Question: Longevity of 3/8 - 10 steel pin into threaded wooden shaft

T

tk123456789

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hello,

I had a general question about the strength and longevity of cues that are made with steel 3/8 - 10 pins that fit into a threaded wooden shaft. In other words, the butt has a male 3/8 pin and the shaft has a female threaded wooden hole.

I recently purchased a new Andy Gilbert cue and it hits great. It does however have the steel 3/8 - 10 pin into a female wooden shaft. It also has an ivory joint. I have been playing with a 5/16 - 14 steel into steel joint for years and I never questioned it's strength over the years.

My concerns are that over the years the threaded wood inside the shaft will wear out and the shaft will be loose and not straight after years and years of taking the cue apart and putting it back together.

Does anyone have any feedback on this? Should I return or sell the cue and stick to the steel pins?
 
I have a sneaky Pete with 3/8 10 pin into wood threads. Probably 20-30 years old though I can't say how much it's been used, but a decent amount by the looks of it. the threads are still great, although over time the wood in the threads has swollen a little so they became very tight. Took a drill bit through the center and reamed it out a little and used some wax on them and it it's screws together great now. Wood threads seem to hold tighter, my steel thread cues loosen up while playing sometimes. Don't cross thread or over tighten and shouldn't have a problem
 
Mike Zuglan was playing with a '73 Joss...steel pin into threaded wood.
I was expressing concern for this system...so he had me hit with his cue
which was 25 years old at the time.....it was tight like a new cue.

However, owning one of these is like owning a car with a standard shift..
...do not lend it to someone who is careless.

If I lend my Danbuilt, I put it together first.
 
tk123456789 said:
Hello,

I had a general question about the strength and longevity of cues that are made with steel 3/8 - 10 pins that fit into a threaded wooden shaft. In other words, the butt has a male 3/8 pin and the shaft has a female threaded wooden hole.

I recently purchased a new Andy Gilbert cue and it hits great. It does however have the steel 3/8 - 10 pin into a female wooden shaft. It also has an ivory joint. I have been playing with a 5/16 - 14 steel into steel joint for years and I never questioned it's strength over the years.

My concerns are that over the years the threaded wood inside the shaft will wear out and the shaft will be loose and not straight after years and years of taking the cue apart and putting it back together.

Does anyone have any feedback on this? Should I return or sell the cue and stick to the steel pins?
Click to expand...
First, nothing lasts forever and the shaft is an expendable part of the cue. Having said that, the 3/8x10 pin into wood has a very long history of being reliable and lasting a long time trouble free. I have a
Mc Dermott I got around 1980 with the original shaft. My wife used that cue for many years and the shaft is still fine.
 
tk123456789 said:
Hello,

I had a general question about the strength and longevity of cues that are made with steel 3/8 - 10 pins that fit into a threaded wooden shaft. In other words, the butt has a male 3/8 pin and the shaft has a female threaded wooden hole.

I recently purchased a new Andy Gilbert cue and it hits great. It does however have the steel 3/8 - 10 pin into a female wooden shaft. It also has an ivory joint. I have been playing with a 5/16 - 14 steel into steel joint for years and I never questioned it's strength over the years.

My concerns are that over the years the threaded wood inside the shaft will wear out and the shaft will be loose and not straight after years and years of taking the cue apart and putting it back together.

Does anyone have any feedback on this? Should I return or sell the cue and stick to the steel pins?
Click to expand...
Unless you're abusive, the threads should last a lifetime.
 
tk123456789 said:
Hello,

I had a general question about the strength and longevity of cues that are made with steel 3/8 - 10 pins that fit into a threaded wooden shaft. In other words, the butt has a male 3/8 pin and the shaft has a female threaded wooden hole.

I recently purchased a new Andy Gilbert cue and it hits great. It does however have the steel 3/8 - 10 pin into a female wooden shaft. It also has an ivory joint. I have been playing with a 5/16 - 14 steel into steel joint for years and I never questioned it's strength over the years.

My concerns are that over the years the threaded wood inside the shaft will wear out and the shaft will be loose and not straight after years and years of taking the cue apart and putting it back together.

Does anyone have any feedback on this? Should I return or sell the cue and stick to the steel pins?
Click to expand...
There is a cue maker out in the "Southwest" that has been using ⅜ x 10 into wood for a pretty long time without any real problem. Ditto with some Scottish sounding guy that makes cues pretty good, Mac-something if memory serves.
 
It should last your lifetime and probably the lifetime of your children. I have a couple that are over 20 years old.
 
Nothing to fret about. Your pin to wood will last a long time. 3/8ths x10 is my pin of preference as well as many others. Some prefer the Radial pin.

I am almost sure that the maker would have treated the inside of the shaft with CA glue or something to make it more durable.

Over the years, should the shaft loosen up or you accidentally tear a thread or 2 out, it is easily fixable by using a maple plug or other wood, boring and re tapping for the pin.

If the shaft should end up with a little play in it, one of the ways to fix it is to pour in a little water and let it sit for a short bit. This will cause the threads to hopefully expand and tighten up the fit. Apply a coating of glue and the shaft should be as good as new.

The worst case is to plug the shaft.

But absolutely no need to sell your cue at this moment over worrying of what may happen in the future.

But as Paul mentioned, if you are of the mind to allow someone to play with it, you be the one to screw the cue together as people can be serious tools
when it comes to even the simplest of tasks as screwing a cue together.

Have fun with it, they hit real nice.
 
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if it ever wears out just get a phenolic plug put in , then it will outlive you.
 
My oldest cue is a 1990 Southwest with the 3/8 X 11 pin into wood shaft. Even after 24 years it feels tight while screwing it on. I have a brand new SW shaft that I rarely used and obviously this shaft feels a lot tighter than my 24 year old original shafts, but the originals don't feel lose at all.
 
Hey thanks for all the informative posts! I guess I was just surprised since I thought most cues had the metal on metal joints.

I also seem to think that a lot of the older cue makers like Balabushka, Szamboti, etc. seem to use a metal on metal joint and those cues are still being used for play today.

I will just need to get used to it and stop worrying.

Thanks again for all the posts!
 
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