Taper and throw

[TornadoTed]

I recently saw a video on YouTube with Andy Hunter talking about a couple of cues he had bought. He said at one point that he was getting over an inch of throw but after thinning down the taper it was reduced to nothing, that appears around 2.45 in the video.

I read an American pool cue page where they say a cue with pro taper will give less throw but conversely a straight taper will give more energy transfer.

I already knew the principal of less end mass producing less throw.

I am making a break cue for English pool and I obviously want as much energy transfer as possible but also want as little throw as possible so I can hit the pack square as possible.

I have read a lot of topics on taper on here and there is lots of talk about the taper and 'playabilty' of a cue but I haven't read any mention of throw or power transfer in particular before.

I would be interested in getting some thoughts on these principals.

[TornadoTed]

Here is the link the the American pool cue page where they talk about squirt (throw) and power transfer.

[vmax]

Throw is something that happens when you don't strike the centre of the cue ball, the cue ball will 'throw' (deflection as we call it in snooker) to the opposite side of which ever side of the cue ball that is contacted by the tip of the cue.
This deflection is minimal over distance as the cue ball will be spinning and will come back onto line as it reacts to the friction of the cloth. However when close to the object ball or using a lot of power this deflection has to be compensated for by offset aiming.
This offset aiming is a minefield in snooker due to the nap of the cloth, pool tables generally have no nap so the offset is the same whichever direction the cue ball is travelling but the one way directional nap on a snooker table means the spinning cue ball reacts differently when spinning with the lay of the nap, against it, along it or across it.

There is no such thing as a cue that doesn't deflect the cue ball when using side, it's a question of basic physics that it always happens, there is also no such thing as a cue that deflects the cue ball when playing dead centre cue ball striking, if that happens then the strike wasn't as dead centre as the player was attempting.

If you have a cue that deflects the cue ball significantly then you can alter that with thinning the taper but why bother when all you need to do is get used to the deflection of your particular cue and allow for it when using side, when striking centre cue ball learn to cue straight and there will be no deflection.

These pool sites are simply selling something to players who can't cue straight and find difficulty in finding a 4 inch wide pocket from 3 feet away, and if you want a break cue for US pool to protect your playing cue then something really stiff is the road to go down as they generally use phenolic (same general material as the balls) tips or if it's for UK 8 ball then you really don't need one for that little cue ball.