Uneven Chalk on Tip

T

TheBook

Ret Professional Goof Off
Silver Member
Will an uneven amount of chalk on a tip cause english and throw the cueball using a dead center hit on the cueball?

I have noticied that somtimes on straight in long shots (cueball about 18" from the object ball and OB at least 4 diamonds from pocket) it appears as if the cueball is throwing the object ball off line. This is on a shot that is using center ball hit. I have a really hard tip on my cue and the radius is not skewed. I am thinking that this may be caused by the tip not having an even amount of chalk on it because I do not chalk the tip after every shot and sometimes only when I have to put a lot of english on the shot. Is it possible that if there is a bare spot that the chalked area will act as if you are hittng the cueball off center?
 
TheBook said:
Will an uneven amount of chalk on a tip cause english and throw the cueball using a dead center hit on the cueball?

I have noticied that somtimes on straight in long shots (cueball about 18" from the object ball and OB at least 4 diamonds from pocket) it appears as if the cueball is throwing the object ball off line. This is on a shot that is using center ball hit. I have a really hard tip on my cue and the radius is not skewed. I am thinking that this may be caused by the tip not having an even amount of chalk on it because I do not chalk the tip after every shot and sometimes only when I have to put a lot of english on the shot. Is it possible that if there is a bare spot that the chalked area will act as if you are hittng the cueball off center?
Click to expand...
More than likely, you're not hitting center ball. There are tons of other possible reasons, but that would be my guess. Hitting center ball is not as easy as it sounds.

Also, if you really think that uneven chalking might be the issue, and you know you don't chalk after every shot, why not just change your pre-shot routine to include chalking the cue after every shot? Seems like a simple solution to eliminating a variable to me....

-djb
 
Good question...

I was playing in a tournament Saturday, and in shooting
the last ball before the 8, I thinned it too much, and the
cue goes running down table half behind one of my opponents
balls. The 8 was 3/4's of the way down table almost a
straight shot. Being that the match was close, if my opponent
won this game, it might cause the tide to flow in his direction.
I am currently using a Scorpion jumper, and I had just recently
sanded the tip down in the center to make the tip flatter on top.
I chalked good, got down on the cue, and walaa ... I hit the shot
and made the 8. Even my opponent expressed surprise that I
made it. Making the 8 kept the match going in my direction,
of which I won. Later on in another match, I happened to notice
the tip of my jump stick, and it was bare in the center. I tried
to chalk it, but it wasn't holding any chalk in the center. I lightly
tip picked it, and again chalked it. It has a very hard leather tip
on it. I had never noticed this before I sanded the tip flatter on top,
so my question is: When tips have a flatter surfaces, do they lose
some of their ability for chalk to stick to them, and how much will
this affect shots?
Oh, and I won the tournament ... lol Handicapped 8 ball with 6 9's,
1 8, and 1 7 in it. The turnout was dissapointing (32 entry
tournament), but we all had a good time since most are friends
anyway.
 
TheBook said:
Will an uneven amount of chalk on a tip cause english and throw the cueball using a dead center hit on the cueball?
Click to expand...


Probably not. I've hit a number of new cues with completely unchalked tips to test them and balls can be made ONLY if you hit dead center ball and put a good roll on it. If there's even a hair of off center contact it'll either put squirt on the CB or you'll miscue entirely. If throw is involved, it's because you hit off center and the tip DID catch enough to spin the CB to produce throw.

However, this is where an uneven amount of chalk on a glazed tip or possibly an even amount of chalk on a glazed tip can cause squirt with some squirrelly shots taking place if you happen to hit slightly off center or come in at an angle on the CB. KEEP THE TIP ROUGHED each time before you play. I'm not one who believes that you should leave the tip alone. I do leave it alone once the radius is where I want it, but not for roughness.

Get a Rempe or Elephant training ball to see if you hit off center, AND the 3rd eye stroke trainer by Joe Tucker is a GREAT gadget to make certain that you also aim and stroke to dead center ball. BUY ONE!! (and rough up a glazed tip as well as chalk after every shot)
 
DoomCue said:
More than likely, you're not hitting center ball. There are tons of other possible reasons, but that would be my guess. Hitting center ball is not as easy as it sounds.

Also, if you really think that uneven chalking might be the issue, and you know you don't chalk after every shot, why not just change your pre-shot routine to include chalking the cue after every shot? Seems like a simple solution to eliminating a variable to me....

-djb
Click to expand...


I agree with you on this and basically was trying to enforce the reason to chalk after every shot no matter how easy simple it is. Sometimes we just get caught up in the flow and don't want to take the time to apply chalk and we then end up missing.
 
DoomCue said:
Also, if you really think that uneven chalking might be the issue, and you know you don't chalk after every shot, why not just change your pre-shot routine to include chalking the cue after every shot?
Click to expand...
I always thought it was more important to chalk the cue before a shot rather than after a shot. :cool:
 
DoomCue said:
More than likely, you're not hitting center ball. There are tons of other possible reasons, but that would be my guess. Hitting center ball is not as easy as it sounds...
Click to expand...
Being off by .05" or about a tenth of a tip will throw the object ball around a degree for a pure stun shot, or even if there is a little bit of top/bottom on the cueball. This is about an inch of sideways movement for every 57" of travel. You need a little over four-tenths of natural roll (or reverse natural roll, ie. draw) to reduce the throw to about half of this. Surprisingly, three-tenths of natural roll doesn't make much difference, you still get nearly a degree of throw.

Jim
 
TheBook said:
Will an uneven amount of chalk on a tip cause english and throw the cueball using a dead center hit on the cueball?

I have noticied that somtimes on straight in long shots (cueball about 18" from the object ball and OB at least 4 diamonds from pocket) it appears as if the cueball is throwing the object ball off line. This is on a shot that is using center ball hit. I have a really hard tip on my cue and the radius is not skewed. I am thinking that this may be caused by the tip not having an even amount of chalk on it because I do not chalk the tip after every shot and sometimes only when I have to put a lot of english on the shot. Is it possible that if there is a bare spot that the chalked area will act as if you are hittng the cueball off center?
Click to expand...

honestly,,,,i believe you're overthinking. you might be the type of person who requires knowledge of this sort in order to play well, however, if you are not, then i feel that thinking about things like this will hurt you more than help.

have you seen the way oliver orttman digs into his chalk?
 
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