To tense and worried to play w/ Custom

be1163

be1163

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have had my new Custom now for a week and a half. When I play with it I'm so tense and worried about dropping it or hitting it against something that my play has gone hill fast.

I picked up a house cue the other night and played great with it. Then used the custom and back down to miss cueing and missing easy shots.

How can I learn to relax before the first dent gets in the cue? As anybody else ever had this problem?

And before all the smart A**es start........I'm keeping the cue and am not interested in trading for any nice house cues.

Regards.
 
A custom cue can either be a player or a collector's item -- not both. If you're going to play with it, you can't worry about all that stuff. Of course, keep it in the best condition you can away from the table and don't do stupid things like bang it against the table if you miss a shot, tap it hard against the ground, etc. Yes, you'll get some dings and scratches, BUT you'd have to abuse it to keep it away from easily restorable condition.
 
This reminds me of the time a friend of mine let me shoot with his brand new $7,000 Prewitt. He wanted me to try it out because he shoots with a real thin (11.x mm) shaft and thought I might like the feel of a thinner shaft.

So he gives me the cue to hit a few balls with, and all I can think of is not to drop it or ding it on the rail or do anything! I barely remember what the shaft was like because all that was going through my head was the value of the cue!

That being said, after you get over that uneasiness you'll shoot fine. For me using that particular cue I think the anxiety was the fact that it was someone else's cue and not my own.

I myself shoot with a custom, and I was a little timid at first but now when playing I don't even consider its value (either sentimental or financial) when shooting. If anything, I take a lot of pride in it and it makes playing more enjoyable because of that.

Of course, this post is completely meaningless if you play bar pool. If that's the case, keep that thing at home and bring a cheap sneaky pete!
 
Maybe it's just a case of getting used to a new cue. I know when I got my Schon last year (not a custom, but definitely different than my previous cue), several folks told me "You're going to get worse before you get better", just because it would take time to adjust to how a different cue hits.

Be patient, relax, and your game will recover. It takes longer than a week and a half to adjust, I'd think.
 
Unfortunately, I can't relate with what you're going through. I carry a case with close to $8000 tied up in 2 cues and a J/B and they are my battle gear. Yeah, they're beautiful and I don't "WANT" to ding them up or scratch the finish, but I bought them to use (well, and to admire, but USE is the #1 thing, here).

Actually, I had a bad accident with one of them. Freak thing... a cue ball flies off of the table next to me on the break at a tournament and hits one of my cues putting a huge dent in wood and finish a couple of inches below the joint. I continued to play with it, then a couple of weeks ago, sent it back to the maker for repair. Was I upset? Sure, but then again, I'd never seen that happen before and it WAS kinda funny, but still, it's just a piece of wood (well, about 80 pieces of wood actually, but still wood) that you use to hit a plastic ball. Granted, it's a well balanced, well fitted, superbly finished piece of wood, but still it wasn't like my dog died or something. If it makes it home in 2 pieces and not more, then it can be fixed.

BTW, I fish with fly rods that start at $1200 each and have for decades... a long time ago, I got used to the idea that they were a fishing tool and if they broke, well, they could be fixed, but I would use them for what they were intended. Maybe that carries over a little to my attitude about cues.

Later,
Bob
 
If your concern is that you put a lot of money into the cue and don't want to damage it, I would suggest maybe trading it for two less expensive cues that you like equally. That way, if one gets dinged up a bit, you still have the other as a standby while the first gets repaired.

After awhile, though, the newness of your cue should wear off and you should have no trouble playing with it, but be warned. With a good custom cue comes a greater potential for theft when shooting in unknown poolhalls. I frequently carry 6-10,000 worth of cues with me to trade/sell, etc., but when I go somewhere to shoot, they stay in the car until I can scope out the poolhall, and I don't go to the bathroom without them.

I am more worried about my cue walking away than I am about getting it dinged in the process of shooting with. The makers don't intend, in most cases, for their cues to be stored on a shelf and simply looked at. They are tools of the trade.
 
When it comes down to it, it's just a tool. If it's anything other than that to you, then perhaps you shouldn't be playing with it and get yourself something that you feel comfortable shooting with. It's apparent that you have a fair amount of money tied up in the cue, I'm sure that when you ordered it you wanted something you could be proud of, perhaps that means for you it's a piece of art, not a tool. If that's the case, you should treat it as such, and invest in a new tool.
 
Ah, don't worry about. When I got my Schon a good friend managed to run the metal stool he was sitting on into it. Just above the butt cap it put a couple of good deep marks in the finish. From there on out I no longer had to worry about keeping it pristene. There still there along with some other chips, 13 years later and I still haven't had it refinished. Worked for me.

Rod
 
My suggestion:

Go to the pool room, and put a ding in the shaft...no worries now.

My first custom it took me shooting 150 jump shots with it, until I finally was able to just let it go.
 
It's only human to worry about something that you value. I remember the first time I touched my Samsara I was scared to death to even take it out of the case.

Now I take it to bars to shoot with. I don't drink and keep an eye on it when I take it out with me (I'm not that stupid).

It takes time, and the effect will wear off. Once the cue is broken in, and feels right in your hands, you will forget about the price tag and forget about the shot.

I remember a few weeks ago a guy had the same cue case as mine. I was scared to death that he was going to take my case with my cues by accident, until I found out that his cue was worth well over $4,000 to my 1,800, and that he was the one who needed to worry! Not really, but just a way of looking at things.
 
It's Like A New Car

Just like that new car, you know somebody, somewhere, sometime is gonna put a ding on it. Man that hurts. When I buy a new car, the first thing I do is go out and put a ding on it. Done deal buddy. NO One is gonna beat me to it. I got fired up the other night and droped my cue 4 times. I think I will change after 10 beers from now on. JMHO
Purdman:cool:
 
When I got my first custom cue I was scared to play with it was well. It wasnt a high end custom ($1300 Phillippi) but still wasnt cheap. Someon knocked it over and put a teeny dent in the forearm. After that I forgot about it. Remember you can get it refinished to like new condition if it is really beat up.
 
Well I think you have learned an important lesson here. And that is, when you get a new [different] cue, it plays differently. And depending on the differences and how long you were playing with your old cue, it may take a few months to a year or two to re-learn how to play with your new cue.

The things which can change are...

-Weight of cue and this can goof up speed control - accurately shooting with an exact speed. And many cues are not the weight you may think they are. To find the REAL weight of cues, you need an accurate scale. I would recommend 19.5 oz for a playing cue. Weights can be adjusted in better cues with weight bolts. Be sure your cue maker is using an accurate scale as well.
Get accurate scale here...
(I got the KD200-110 which is more accurate with lesser weights)
http://www.scalesgalore.com/tanitakd200.htm

-Taper - pro or euro taper. Custom cues can have *any* taper you desire. A different taper will "feel different". Can take awhile to adjust to.

-Shaft diameter at tip. 11mm, 12mm, 13mm, etc. Can't use a dime shaped tip if diameter too large since edges of tip curve will go down to ferrule. A different diameter will "feel different". Can take awhile to adjust to.

-Tip. A new cue might have a different brand/type of tip, hardness of tip, and shape of tip (nickel, dime, quarter). This can change cue ball deflection with english shots - thus aiming might be off when using english.

-Deflection of shaft. Different cues have a different mass near the tip. This will make the cue ball deflect differently when using english.

My experience with switching to an entirely new cue is problems with aiming when using english mostly and then speed control if switching weight.

The thing to do NOW is find out what brand/hardness of tip you have on your new cue. And what shape it is (nickel, dime, quarter). Then when you need a new tip in the future, you can get the same thing and shape it to the same radius. If you keep it shaped to the same radius always, then when replacing the tip, the new tip will play the same as the old.
 
Purdman said:
Just like that new car, you know somebody, somewhere, sometime is gonna put a ding on it. Man that hurts. When I buy a new car, the first thing I do is go out and put a ding on it. Done deal buddy. NO One is gonna beat me to it. I got fired up the other night and droped my cue 4 times. I think I will change after 10 beers from now on. JMHO
Purdman:cool:
Click to expand...


I bought mine (car) with a small ding already it that baby. See, no problems. I think my cue may have some beer dings as well. I don't remember. LOL

Rod
 
Billy_Bob said:
-Tip. A new cue might have a different brand/type of tip, hardness of tip, and shape of tip (nickel, dime, quarter). This can change cue ball deflection with english shots - thus aiming might be off when using english.
Click to expand...

Could you go into more detail on this? Obviously you don't mean the size of the tip itself - i.e. a tip the size of a quarter would be, well, silly. Assume I have no clue about what you're talking here (because I don't :)).
 
ScottW said:
Could you go into more detail on this? Obviously you don't mean the size of the tip itself - i.e. a tip the size of a quarter would be, well, silly. Assume I have no clue about what you're talking here (because I don't :)).
Click to expand...

The curvature, or arc, of the tip when viewed from the side, matches the curvature of a coin... there's an arc that assures maximum contact with the cueball, but that varies depending upon the size of the cueball - generally smaller for snooker (e.g. a dime) than for pool (a nickel). I don't know, but would guess that a quarter sized arc is for 3 cushion billiards, or maybe the big ball used in some bar boxes?
 
Purdman said:
Just like that new car, you know somebody, somewhere, sometime is gonna put a ding on it. Man that hurts. When I buy a new car, the first thing I do is go out and put a ding on it. Done deal buddy. NO One is gonna beat me to it. I got fired up the other night and droped my cue 4 times. I think I will change after 10 beers from now on. JMHO
Purdman:cool:
Click to expand...

Purdman has this absolutely right. Scrimped & saved and bought the new BMW of my dreams - went to Germany to get it right from the factory door (this actually saves money believe it or not), but it still costs way more than any cue I'd ever own. I was terrified to even let out the clutch at first. Sooner or later though, like Joel in Risky Business you gotta just say "what the f***" and do it, or else put that baby in the garage (pool cue case) and what.... stare at it :confused:
That BMW has 3 or 4 typical parking lot quarter sized dings like everybody elses now, but what fun to drive it. You know, when I'm driving it I can't even see those little dings....

Go for the gusto, man. Play with the cue. It will accumulate dings. Why not just drop it on the rail right now and get the first one out of the way, then play. You know, when you're playing with it, you won't even see the dings....
 
Cardinal2B said:
The curvature, or arc, of the tip when viewed from the side, matches the curvature of a coin... there's an arc that assures maximum contact with the cueball, but that varies depending upon the size of the cueball - generally smaller for snooker (e.g. a dime) than for pool (a nickel). I don't know, but would guess that a quarter sized arc is for 3 cushion billiards, or maybe the big ball used in some bar boxes?
Click to expand...

Ahh, I see now. Makes perfect sense. Thanks. :)
 
Cane said:
Actually, I had a bad accident with one of them. Freak thing... a cue ball flies off of the table next to me on the break at a tournament and hits one of my cues putting a huge dent in wood and finish a couple of inches below the joint. I continued to play with it, then a couple of weeks ago, sent it back to the maker for repair. Was I upset? Sure, but then again, I'd never seen that happen before and it WAS kinda funny, but still, it's just a piece of wood (well, about 80 pieces of wood actually, but still wood) that you use to hit a plastic ball. Granted, it's a well balanced, well fitted, superbly finished piece of wood, but still it wasn't like my dog died or something. If it makes it home in 2 pieces and not more, then it can be fixed.
Click to expand...

That's funny you say that. My fist cue (Meucci) that I paid $500.00 for I treated the same way as this custom. I was actually breaking the rack with the cue standing at the end of the table and the same thing you said above happened. The cue ball jumped off the table hit the cue square in the middle of the wrap area and put a dent in the finish. I've played with it ever since and every shot I take I can feel the reminder of that day.
 
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