What Cue Specs do you prefer?

jlrowe said:
@surffisher2a I definitely would choose a 3/8x10 over the radial. Radial needs more torque to tighten and more than once I have had one loosen up on me in play. Even better if you want more vibration feedback in the butt go with a 3/8x10 modified.
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All of my ivory joint cues are 3/8x10 & 3/8x11, except for my TS cue that uses a radial pin.
I actually think the radial tightens better & I’ve never had any issues with my Scruggs cue.

As far as feel, there other variables involved & the pin is just one of several that affect this.
But the big pins are so similar, even with different metallurgy like mine are, it’s indiscernible.
 
surffisher2a said:
Still trying to find my perfect playing cue. I been trying a few over the past few years and can't find the perfect combination of what I want.

#1 -- I know I like the Revo Shaft 12.4 with WVP tipped with an ultra skin medium. I got that part nailed down.

The problem is finding the exact butt to go with it.

I know i like either 18.5 or 19oz

It needs to have a quick release bumper so that I can put a rear extension on quick during a game.

First I am starting off with the joint / pin. I want either a radial or 3/8 X 10 pin. I want an implex (or similar) wood to wood joint, i don't like the stainless steel joints on the cue.

I like a soft textured leather wrap, I do not like the fancy lizard skins and etc. Irish linen is pretty good but I still prefer the leather. I tried no wrap for a bit and never really liked it.

As for looks, I like an older style look but nothing too fancy or flashy. I must have points on the cue, preferably multi color outlines on the points. 4 - 6- or 8 points is fine, although some of the 8 points start looking too fancy for me.

Been looking at a lot of Jacoby cues that seem to check a lot of my boxes, but havn't found that one I just gotta have just yet. Plus i need to make sure the revo shaft fits flush at the joint. That drove me nuts on an older cue where the revo was just a tad bigger on the joint diameter.
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You talked about matching the right butt to your Revo shaft and mentioned it’s diameter but not the shaft weight.
That’s important since you also wanted the cue to play 18.5 x19.0 ozs. So the shaft weight needs to be deducted
from the playing weight you want. That tells you what butt weight range you need to look for to hit 18.5 -19.0 ozs.
 
jlrowe said:
Yep, old Blue Mtn. was great. Thank Bill Stroud for that!(y)
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Bill Stroud was involved in the creation of Penn linen, according to him. In fact, in a thread here, Bill claimed to have invented Penn linen.

I have never heard anything to indicate that Bill had anything to do with Blue Mountain linen, though anything is possible. Do you know this for a fact, with any reference?

All the best,
WW
 
I don't much care about weight, balance, the "hit", looks, etc.

Give me a snooker-size tip with the lowest possible squirt, a conical taper for stiffness, a hard tip that doesn't need a lot of attention (in other words, the cue I've had for 20+ years) and I'm good.

pj
chgo
 
WildWing said:
Bill Stroud was involved in the creation of Penn linen, according to him. In fact, in a thread here, Bill claimed to have invented Penn linen.

I have never heard anything to indicate that Bill had anything to do with Blue Mountain linen, though anything is possible. Do you know this for a fact, with any reference?

All the best,
WW
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Yes what i understand is Blue Mtn. manufactured Bills version of Cortland.


In the 1970's when I heard they were going out of business because Dacron line was better for Commercial fishing I contacted Blue Mountain to get a replacement.

The Courtland line was cable layed. That meant that all 6 strands were twisted at the same time. One strand was light green.

Blue Mountain could not produce the cable layed linen so we came up with a compromise. We used 3 twisted pairs with one strand of one pair green.

That accounts for the different appearance. The Flax that is the background of the linen varies from year to year so the color could be lighter or darker.

I placed the first order for 500 lbs. I kept 50 lbs sold 50 lbs each to Joss Cues, Black, Gina, Szamboti and the rest went to Viking and McDermott. Price was 9 dollars a pound.

Bill S.
 
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jlrowe said:
Yes what i understand is Blue Mtn. manufactured Bills version of Cortland.


In the 1970's when I heard they were going out of business because Dacron line was better for Commercial fishing I contacted Blue Mountain to get a replacement.

The Courtland line was cable layed. That meant that all 6 strands were twisted at the same time. One strand was light green.

Blue Mountain could not produce the cable layed linen so we came up with a compromise. We used 3 twisted pairs with one strand of one pair green.

That accounts for the different appearance. The Flax that is the background of the linen varies from year to year so the color could be lighter or darker.

I placed the first order for 500 lbs. I kept 50 lbs sold 50 lbs each to Joss Cues, Black, Gina, Szamboti and the rest went to Viking and McDermott. Price was 9 dollars a pound.

Bill S.
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This is very interesting, but there are some timing problems.

One, Bill claimed to have developed, invented Penn linen in the 70s, not having anything to do with Blue Mountain. If you look at early Josswest brochures, Bill's cues definitely had the darker green spec of Penn. After all, he had invented Penn linen, according to him.

Having bought cues from the 70s to the 2000s, I'm pretty sure that Blue Mountain didn't get going until the 80s, not the 70s. That would cause a timing problem here with Bill claiming to do something with both Penn and Blue Mountain in the 70s. I don't think he would have been involved with two linen producers at the same time. Of course since then, much of it is made in China.

Not proof of anything, but I have doubts on the timing of things.

All the best,
WW
 
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WildWing said:
This is very interesting, but there are some timing problems.

One, Bill claimed to have developed, invented Penn linen in the 70s, not having anything to do with Blue Mountain. If you look at early Josswest brochures, Bill's cues definitely had the darker green spec of Penn. After all, he had invented Penn linen, according to him.

Having bought cues from the 70s to the 2000s, I'm pretty sure that Blue Mountain didn't get going until the 80s, not the 70s. That would cause a timing problem here with Bill claiming to do something with both Penn and Blue Mountain in the 70s. I don't think he would have been involved with two linen producers at the same time. Of course since then, much of it is made in China.

Not proof of anything, but I have doubts on the timing of things.

All the best,
WW
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That is just what Bill wrote on AZ in 2014. I guess Dan or Richard would have info.
https://forums.azbilliards.com/threads/how-to-tell-if-i-have-a-cortland-wrap-or-irish-linen.363960/
 
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Yep, crazy....I figured that Penn linen was manufactured by Penn Fishing tackle manufacturing that started in 1932. 🤔🥴
 
Regardless of whether the linen wrap was Blue Mountain, Penn, Cortland, Mayo, Donegal or any other Cuttyhunk
fishing line of that era, there is a big difference with today’s linen pool wraps or at least there is with Cortland, IMO.
 
Bavafongoul said:
Regardless of whether the linen wrap was Blue Mountain, Penn, Cortland, Mayo, Donegal or any other Cuttyhunk
fishing line of that era, there is a big difference with today’s linen pool wraps or at least there is with Cortland, IMO.
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Yep, If we could find a old warehouse full of it with the green speck we would definitely be a lot richer and happy! Proficient Billiards would probably buy all of it. lol
 
Are any of those old brands still available?

I know Cortland is close to extinct.

I have a cue I am looking to get rewrapped with white/green speck.
 
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I don’t know of any sources any longer. Cue makers that have some are more inclined
to hold onto to any they have for their new cue builds rather than sell it as inventory. It
would be a big plus for someone ordering a new cue to learn they could get Cortland as
the wrap for their cue versus just selling 50 yards to someone who wanted a cue rewrapped.

I always am looking for Cortland linen just in case some ever turns up. I have a spool of 50 yds.
which is what’s needed to wrap a cue. It’s brown speck Cortland which you don’t see very much.
#9 is my all time favorite Cortland; it also happens to be the most popular version used by George B.
 
There is all sizes of green spec dacron fishing line line out there. Just type dacron braid or green spec. All different sizes and versions. Tuf line is one manufacture.
 
muskyed said:
There is all sizes of green spec dacron fishing line line out there. Just type dacron braid or green spec. All different sizes and versions. Tuf line is one manufacture.
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Some of the brands don’t look, nor feel, anything like the old stuff.
 
HawaiianEye said:
What brand white/green speck today is the closest to Cortland?
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Your first question first, I suspect some individuals and cue makers have a little bit of the good stuff, Cortland, Penn, Blue Mountain, but finding it would be the hard part. What brand is closest to Cortland today? Well, I see Atlas Billiard Supply is still going, and they market what they call Genuine Irish Linen. I believe this stuff is made in Asia, not sure exactly where. There is a white with light green speck. It looks pretty good, though I haven't tried it. Not sure the feel would be close to the old stuff, but with a bit of fine sanding and polishing, I suspect it could feel pretty good.

All the best,
WW

Genuine Irish Linen | Atlas Billiard Supplies

www.cuestik.com www.cuestik.com
 
Howdy All;

Ok, Cue specs. what do ya want?

To me the Butt is the propulsion unit and the Shaft, ferrule & tip are the do-it part.

How much of a propulsion unit do you require to move a 6 oz. Cue Ball to do the job
you have elected to send it on. The Butt does the work by being the mass that delivers
oomph, The shaft with additions to the working end are the steering wheel that direct
the force from the Butt into the Cue Ball.

So, if the Butt has the weight you require then the the rest is window dressing, right?
Yea, I understand that some want to have their Cue embellished with all sorts of do-dads
then how do the do-dads effect the playability of the cue? How do the 'bling' effect the
integrity of the cue (added strength or the opposite)? How much extra attention do you
think it draws, how much will it attract the 'wrong attention' ?

Reckon you can tell My preference is for a basic "Sneaky with a wrap" flies low as close to
under the radar of sticky fingered individuals as possible.

Thanks for takin' the time to read my thoughts and any you may want to share, keeping
this thread alive.

hank
 
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