shaft vaiance

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Foolurself

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What do you,as a professional,consider acceptable variation in shaft weights on a set of shafts for a new custom cue? P.S.Mistakenly posted on main forum initially
 
Anything greater than a 2.0 oz difference is bothersome to me as a seller of cues. From what I have learned, about a 1.0 oz difference is commonly accepted as a standard. Most of the time the makers whose cues I sell pair the shafts up within a gram or two...which to me, indicates a higher level of craftsmanship AND, probably, a good number of shafts to select from.

What I have found throughout my life as a player is that I use one of the cue's shafts 99% of the time, so the weight of the second shaft isn't quite as crucial as it seems. YMMV.

Martin


Foolurself said:
What do you,as a professional,consider acceptable variation in shaft weights on a set of shafts for a new custom cue? P.S.Mistakenly posted on main forum initially
Click to expand...
 
So, if the shafts are matched up, what then is the reason to have two? I have been wodering this for a while. Is the reason for two shafts simple to provide a second simular shaft in case the first needs service? Or should the customer have two distincly different shafts in case the first is not shooting the way they want. I have seen players swop out shaft or even whole cues when play isn't going their way.

thanks, Jimbo.
 
Mc2 said:
So, if the shafts are matched up, what then is the reason to have two? I have been wodering this for a while. Is the reason for two shafts simple to provide a second simular shaft in case the first needs service? Or should the customer have two distincly different shafts in case the first is not shooting the way they want. I have seen players swop out shaft or even whole cues when play isn't going their way.

thanks, Jimbo.
Click to expand...

I believe that both shafts should be identical. You want the cue to play as close as possible with either shaft so shaft so that while one is having maintenance done the other is available for use and when the main playing shaft is wore out you have an identical one to use to clone.

I've had people have me make the shafts different sizes but i can't see the reasoning behind it.

Dick
 
I try to hold them within a 1/10 of an ounce if the customer wants them matching. Sometimes they just want the two tightest grain shafts I have and don't care about the weight. They might use the lighter of the two for small table play and the heavier for large table play. I once bought a Schon that had 7 shafts. 3 13mm and one 12, 12.5 and 12.75 and 13.5. So I say give them what they want as best as you can. Many want one shaft full 13mm and one slightly smaller so they can really decide what they like best.
Chris
www.hightowercues.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
 
A good player will have a problem with noticeable weight difference. Here's what my thoughts....

0.1 oz difference is OK
0.2 oz difference is OK, but marginally
0.3 oz or more is NOT OK (if I was to receive this new from a cuemaker, it would most certainly be coming back)
 
i think 1 oz. is way to much difference myself.1/2 oz. is the most i would be comfortable with and i wouldn't be too crazy about that.most nice cues i buy are with 4-5 grams of each other.
 
Thanks for the help,so taking my question a bit further; on really heavy shafts(4.35 oz+) with tight grain would .25 oz be acceptable considering the quality of the wood.I think(?) that the heavier shaft at 4.6 oz is a bit rare to get now.
 
Foolurself said:
Thanks for the help,so taking my question a bit further; on really heavy shafts(4.35 oz+) with tight grain would .25 oz be acceptable considering the quality of the wood.I think(?) that the heavier shaft at 4.6 oz is a bit rare to get now.
Click to expand...

Why is it rare? Using the same shaft blank you can make it into a finished shaft with up to a 1.5 oz. difference in weight just by the taper you put on. An insert adds about .4 oz. over a wood thread. Most Schmelke shafts probably weigh 4.5 to 5 oz. Do you consider them good shafts? I'm not trying to knock your shafts but just explaining why weight alone is not the ultimate consideration in the choice of a quality shaft. A great piece of Maple with a Meucci taper may weigh an ounce less than a sub-par piece with a Schmelke taper.

Using the same size shaft and taper, I try to keep both shafts under a .1 oz. difference. I never use two shafts with a difference of over .2 oz. I turn all my shaft blanks in increments and stop at 13.5mm and let them hang until needed. Since they all have the same taper at this stage, I get two shafts that weigh closely the same and then put on the deco-rings, ferrules and then make the final pass. My shaft machine leaves the shafts very smooth so very little sanding needs to be done so the final tapers are very similar on both shafts when finished.

Dick
 
rhncue said:
Why is it rare? Using the same shaft blank you can make it into a finished shaft with up to a 1.5 oz. difference in weight just by the taper you put on. An insert adds about .4 oz. over a wood thread. Most Schmelke shafts probably weigh 4.5 to 5 oz. Do you consider them good shafts? I'm not trying to knock your shafts but just explaining why weight alone is not the ultimate consideration in the choice of a quality shaft. A great piece of Maple with a Meucci taper may weigh an ounce less than a sub-par piece with a Schmelke taper.

Using the same size shaft and taper, I try to keep both shafts under a .1 oz. difference. I never use two shafts with a difference of over .2 oz. I turn all my shaft blanks in increments and stop at 13.5mm and let them hang until needed. Since they all have the same taper at this stage, I get two shafts that weigh closely the same and then put on the deco-rings, ferrules and then make the final pass. My shaft machine leaves the shafts very smooth so very little sanding needs to be done so the final tapers are very similar on both shafts when finished.

Dick
Click to expand...
Actually it is obviously not rare but you busted my chops for being stupid enough to post this question.You saw right through my secret plan to buy up all the Meucci and Schmelke shafts though,you clever rascal.
 
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