Yes, I likes them too, even on the 5/16 pin. I do have to agree that the 3/8 without rings is very risky, seen the results myself also, and they will blow out in a heartbeat due to the thin wall, But in all fairness, I have seen them hold up also. the sneakies I am doing, I am thinning the butt sections out quite a bit, so the 3/8 is too big for me, but I have seen some thick, dense house cues, that if not trimmed too much, may be alright with one installed.
personally if I used a sneaky design for actual play, it would be because I like the feel, and not so it looks like a common house cue, so the rings would not bother me, and is the way I would prefer them. even a very thin phenolic or other good material would do a world of good.5/16 seems the way to go on those for the most part. Back in the day I remember alot of people using the meucci sneakies, they were very popular, and basically were just 5/16x18 pin. IMO & from what I saw, they were some of their best shooting cues at the time it seemed. We sold a used one to a guy over ten years ago, and he still shoots with it today, he could have a nicer cue, but still chooses It, does pretty good with it too. My father just picked a purple heart up by a custom maker with a uni-loc, and I shot with it tonight, felt really good, and easy to switch to from another cue also.
I have not shot with the 5/16x14 in a sneaky, and I'm caught between using them or the 18 pins. Be interested in hearing any opinions on the best between those pins in sneakies. I would probably prefer the coarser in most cases these days, but wonder how much difference there would really be in a sneaky?
Muxy,
I think macguy hit on an important part that will make quite a bit difference in price for your situation. the "finish" - there may be other ways, but the only way I know to match a sneaky up close would be using another shaft to get a close diameter, and the cuemaker would have to be dead perfect with installation. otherwise, and most likely anyway, no matter how slight, there will probably be some sanding or trimming involved to match the pieces up due to the loss of material from the cutting blade width, incured from cutting it in two pieces. which would require a refinish in most cases, unless, like he said, the customer was not worried about it. if it's a nice cue, with a nice finish, and you want to keep that, then i would think to atleast count in the cost of refinishing the joint area if not more of the cue then that. That will also take more time to do. Just My opinion of something to consider with this. Good luck with it. Greg