Any ideas as to why their are light shafts on some imported 3/4 ash cues ?

[The Stig]

Ive been looking for a cue for a couple of months now and so far i havn't found what i'm after, i'm just after a plain ebony butt 3/4 ash cue, 58 inches long, 9.5mm tip with the joint at 16 - 17 inches so its a fairly standard spec cue that i'm looking for, like with most people the grain must be nice and not too distracting.

Anyway to my point, ive viewed quite a few master cue's in a couple of different places, apparently these are imported from the far east, maybe Thailand.

When ive unscrewed the shaft from the butt on quite a few Master cue's the shaft seems to be very light, too light really. Its as if their is no solidness or weight to the ash shaft which then makes it difficult to screw back or do a power run through due to how light the top piece appears to be, i tested a few out on a table and they just didn't feel solid or or have any weight to them.

I'm not saying that this is the case with all their range but ive held quite a few of these cues now and to me the ones ive held all felt the same. A mate came along with me to a couple of these shops and he brought his cue which used to be my old cue, his cue was an old craftsman 3/4 cue which has a great qualty feel to it and its a basic spec cue around 18oz and jointed at 16 inches the same as the master cue ones we looked at, we compared the shafts on the master cue's to his shaft and the difference was like night and day, his felt heavier compared to the master cue ones which felt very light and out of balance with the heavier ebony butt.

Its strange really as i tried out a kingcue which is also apparently from the far east and this felt a superb cue, well balanced and a nice heavier shaft compared to the mastercue, unfortunatley it was too short for me otherwise i would have bought that one. The Kingcue i tried i have to say felt like total quality.

An expert opinion would be good as i'm certainly no expert on wood but i know a quality, solid feeling cue when i hold one.

[jrc750]

....ive viewed quite a few mastercraft cues in a couple of different places and apparently these are imported from the far east, maybe Thailand......

I guess you meant to sat Mastercue there ??

[The Stig]

I guess you meant to sat Mastercue there ??

Yeh lol, ive edited it.

[cueman]

Its probably down to density in the wood and selecting the right density of both ash and ebony that produces a well balanced cue. Perhaps Mastercue have had a selection of light shafts recently and to get the weight right they have used higher density ebony butts to get the weight right? Like you I'd like to hear some of the cue makers thoughts, obviously wood comes in different densities so selecting the right shaft to the right butt is the problem. This is why sometimes the cheaper cue makers out there are not able to produce great quality all of the time, mass produced cues probably just thrown together quickly to be sold around the world to mainly club level players who won't be so picky when it comes to playability.

[ste bed]

i own 2 mastercues a 3q ex2 with jade wood and green veneers it as the badge sunk in then filled with clear resin like mw's old badges
and a 1 piece maple special both bought new in 1999/2000. i have owned a few since then but there not in the same league the quality is nowhere near the same. the one piece maple special that i own is a unbelivable cue everyone that picks it up wants to buy it i have had loads of offers over the years its just one of those cues that feels just right when you pick it up. i have not used them both for years the tips are a little small about 9.3/9.4 i just keep them both together in a 1 piece ali case.

if your looking for a good cue around that budget try stu green at greenbaize cues his gbl cue are unbelivable far superior to master cue but i would say get a 1 piece out of the 4 i have owned 2 1 piece and 2 3q the 1 piece cues imo are better i kept the 1st one i bought a c5 for my collection. or craftsman cue have started selling phoenix cues which are very good.

[cazmac1]

I would have thought a light shaft would be better, when I last up at JP I found that a lot of his rack cues where coming in at 19+oz, this is obviously because the shafts are very dense and in order to get the correct balance the cues are made heavy. It's much easier to add weight than take away. IMO I have found that any cue under 17 1/2 oz feels light and therefore can seem not well made (cheap if you like) and anything heavier than 18oz is just not require.

[gazza147]

Just a Quick Reply.

I have had Dealt with 100's of Master Cues and I have Never Found Any Problems with them Especially Not the Weight or Top Shaft and they Definately are Not Butt Heavy unless Required? If who ever Imported them Asked for Certain Specs then this May well be the Case but Master Cue normally have them Loverly Weighted around 18oz-18.6 if you ask for Heavier then they can go upto 19oz in 3/4 Jointed or around 17 1/2-18.1oz in 1pc or Heavier if Asked. The Weight does Change very Slightly as Most Cues in Different Climates.

I have One of them as one of my Playing Cues and have always used Master Cue Myself and as I have Said Many Times before they are the Best Value/Quality Cues for the Price Range on the Market Today Especially from £100-£250 and Would Match Most Cue Makers in alot Higher Range!

The Point you Make about......Which then makes it difficult to screw back or do a power run through due to how light the top piece appears to be? Is Nonsense m8 a % of People Think they Cannot Screw Back Because there Cue is too Light or Too Heavy etc and I have taken the Cue off them and Screwed Back with No Problems at all its Down to the Timing of the Shot more than the Weight of the Cue!


Gaz.

[perpetualboredom]

Agree there.. I have Jasons Cue Guru 001 cue, which I haven't had weighted since I'm playing a bit of billiards and a really really light cue is great for the 'feel' shots. It weighs around 13oz but I can stillscrew the length of the table on a slow crappy club table!

[cazmac1]

Agree there.. I have Jasons Cue Guru 001 cue, which I haven't had weighted since I'm playing a bit of billiards and a really really light cue is great for the 'feel' shots. It weighs around 13oz but I can stillscrew the length of the table on a slow crappy club table!

I would like to see that, have you got any vid. 13oz must feel like it would break when playing power shots. Can I ask whats the balance point on your cue is

[cazmac1]

I would like to see that, have you got any vid. 13oz must feel like it would break when playing power shots. Can I ask whats the balance point on your cue is

When you say you can screw back the lenght of the table how far away is the OB form the cue ball. Can you pot a long blue of its spot screw back into baulk and back down to the blue spot thats what I would call a screw shot. I can get back past the baulk line on a good day.

[The Stig]

The Point you Make about......Which then makes it difficult to screw back or do a power run through due to how light the top piece appears to be? Is Nonsense m8 a % of People Think they Cannot Screw Back Because there Cue is too Light or Too Heavy etc and I have taken the Cue off them and Screwed Back with No Problems at all its Down to the Timing of the Shot more than the Weight of the Cue!

Gaz, every player doesn't play at the same standard, some play at a very high standard, some play at a medium standard and some just play for fun.

Normal physics says that its far easier to get screw back or a lot of top spin with a heavier, denser piece of wood because any heavier object is going to go through something lighter with more force. Of course you can screw back with very light feeling cues but you need a very good cue action, not everybody has a top drawer cueing action.

It wasn't just me that found that the shaft on these particular cue master cues felt light, my mate whose been playing for 25 years at a very decent level also said that they felt light for some reason, like i said before i'm not saying this is the case with all their range but ive been to 2 places that had a good selection of cue master cues and in both places the shafts felt light.

The Kingcue that i tried which apparently is also from the far east was superb, the quality on that cue felt like any other quality cue that ive picked up in the past. Pitty it was too short.

[hotpot]

What shop didyou visit Stig .

[perpetualboredom]

When you say you can screw back the lenght of the table how far away is the OB form the cue ball. Can you pot a long blue of its spot screw back into baulk and back down to the blue spot thats what I would call a screw shot. I can get back past the baulk line on a good day.

Good point, I was talking something like a straight yellow or green. At the standard we play most of us wouldn't even attempt the shot you mention, but I appreciate there are a lot of much better players out there! Same point thought, you can give me that cue or a 20oz sledge hammer and it's still my cueing/timing that limits the responce of the cue ball, not the weight of the cue.

[cazmac1]

Good point, I was talking something like a straight yellow or green. At the standard we play most of us wouldn't even attempt the shot you mention, but I appreciate there are a lot of much better players out there! Same point thought, you can give me that cue or a 20oz sledge hammer and it's still my cueing/timing that limits the responce of the cue ball, not the weight of the cue.

fair comment, I think the shot you descriped is a bread and butter shot for any decent club player, fact is if you can't screw you just can't screw no matter what cue you have in your hand

[old school]

What about my " toothpick", lighter than Cue Guru 1 and 3/4 jointed to boot,but you still got a lot of action on the cue ball last time we played pool.Your timing isnt bad at all,confidence to try "power" shots and heavy breaks with a light cue,is all it takes.You ,I and Crispian should all gang up on Caz and convert him to the joys of " featherweight" cues.Lol.