What to look for in the shaft of a cue

[cazmac1]

I have seen many people pick up cues and bang the cue against the inside of their hand. I’ve never really known why they do this and suspect they don't either, yet both John Parris and Robert Osborne both done this with cues I brought to them.
So what are they looking for and what is considered to be a good shaft, excluding looks

[hotpot]

They are testing how much spring the shaft has , the more it vibrates the whippier it is , the less it vibrates the more solid it is .

What makes a good shaft is subjective and will differ with each individual .

Myself i like a stiff but responsive shaft , as the stiffness means minimal throw and a responsive shaft means there is still a bit of oomph in the cue .

These are just my opinion , others may differ .

[Freddie Ng]

They are testing how much spring the shaft has , the more it vibrates the whippier it is , the less it vibrates the more solid it is .

What makes a good shaft is subjective and will differ with each individual .

Myself i like a stiff but responsive shaft , as the stiffness means minimal throw and a responsive shaft means there is still a bit of oomph in the cue .

These are just my opinion , others may differ .

Same here.. shaft needs to be responsive/lively.. :snooker:

[damienlch]

hi cazmac1,

yes, i've noticed people doing that and am quite curious too... if it's to gauge the playing quality, the easiest way is to get down and pot a few balls to see how it feels...

may i know which part of the shaft are those cue makers banging?

[Freddie Ng]

hi cazmac1,

yes, i've noticed people doing that and am quite curious too... if it's to gauge the playing quality, the easiest way is to get down and pot a few balls to see how it feels...

may i know which part of the shaft are those cue makers banging?

if not mistaken is hold a few inch in from the butt and slightly knock from the butt, to see how wippy is the shaft..

[BoBnoGG!n]

i read in a cue makers journal sumwhere that if u hold it between the balance point n the end of the cue, and do this, holding it lightly between 2 fingers, and hit the shaft of the cue on the palm of your other hand, the longer it vibrates for and the sorta vibrations u get determines how good the piece of wood is in terms of feel and responsiveness. he also said the longer and higher pitch the vibrations are, it is it will play better. he said cues that just vibrate once or twice, and make little vibrations etc play dead and itd b hard to get a feel in it. i dont know how much this is true, but thats what he believed.

[sanman]

i read in a cue makers journal sumwhere that if u hold it between the balance point n the end of the cue, and do this, holding it lightly between 2 fingers, and hit the shaft of the cue on the palm of your other hand, the longer it vibrates for and the sorta vibrations u get determines how good the piece of wood is in terms of feel and responsiveness. he also said the longer and higher pitch the vibrations are, it is it will play better. he said cues that just vibrate once or twice, and make little vibrations etc play dead and itd b hard to get a feel in it. i dont know how much this is true, but thats what he believed.

The theory behind it goes like this

after determining the balance point from the butt end of your cue hold the cue with your thumb and forefinger midway between the butt end( thumb and forefinger around the cue shaft) and the balance point, with the tip pointing upwards.

after that using the an open palm hit the cue midway between the butt and the shaft firmly not hard). The cue will resonate. Generally one would like this resonating to last at least 8 seconds. If longer then it is accepted that the shaft is better.

[poolqjunkie]

I do that, too, to see how springy the shaft is. It is just a reference. I also pay attention to how fast the shaft bounces back when it vibrates, as well as the magnitude of the vibration.

[damienlch]

hi sanman, any reasons as to why a longer vibration is better?

i would've thought the lesser the vibration the better... with lesser vibration, the power you apply to the cue does not get dissipated along with the vibration, therefore more power gets translated into the cue ball... and i would think the shaft gets too whippy with long vibration...

but on the other hand, the "feel" of the cue may be lost if the shaft's too stiff, i.e. almost no vibration, unresponsive... a dud.

of course, i could be talking utter rubbish as i know nothing about choosing shafts, besides looking at the pretty arrows...

btw, my GBP35 cue resonated for about 5, 6 seconds and i'm pleased at how well it plays, except for the awful lacquered butt... :snooker:

[gazza147]

They are testing how much spring the shaft has , the more it vibrates the whippier it is , the less it vibrates the more solid it is .

What makes a good shaft is subjective and will differ with each individual .

Myself i like a stiff but responsive shaft , as the stiffness means minimal throw and a responsive shaft means there is still a bit of oomph in the cue .

These are just my opinion , others may differ .

Hotpot is Spot on with his Reply.

I always check how Whippy the Shaft is Before I Buy/Play a Shot with a New Cue and I Personally Look at the Grain/Chevrons from the Flat Plate/Badge on Butt Towards the Tip some people dont even Look as they dont know what to Look for but Most Top Snooker/Pool Players etc do Prefer Grain/Chevrons in line with Flat Plate/Badge.

People do Differ as Hotpot mentioned on Stiffness etc as I have Sold a Few Cracking Cues and Some People couldn't get on with them as No Give in Shaft.

Hope this Helps.

[ADR147]

in truth looking does not help you because each piece of wood will be have differently the only way to be sure is to hit a ball with it and make sure it responds the same way every time.

[sharkster63]

Good Day,

I also know that if you have a loose ferrule or joint that a tap on the cue will sound off. I think that knowing the shaft taper that you like is very important, I personally like a gradual straight taper. When I am looking at a maple shaft I look for the little squares in the grain to show me that it is a rock maple not soft. When I look at ash I run it down my chin to ensure my beard does not get caught in the grain. Lol

Cheers,

Rolly C. sends

[cazmac1]

Thankyou every one for all your replys. There some good info there and some things I will look out for.

[poolqjunkie]

Yes, I think the best way is to hit some balls with the cue for a while, I also like to play a few frames with a mate if I can, to really know the cue.
But I guess without a table banging th cue can give you some ideas about the shaft.
I am not sure why 8 seconds is preferred either, I would think it is very subjective.
Yes, I like to see the arrows lining up with the badge/flat as well. I have however seen some cues with the straight grains on the top and the arrows on the side which also played very well. Think they were intentionally built that way.

[sanman]

Yes, I think the best way is to hit some balls with the cue for a while, I also like to play a few frames with a mate if I can, to really know the cue.
But I guess without a table banging th cue can give you some ideas about the shaft.
I am not sure why 8 seconds is preferred either, I would think it is very subjective.
Yes, I like to see the arrows lining up with the badge/flat as well. I have however seen some cues with the straight grains on the top and the arrows on the side which also played very well. Think they were intentionally built that way.

Hi Airin

The issue of 8 seconds is a rule of thumb but generally the "longer the pitch the more finely tuned the tuning fork". As for why longer is better I would guess the a more tempered a material is the longer it will resonate or vibrate. A piece of sponge would not resonate as long as a finely tempered steel sword blade for example. To put it simply a cue that resonates for a longer period of time would generally have the "spring " that is sometimes mentioned here and would generally give better feed back.