Ok i see a lot of ppl saying this. "the cue has a little tapper roll" what the hell are you talking about???? If you roll a shaft and it wobbles, its warped.. the tapper of the shaft should not effect how it rolls in any way..

so in any case its a f*@#ed up shaft..
Any cue I buy (hands on)...I prefer to look down the cue like a rifle barrel.
That tells you everything you need to know.
Most carom and snooker cues have a 'taper' roll because of their shape.
I had a friend in the 80's who used to fiddle with his cues with a file and
a piece of sandpaper. He was filing the joint of his snooker cue 'cause
the joint was a soft material and subject to wear....he made it straight
by eye and then rolled it...it was off...he fiddled with it some more and
it rolled crooked again.....he said "I swear I got it straight, the TABLE must
be crooked.....we all laughed at him.
He rolled it on another table and the cue rolled straight.
We stopped laughing at him.
He is now a fine cue maker.
I wouldn't want any taper roll on my shafts. I know it probably doesn't affect playability that much but it still sounds a little defective to me, and if I'm paying a good chunk of change for one, it better roll dead on.
Jake
so in any case its a f*@#ed up shaft..
 ...Yeah..sort of, for some but I think that's something I'd say for an actually warped shaft. On shafts I've had that you would say had a taper roll, most people wouldn't be able to tell by playing with them, that there was any imperfection but rolling them you would see the light showing change under the shaft without it bobbing up and down. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a cue I was interested in if I saw there was a taper roll as it doesn't really affect anything unless the taper transitions just didn't feel smooth to me and that would take a pretty large change in the taper. Most cues have a taper imperfection but if it's very noticeable when rolled then I would apply the taper roll term to it.
...Yeah..sort of, for some but I think that's something I'd say for an actually warped shaft. On shafts I've had that you would say had a taper roll, most people wouldn't be able to tell by playing with them, that there was any imperfection but rolling them you would see the light showing change under the shaft without it bobbing up and down. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a cue I was interested in if I saw there was a taper roll as it doesn't really affect anything unless the taper transitions just didn't feel smooth to me and that would take a pretty large change in the taper. Most cues have a taper imperfection but if it's very noticeable when rolled then I would apply the taper roll term to it. Any cue I buy (hands on)...I prefer to look down the cue like a rifle barrel.
That tells you everything you need to know.
Most carom and snooker cues have a 'taper' roll because of their shape.
I had a friend in the 80's who used to fiddle with his cues with a file and
a piece of sandpaper. He was filing the joint of his snooker cue 'cause
the joint was a soft material and subject to wear....he made it straight
by eye and then rolled it...it was off...he fiddled with it some more and
it rolled crooked again.....he said "I swear I got it straight, the TABLE must
be crooked.....we all laughed at him.
He rolled it on another table and the cue rolled straight.
We stopped laughing at him.
He is now a fine cue maker.
yes.. ok saying f#$%ed up is a little harsh i guess. but ppl talk about tapper roll beatting around what the real problem is .. it means something is wrong weather its out of round or what ever..
yes.. ok saying f#$%ed up is a little harsh i guess. but ppl talk about tapper roll beatting around what the real problem is .. it means something is wrong weather its out of round or what ever..

If you want your cue to be perfectly straight with no taper roll than you might never find a cue that meets your expectations. Wood is not a stable material and tends to warp and move due to environmental conditions. Even if it is "near" perfect when it leaves the shop in time it can change.
Mike...next time you check for a 'TAPER' roll.....
..stop rolling it over a 'tip TAPPER'...:smile:
pt..<..likes exactness in shafts and spelling
 ..  TAPER make you feel better????
..  TAPER make you feel better????This is very true, and I know that shafts are almost impossible to get completely perfect, and what I meant in my other comment which I should've made clearer is I want it as close as possible to perfect, and most the time you can't even notice the "taper roll" because its so minor. I guess its always gonna be there.
Jake
If the roll is going to effect you mentally while your playing then forget it.
For resale it might pose a problem.For me if the last 6 or 7 inches are straight and doesn't interfere in my stroke zone,I'm okay with with it,but any roll that is in that zone should be firewood or a break shaft.
 Shame to burn good maple.  You never know, it might be turned to a smaller diameter or shortened for a masse shaft.
   Shame to burn good maple.  You never know, it might be turned to a smaller diameter or shortened for a masse shaft. .
 .