Splices not too far out !

[Bigmeek]

Thanks. I play with Maple. Popularity of Ash has always been a mystery to me.

[Neil Taperell]

A splice is never visually in your line of shot though so I'd always favour a cue with a really good grain pattern rather than an unsightly looking cue with nice even splice points. For me you know that you are paying for the shaft on a JPU, it always has been and always will be the most important selection criteria for any player.

Every few weeks we seem to dig up this old discussion about splices and to be honest its only the real cue snobs that are so anal about this and is usually just a way to have yet another JP bashing. We should also remember that this cue is supposedly a very early JP cue so why are people getting so upset and making a song and dance about a cue I'll never know, GET A LIFE!

As i said ........i was not bashing the cuemaker . It just happened to be a JPU. I would have put up the thread had it been any other top maker as well .

My question to you ......would you accept a cue like this if you had one custom made ?

[kadobau]

as i said ........i was not bashing the cuemaker . It just happened to be a jpu. I would have put up the thread had it been any other top maker as well .

My question to you ......would you accept a cue like this if you had one custom made ?

no....... 100% no !!

[itsnoteasy]

I know things can slip through, but who is doing his quality control? And who is making his cues? Who ever made this knew that wasn't right , it's so obvious, and has just gone, ahh stuff it that will do.

[golferson123]

Splices not too far out !

(a) who decides what a good grain pattern is. and (b) what is perfect balance

[itsnoteasy]

(a) who decides what a good grain pattern is. and (b) what is perfect balance

I would say both are what you have asked for, they will be perfect to the individual.

[cueman]

As i said ........i was not bashing the cuemaker . It just happened to be a JPU. I would have put up the thread had it been any other top maker as well .

My question to you ......would you accept a cue like this if you had one custom made ?

Probably not but I'd at least test how the cue plays before anything else, could be the perfect playing cue for me, in which case I'd overlook the splicing.

If the cue didn't perform as I'd hoped then I would in most likelyhood send it back. That is the thing with JP cues, he will alter or replace a cue you are not happy with. What I don't understand is why people make out this is common when in most cases its not. This particular splice is pretty bad but we really don't know the full details and the only thing that counts is the person who buys the cue. People are getting all anal over something that shouldn't even be their concern.

[cueman]

(a) who decides what a good grain pattern is. and (b) what is perfect balance

Good grain pattern to me is arrows that are in line down the shaft, if you have any that aren't or are wild in appearence it can be very off putting when you are sighting down the line.
Snooker is mentally a challenging game and anything that puts you off can really affect your performance.

Balance is rather subjective though I'd argue that any cue balanced at less than 16.5" can cause difficulties especially when cueing tight off the cushion. IMO most cue makers aim for 17" as near perfect, 16-18" being the average but the density of the shaft and the weight requested dictates the BP of any cue. There is only so far you can drill into the butt to weight up a cue and if the shaft hasn't got sufficient weight to it then the cue is going to be struggling to get over 16".

That is why you'll see many cue makers not make cues to custom order, they will make the best playing cue given that piece of wood. If you request a cue at say 18.5oz but balanced at say 17.5" the cue maker is going to have to go through a lot of shafts to find one with sufficient density or natural weight in order to get that spec. So much so that they could waste weeks or months trying to find the right piece, especially the lone cue makers who don't have a lot of stock of ash/maple to go through.

So many are now prefering to take a shaft and make the best playing cue possible given what they are working with.
So you'll find many cue makers making cues at 16.5-17.5oz because that is as heavy as they can make them so the balance is about 16.5-17".

[golferson123]

splices

That's my point, any criticism of a cues grain pattern is pointless, but some infer that a ultimate shaft should have perfect grain

[billabong]

Good grain pattern to me is arrows that are in line down the shaft, if you have any that aren't or are wild in appearence it can be very off putting when you are sighting down the line.
Snooker is mentally a challenging game and anything that puts you off can really affect your performance.

Why not get a cue that has a more natural ash finish ? No black chevrons full of grain enhancer ?

[cueman]

Why not get a cue that has a more natural ash finish ? No black chevrons full of grain enhancer ?

I suppose its personal choice and also what finish the cue maker uses. Personally I like a dark ash grain, because that is what I have always used and got used to. I ordered a craftsman cue a couple of years ago, that had a light grain filler and for me it looked a bit cheap and nasty. I sold it to my mate who likes it, so as I said its personal preference.

That's my point, any criticism of a cues grain pattern is pointless, but some infer that a ultimate shaft should have perfect grain

For me an Ultimate shaft is first of all about playability, the best playing characteristics you can get. However with a JPU for example or a Beyond cue from Ton Praram or Ultimate from Maximus, the premium you are paying for is also your own preference for grain appearance as well.

Most cue makers will grade the ash they get in based on two specific criteria. First of all it will be graded on playing quality, if it possesses all the necessary qualities to make for a good playing cue they are used. Any not up to scratch maybe used on a lower end model or discarded cpmpletely. Then of those deemed good enough the others will be graded on appearence, some may still get discarded at this stage if the grain is very wild or has blemishes or knots, the very best are put aside and a premium charge added to them.

[golferson123]

Splices not too far out !

all these things are there when in board form,you don't pay extra from the supplier.the timber yard do'snt know its a ultimate shaft.granted you can tell to some degree in board form if it will be a player but until the tip goes on you can't be sure,but by then its allready an ultimate so there's no going back

[cueman]

all these things are there when in board form,you don't pay extra from the supplier.the timber yard do'snt know its a ultimate shaft.granted you can tell to some degree in board form if it will be a player but until the tip goes on you can't be sure,but by then its allready an ultimate so there's no going back

and that is the price you are paying for the cue maker to go through numerous boards and ripping down the shafts to find suitable playing qualities to turn into cues. A premium is just something that many cue makers have now cottoned onto as a way of giving themselves a little extra profit for the numerous hours spent trying to find what the player wants. I don't begrudge them that, after all they will go through a lot of timber that isn't up to the standard needed, the cue maker is taking a big risk because sometimes they could buy in a lot of board and find that only 5% of it is good enough, that is a lot of money wasted so they have to get that back somehow.

[billabong]

Good grain pattern to me is arrows that are in line down the shaft, if you have any that aren't or are wild in appearence it can be very off putting when you are sighting down the line.

Just for fun, Cueman, how would you feel about using froggy ?

froggy008.jpgfroggy016.jpg

[cueman]

Lovely cue! :distracted: