Short Ivory Ferrules

[dakota]

I am having a new cue built by Mike Bender and I am curious to get feedback and opinions on the subject of Ivory ferrules. I am considering having my cue built with SHORT ivory ferrules. I believe Bender does 1" ivory ferrules and I am thinking about requesting either 3/4" or 5/8" ivory ferrules instead of the full length. I have played with a few shorter ferrules and seem to like the hit a little better and it seems to reduce the deflection of the cue somewhat.

Here are my questions if anyone has an answer or wants to share their opinions on the subject.

Should the shorter ferrules reduce deflection?

Will there be any negative impact by using shorter ferrules?

Do you think if this is done by the cuemaker, versus a modification, that this will hurt resale of the cue if I ever decide to sell the cue in the future?

Thanks,

Dakota

 

[bruin70]

the TYPE of ferrule material will affect deflection more than its length. the harder the ferrule, the more deflection....ivory is hard.

i am guessing there are two ways to shorten the ferrule. 1...cut the cap, which in your case would mean tenon through(ie the wood of the shaft is exposed at the tip). 2...shorten the thread. i don't know how this would affect the stability of the ferrule on the tip.
i can tell you that i did, in fact, have an ivory ferrule cut to expose the tenon. it felt harder. the reason it felt harder was because with the exposed tenon, i could fell the hit more. there's no way it could have possibly been made harder because ivory was eliminated and the exposed wood was softer. it only FELT harder.

i don't think resale is affected. a ferrule is a ferrule. there's no magic construction there from cuemaker to cuemaker. but i guess there would be some value to say "all original".

 

[SpiderWeb]

Ferrules

I am having a new cue built by Mike Bender and I am curious to get feedback and opinions on the subject of Ivory ferrules. I am considering having my cue built with SHORT ivory ferrules. I believe Bender does 1" ivory ferrules and I am thinking about requesting either 3/4" or 5/8" ivory ferrules instead of the full length. I have played with a few shorter ferrules and seem to like the hit a little better and it seems to reduce the deflection of the cue somewhat.

Here are my questions if anyone has an answer or wants to share their opinions on the subject.

Should the shorter ferrules reduce deflection?

Will there be any negative impact by using shorter ferrules?

Do you think if this is done by the cuemaker, versus a modification, that this will hurt resale of the cue if I ever decide to sell the cue in the future?

Thanks,

Dakota

You can go from 5/8 to 1" ferrules without a problem, but your shafts will have to be cut shorter if you do it later.

 

[tedkaufman]

If you reduce mass at the tip, theoretically, you should see less deflection. I had a lengthy discussion with Royce, maker/designer of OB-1 shafts, and he explained to me the reason he chooses to manufacture a laminated wood ferrrule was to save weight at the tip. He said wood was lighter (even laminated wood) than any ferrule material he found and a lighter ferrule reduced deflection.

Therefore, it stands to reason, if you reduce the ferrule size, you should reduce deflection also. I don't know if this will bring any practical advantage, but, at least in theory, it should deflect less with a smaller (lighter) ferrule.

As for how it might impact the cue's value, I would think not much, if any. It would be easy for any competent cuemaker to put a longer ferrule on a shaft that started with a shorter one. Going the other way, however, would necessitate shortening the shaft, which could impact the cue's value.

 

[TheBook]

I like a 1" ferrule because it will help me line up a shop. The 1" plus tip is around 1 1/8 to 1 1/4 and close to 1/2 the dia of the CB. Using this it will give a spot on the table to shoot the center of the CB to when using the cue to line up a tough shot.

 

[Bob Jewett]

...
Should the shorter ferrules reduce deflection?

Will there be any negative impact by using shorter ferrules?

...

Yes, the lower end mass will result in less squirt.

In my experience, short ivory ferrules split. You might be more careful with your cue than I am. Also, you might not play as many artistic shots.

 

[bruin70]

like bob said.

personally, i don't thit the cb hard and play mostly 14.1, so i never experienced a cracked ferrule. if you hit the cb heavy, then it's something to consider.