got me to thinking about this topic. I saw a Scruggs sneaky pete on e-bay. I've never played with a Scruggs but a lot of people say the play great, and one of the reasons is the way he makes his ss piloted joint.

That's what made me wonder if a flat faced wood/wood jointed cue would play as good as his ss/piloted cues.

I'm very happy with my Schon but I wouldn't mind trying out a sneaky pete to compare.
 
alstl said:
I'll tell you what got me to thinking about this topic. I saw a Scruggs sneaky pete on e-bay. I've never played with a Scruggs but a lot of people say the play great, and one of the reasons is the way he makes his ss piloted joint.

That's what made me wonder if a flat faced wood/wood jointed cue would play as good as his ss/piloted cues.

I'm very happy with my Schon but I wouldn't mind trying out a sneaky pete to compare.
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Come up to Riverbend this coming Saturday (tomorrow, 12Aug) for our Gateway Amateur 9-Ball Tour Stop #11. I'll have a few cues on hand that I've built and that are being built now. We can put a face with a name and talk shop for a while.

Thanks and hope to see you there,
Zim
 
Zims Rack said:
Come up to Riverbend this coming Saturday (tomorrow, 12Aug) for our Gateway Amateur 9-Ball Tour Stop #11. I'll have a few cues on hand that I've built and that are being built now. We can put a face with a name and talk shop for a while.

Thanks and hope to see you there,
Zim
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I wasn't able to make it up there today, maybe another time. I talked to a kid a couple days ago who was using a jump cue of yours. It was working good for him, doing trick shots with it.
 
I personally like the hit of a sneaky more than anything. With scruggs most of the sneakies I've seen are piloted joints into a brass insert and no collar. There are some fancier ones with joint collars.

Personally I like a 3/8x10 flat face....Just seems to hit great.

~not a cuemaker, not a repairman, just a ball banger~
 
alstl said:
I'll tell you what got me to thinking about this topic. I saw a Scruggs sneaky pete on e-bay. I've never played with a Scruggs but a lot of people say the play great, and one of the reasons is the way he makes his ss piloted joint.

That's what made me wonder if a flat faced wood/wood jointed cue would play as good as his ss/piloted cues.

I'm very happy with my Schon but I wouldn't mind trying out a sneaky pete to compare.
Click to expand...


I personally can't stand the way steel plays. I love the big pin and big taper. A wood to wood joint is not going to play like steel at all.

Tony
 
Mystick Cue Fan said:
I personally can't stand the way steel plays. I love the big pin and big taper. A wood to wood joint is not going to play like steel at all.

Tony
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Please explain why. What is the difference in your opinion?
 
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