Tip/Ferrule size - Smaller for what?

8Ball48043

8Ball48043

Addicted to the Sport
Silver Member
So, I've got a couple of guys at my local/friendly pool hall who want their cues turned down from the standard 13.00 mm to 12.00 or 12.25 mm.

My question is: What is the advantage of a smaller tip? Assuming that you are still playing on 9 foot tables with 2 1/4" balls.

Your thoughts on the matter are appreciated. Thanks.
 
8Ball48043 said:
So, I've got a couple of guys at my local/friendly pool hall who want their cues turned down from the standard 13.00 mm to 12.00 or 12.25 mm.

My question is: What is the advantage of a smaller tip? Assuming that you are still playing on 9 foot tables with 2 1/4" balls.

Your thoughts on the matter are appreciated. Thanks.
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A couple of thoughts come to mind:

A smaller tip might just "feel" better to them. I like a 12-12.5mm tip and i have shorter fingers.

Some believe you can go farther away from center with out miscuing with a smaller tip.

The smaller tip would have less end mass than a larger diameter tip that used the same materials for construction and would likely have lower squirt characteristics.
 
I shoot with a McDermott I-3 shaft with a tip diameter of 11.75". I like it because it gives me a sense of geometric precision where I strike the cue ball. A 13mm tip seems big to me. Perhaps it's just mental, but I like the thiner diameter.
 
My playing shafts are 11.75mm with a very short ferrule, much less deflection and an easier transition from my 9.75mm snooker shaft :P
Lots of players now asking me for shafts at 12mm or less with short ferrules.
 
You can get a little more action on the cue ball - that's what I think at least.
Just imagine hitting the cueball below center. Hit it with a standard 13mm and a smaller one. If you hit the exact same point your hit with the smaller tip will be less in the middle of the ball than with the bigger one.

But I don't really know, that's just what sounds logical to me - I don't play with those smaller tips as well.
 
It is a pretty general concensus that a smaller tip will allow for more spin or english on the cueball. This comes at a price as your accuracy will go down especially at first.
 
DoubleD said:
Shaft size does not impact amount of spin.
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I have to disagree from my own experience. I believe that a smaller shaft allows you to impart the same amount of force onto a smaller point on the cueball which results in more spin.
 
a review of the facts . . . .

victorl said:
I have to disagree from my own experience. I believe that a smaller shaft allows you to impart the same amount of force onto a smaller point on the cueball which results in more spin.
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Actually , neither the size of the tip or the curvature (nickle , dime , etc) effects the size of the contact patch on the cueball . Several years ago a study was made on this subject . results can be accessed below :

http://www.sfbilliards.com/jax_bd150.pdf
 
Much have been said that I agree with but their is actually one more thing and thats aiming, it´s actually (for some) easier to aim with smaller tip. I guess it´s the feel of a narrow tip that makes it even more accurate. Again - for some people. I myself don´t like´m to small, like 12.5 -12.75 is my usual size. I have played with 11.75 but... not for me.

Cheers

Chrippa
 
Take a cue with a 13.0 mm tip on it.

Trim the shaft down, replacing the ferrule and tennon, such that it becomes 12.0 mm, and put the same original tip back on it.

The only thing different with the hit of the new version of the shaft and the old version of the shaft is the end mass--and thus the CB deflection due to off center impacts. That is, trimming down the tip makes the shaft closer to a low deflection shaft.

{Caveats:: New ferrule and old ferrule weight the same, new taper is the same as the old taper, new tip IS the old tip,...}

ETA the weight will be lower, and the flexibility of the shaft will be greater
 
I recently went from a normal, to large (13-13.25mm) shaft to a smaller diameter (OB Classic Pro) shaft and noticed two things right away:

1. It's easier to see my cb target,

and,

2. The small shaft just feels more comfortable to me.


The comfort and accuracy go hand-in-hand though. A good analogy is that before I was trying to write with a thick permanent marker. Now it feels like I have a very nice, well-balanced pen in my hands, and my handwriting is much more effortless.


I believe you should fit the shaft diameter to your hand, and not your hand to the shaft. There are several great players that can do anything with a thicker (13+MM) tip that anybody with a smaller shaft can do.

Use what works for YOU!
 
Tip size.........

When I was first playing pool I had the same kind of loop bridge as most pros where the index finger overlaps the ring finger. With this loop having a 13mm tip cue restricted me from having a longer stroke because the diameter of the shaft got thicker as it slid through the loop which in turn forced my bridge loop to open up wider as I followed through. So I started tapering it down to a comfortable size that I really liked which ended up being 11.5-12mm. Smaller tips never made me more accurate or impart more action on the ball. As long as you KNOW where to strike the cue ball you will still be able to pull off the same things. For me tapering down to a smaller tip diamerter was strictly for comfort to MY preferences
 
I believe I can see more precisely where the tip is contacting the cb and that I can contact the cb lower and get more draw while using less force.
 
JimS said:
I believe I can see more precisely where the tip is contacting the cb and that I can contact the cb lower and get more draw while using less force.
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I subscribe to this also. Since gaining quite a bit of weight over the last several years and having short, stubby fingers to begin with, the smaller diameter is just easier to play with these days. I can play with 13mm but choose not to.
 
8Ball48043 said:
So, I've got a couple of guys at my local/friendly pool hall who want their cues turned down from the standard 13.00 mm to 12.00 or 12.25 mm.

My question is: What is the advantage of a smaller tip? Assuming that you are still playing on 9 foot tables with 2 1/4" balls.

Your thoughts on the matter are appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...
FYI, I have a good summary of all tip size and shape effects, along with supporting resources, here:

Check it out,
Dave
 
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