Smaller tip diameter makes you more focused?

Kim Bye

Kim Bye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I usually play with a shaft with a 12.5mm tip, but recently i have played with some shafts with a 11.75mm tip diameter and i seem to play alot better with a smaller diameter tip.
I tend to be more conscious about how much spin i apply and it`s almost like i have a "bigger" cueball.
Any one else with similar experiences?
 
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While I also now prefer 11.75, back in the 70's the pro standard was 14mm. Didn't seem to hinder the top players back then. I can jump back and forth from 11.75 to 13mm with no loss of accuracy, skill or confidence...I just happen to "prefer" the smaller tip now.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
 
My cue is a Schon with a McDermott I-3 shaft (11.75mm tip diameter) with a Moori Soft tip. I get the feel of accuracy and geometric precision where I hit the cue ball. The cue ball doesn't always do what I would like it to do, but generally obeys on occasion. I have always preferred a small tip diameter.
 
Yepp, Its "bigger!"


I looooove shooting an 11.75 tip shaft. so much so, That all of my player cues now have an 11.75 shaft available to play.

CB does appear bigger,(I'm puttin the brakes on there!) :grin-square:
 
Years ago, Cigar Tom Vanover used to shoot with a shaft that looked like it was about the diameter of a No. 2 pencil. I've never seen anything like it since.

The funny thing about it was that in the State of Maryland, Cigar Tom is held in extremely high regard and considered one of Maryland's finest. He used to work in a pool room called Running Out in Dundalk, Maryland. We went to visit his pool room many years ago when Cigar Tom was in his prime, and the majority of the "regulars" in this pool room had shafts the same diameter as Cigar Tom's. :grin-square:

Must be something to it. Cigar Tom is a champion. :cool:

Picture taken at 1986 Maryland State Championship at Champion's in Silver Spring, MD.
 

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oldplayer said:
is it possible to get the predator shaft to that size?
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Yes. Predator makes the Z2.
McDermott has the i3
OB cues makes OB 2 and OB pro
Lucasi makes the Hybrid zero slim
Jacoby has their The Edge shaft.
Tiger makes the X-pro
It`s probeably others that make 11.75mm shafts, but the ones i listed are readily available in the common thread patterns.

Wich one is best? I have NO idea, i have only tested the i3, Z2 and OB2.
The Lucasi shaft seems to be great value at only $170 and if it`s good enough for Thorsten Hohmann, it`s plenty good enough for us bangers :)
 
Scott Lee said:
While I also now prefer 11.75, back in the 70's the pro standard was 14mm. Didn't seem to hinder the top players back then. I can jump back and forth from 11.75 to 13mm with no loss of accuracy, skill or confidence...I just happen to "prefer" the smaller tip now.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

I've still have one of those 14mm shafts from the early 70's. It was okay on a bar box back then. Now I also play with a Z2 and their not all 11.75. I have two and one is smaller then the other by .007. Doesn't seem like much but it is to me. As far as the focus factor I would agree you need to know exactly where you cue up on the whitey.
 
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Scott Lee said:
While I also now prefer 11.75, back in the 70's the pro standard was 14mm. Didn't seem to hinder the top players back then. I can jump back and forth from 11.75 to 13mm with no loss of accuracy, skill or confidence...I just happen to "prefer" the smaller tip now.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

Scott I've always been curious as to what your skill level is. Where would you rate it at?
 
McDermott also makes the G-Core shaft, which comes in all three sizes...13, 12.5, & 11.75mm

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

Kim Bye said:
Yes. Predator makes the Z2.
McDermott has the i3...
OB cues makes OB 2 and OB pro
Lucasi makes the Hybrid zero slim
Jacoby has their The Edge shaft.
Tiger makes the X-pro
It`s probeably others that make 11.75mm shafts, but the ones i listed are readily available in the common thread patterns.

Wich one is best? I have NO idea, i have only tested the i3, Z2 and OB2.
The Lucasi shaft seems to be great value at only $170 and if it`s good enough for Thorsten Hohmann, it`s plenty good enough for us bangers :)
Click to expand...
 
I have been using the Z shaft for 6 years. I fell the smaller tip allows me to be more precise controlling whitey. At the end of the day, I do not believe there is enough difference for the majority of us to make a difference to our level of play.
I think that the tip shape has a bigger factor on the amount of spin and control that is transferred to the cue ball. The focused contact of the tip on the cue ball in a smaller point at compression, in theory, results in more spin.
Just my opinion. Good thread.:thumbup2:
 
Kim Bye said:
I usually play with a shaft with a 12.5mm tip, but recently i have played with some shafts with a 11.75mm tip diameter and i seem to play alot better with a smaller diameter tip.
I tend to be more conscious about how much spin i apply and it`s almost like i have a "bigger" cueball.
Any one else with similar experiences?
Click to expand...

Remember in every shot you will have a squirt (SQ) (CB deflects from its original path), and swerve (SW) (CB curves), depending on the distance between CB & OB, and speed of the shot, your bridge, and stroking, the SQ and SW vary, with small tip, you get a lot of SW, less of SQ, with larger tip the opposite. As CB gets near a rail, good luck with SW using small tip.

Every cue, every tip plays different, add the table, table cloth, humidity factor, then, a whole new adjustment needed. Learn how to adjust.

Good luck.
 
Break Cue

Gonna try this out today....but sharpen it even more and see.
 

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I like small tips. try a snooker cue on the pool table when you have a chance- lots of fun lol
 
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