The Mannock Taper

[narl]

Can anyone confirm if the taper that was outlined in the patent holds true to all Mannock cues or just untill Burroughes & Watts started making them. The patent states the Cue should have a consistant width (or be parallel) upto the 16 3/4 inch mark before it starts to taper outwards.

I have an old mannock cue but its obviously been altered as the tip is 9.7mm instead of the 10.5 that seems more common, even with the alteration the shaft doesnt taper out too much untill around the 16 inch mark. Im assuming at one point it was 10.5 or 11mm and the shaft was slimmed down from the proper taper to accomadate this.

[narl]

Think i just found the answer, according to the Burroughes & Watts catalogue they amde them to mannocks specs:



Hopefully anyway

[farrelld91]

is that the price on the right mate?

[narl]

is that the price on the right mate?

Yup, old money

[farrelld91]

Wonder what that would be these days? im too young for all that sixpence nonsense haha

[Terry Davidson]

So Ye Old Ash was 4 pounds, 2 shillings and 6 pence or around 4.25GBP in the 'new' money (although the pound was worth a lot more in those days). I wish cues were still the same prices. See what inflation has done to us snooker players?

Terry

[mattyshinobi22]

wonder what price for a black plate will hunt cue, £20 in old money lol

[farrelld91]

According to the antional archive 4.25 old money would have been £93.87 in 2005
Bargain

[narl]

wonder what price for a black plate will hunt cue, £20 in old money lol

You've had a few mannocks Matty, you noticed the shaft being a consistant width from the tip end to around the 16" mark?

[MikeWooldridge]

Can anyone confirm if the taper that was outlined in the patent holds true to all Mannock cues or just untill Burroughes & Watts started making them. The patent states the Cue should have a consistant width (or be parallel) upto the 16 3/4 inch mark before it starts to taper outwards.

Where can I read the details of that patent?

Can't say I've ever seen one that comes anywhere near that description ?

[perpetualboredom]

Where can I read the details of that patent?

Can't say I've ever seen one that comes anywhere near that description ?

http://www.thecuecollector.com/JPMannocksPatent.html

But I haven't either, I imagine it must be only the very earliest versions.
Gloveman has owned loads of mannocks (including early ones as I recall), but I'm not sure he posts anymore.

[trevs1]

I have seen several very early ones and can't say the taper was of that shape.

Yes, they had a more "billiardesque" type shape to them, but to suggest the shaft was the same thickness for 16" or so of its length would be wrong in my view. That can be a bit of an optical illusion on modern cues too. Many will have an appearance that suggests the shaft doesn't get much thicker as it moves towards the butt, when if checked with a vernier, there's a very noticeable increase in the diameter from the ferrule to even 12" down the shaft.

[MikeWooldridge]

http://www.thecuecollector.com/JPMannocksPatent.html

But I haven't either, I imagine it must be only the very earliest versions.
Gloveman has owned loads of mannocks (including early ones as I recall), but I'm not sure he posts anymore.

thanks for that.

glad i'm not the only one puzzled by the straight taper comment.

i have not seen that many but i can state categorically that none were anything like the patent described.

for sure, even with say an 11mm tip, if it were still 11mm 16 odd inches down the shaft, it would be instantly noticeable and very very different to any other 'normal' billiards/snooker cue.

basically it's the same as an american pool cue with a pro taper, and those who have tried one will know it is a bit weird and takes a while to get used to.

also, i would hazard a guess that pear wood tapered like that would make for an awful playing cue, far too whippy and prone to miscues if anyone dared to play extreme side/top/screw.

i suspect some may have actually been made like that, but proved to be unpopular. what we call in the trade - 'a sh*t idea'

also, does anyone know for DEFINITE the meaning of anti grip?

i do not believe it refers to the pear wood shaft but if i see it in black and white i will gladly accept that.

it has puzzled me for years and i have suggested on here before that, based on ones i have seen which all had slim butts, the anti grip was referring to a slim butt that did not 'fill' the hand so much thus enabling a looser grip.

however, i never knew about the rubber band, so now i actually think it must refer to that feature. i am assuming the intention was to hold the cue where the band was, and my guess is this meant you don't need to grip the cue so firmly cos the friction effect of rubber against hand enabled an even lighter grip.

as i said above, if it was just the pear wood shaft then show me the proof and i will happily put that one to rest.

[narl]

Id suspect the anti grip would have to refer to the pearwood shaft, mainly for the reason of why else would he have gone with it when he had Ash and Maple readily available, the fact that steamed pearwood is very slippery through the bridge would also support that. In the time ive had my Mannock ive never had to wipe it down, the same thing can't be said of my 3/4 ash cue, the club i play in has a pretty warm snooker room and just about everyone complains about the heat, yet the cue shaft getting sticky in my hand has never been an issue with the Mannock.


But at the same time its odd how Mannocks with Ash or Maple shafts also had the antigrip badge. Maybe they had a large supply of the badges and didn't want to fork out to have new badges without the antigrip text.

I think the Tapers an interesting idea though, i just bought a maple Mannock witha rigid shaft and it should be arriving at Tony Glovers today to be referruled and have a chip out of the splices repaired. Might ask him about the possibility of tapering it to see how it fairs compared to a regular taper. Assuming it hasnt magically got the Mannock taper

[gazza147]

I have had and seen a few early and late Mannocks and none of them were the same thickness 12" or 16" from the Tip. I have heard a few people mention this but it isnt true they are abit different from Today's taper but not same thickness 12"-16" down from tip.


Gaz.