Beginner's cue quest..

[mrdman]

Hi everyone,
I'm about to start playing snooker more and in search of a cue.
I'm very much beginner standard.. something around a 16 break would be amazing for me. Normally only a 1 or 8 if I'm lucky however at the moment.
I only have a very cheap cue.. I hate it as it sticks to my hand as it has really bad varnish.. so much so that I normally switch to a rack cue..

I'm not sure whether to spend too much or not as I'm obviously very much a beginner..
So far I'm considering 4 options and would love some advice from more experienced players..
I could see if I can sand the varnish off with some 2000 wet&dry or wire wool and then apply some raw linseed oil.. and then stick with this cue for a bit..
Or purchase something like a Woods Cue for around £69 inc case and extensions.. (mixed reviews but not many)
Or buy something like a Peradon.. maybe a Cannon Vista.. for around £90.. (just cue)
Or splash the boat out and purchase something like one of ADR147's cues.. (I've not seen many reviews, but what I've seen, they've been good)

I assume I've missed some other options for other cues that are available too... so any others you can think of or any advice in general is greatly appreciated! Perhaps the 2nd hand market could be a good option for me?

Many thanks

PS. I'm average build, 5'9.. so was thinking of something around 57/58" 18/19oz.. 9.5/10mm tip..

[jonny66]

I would sand your cue with 220 grit sandpaper, 2000 grit won't do anything to the varnish, then go up the grades of sandpaper so it's nice and smooth. That would be the cheapest option.

[Booters]

Those specs are pretty standard, wouldn't surprise me if your current cue was pretty close to that anyway, I would try and get the finish off your current cue and use that for 6 months to a year, work on the basics and enjoy playing.

[Cannonball]

Hi everyone,
I'm about to start playing snooker more and in search of a cue.
I'm very much beginner standard.. something around a 16 break would be amazing for me. Normally only a 1 or 8 if I'm lucky however at the moment.
I only have a very cheap cue.. I hate it as it sticks to my hand as it has really bad varnish.. so much so that I normally switch to a rack cue..

I'm not sure whether to spend too much or not as I'm obviously very much a beginner..
So far I'm considering 4 options and would love some advice from more experienced players..
I could see if I can sand the varnish off with some 2000 wet&dry or wire wool and then apply some raw linseed oil.. and then stick with this cue for a bit..
Or purchase something like a Woods Cue for around £69 inc case and extensions.. (mixed reviews but not many)
Or buy something like a Peradon.. maybe a Cannon Vista.. for around £90.. (just cue)
Or splash the boat out and purchase something like one of ADR147's cues.. (I've not seen many reviews, but what I've seen, they've been good)

I assume I've missed some other options for other cues that are available too... so any others you can think of or any advice in general is greatly appreciated! Perhaps the 2nd hand market could be a good option for me?

Many thanks

PS. I'm average build, 5'9.. so was thinking of something around 57/58" 18/19oz.. 9.5/10mm tip..

Luckily for you, times have changed and £100 will now buy you a decent cue. I'd have a look at Cue Craft's website, these cues are handmade in England.

[mrdman]

Thanks for the advice guys.
As I have the linseed oil here and a fair selection of sandpaper/wet & dry paper.. I'll give it a go to get the varnish off..

Should I just sand or should I use some varnish remover like this...
http://www.diy.com/departments/bq-pa.../262263_BQ.prd

Then once I've been playing for a bit and had some coaching lessons, I'll be in a better position to judge what kind of cue I need.. rather than spending the money perhaps.. although it's very tempting to get a nice cue!

Many thanks again

[jim evans]

Wipe with turps or thinners first that will fetch most of gunge and anything loose off,don't use 250 grit will wipe your cue out altogether, use 800 upwards, 800, then 1000, 2000 so on depending on smoothness wanted.

[jonny66]

I see you make cues Jim and I mean you no disrespect, but I have to disagree with you on this one, 250 grit will not wipe your cue out altogether unless you are an idiot. If I have to use a rack cue I take a piece of 220 with me and give it a quick once over at the business end, I've never managed to make a cue any worse doing this.

Wooldridge recommends starting even further down 120 grit to remove laquer http://handmadecues.com/re-finish/ I'd say that's overkill and you will be taking some wood away doing it like that. The thing with the laquer is it goes deeper into the grain of the ash than the rest of it so to take it all away you will need to take some wood away, but you don't need to get rid of all of it IMO, just get rid of most and it should slide OK as long as you keep your hands clean.

[jim evans]

Your talking to a lad what don't know cues,so wouldn't advise 220 grit he could take more off than somebody who knows what he s doing,but let him follow whichever advice he wants.

[ADR147]

Your talking to a lad what don't know cues,so wouldn't advise 220 grit he could take more off than somebody who knows what he s doing,but let him follow whichever advice he wants.

I would stick to jims advice here. you can use rougher paper if you are careful enough but you run the risk of ending up with an odd shaped cue!

[dom979]

I have recently bought 2 of the brand of cues you were looking at, a Woods 3 star cue (their top of the range model) and the ADR147 cue. My woods cue the butt started to get a massive crack in after only a few weeks of light use, I would avoid these at all cost tried to contact them at their email to no response. So I decided to get the ADR147 cue and wow the difference in quality is insane, it's a excellent cue and at the price point it's at you cant argue with what you're getting.

[ADR147]

I have recently bought 2 of the brand of cues you were looking at, a Woods 3 star cue (their top of the range model) and the ADR147 cue. My woods cue the butt started to get a massive crack in after only a few weeks of light use, I would avoid these at all cost tried to contact them at their email to no response. So I decided to get the ADR147 cue and wow the difference in quality is insane, it's a excellent cue and at the price point it's at you cant argue with what you're getting.

lol - thanks for that!

[Cannonball]

You could try one of these Grand or Emperor cues. They've had very good feedback on TSF and the value can't be beat. A good cue for £100 is unreal:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/sun-mall/m...p2047675.l2562

[ADR147]

You could try one of these Grand or Emperor cues. They've had very good feedback on TSF and the value can't be beat. A good cue for £100 is unreal:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/sun-mall/m...p2047675.l2562

watch out for taxes though!

[mrdman]

Thanks so much for the advice guys. Really appreciate it and so happy to find a vibrant snooker community online!
I sort of went in the middle and started on a 400 grit up to a 2000..
I leant on the side of not enough than too much sanding.. and then applied some raw linseed oil and buffed today after 12 hours.. Again I leant on the side of not enough linseed oil.. I can always redo the process if needs be..

So far early signs are good.. Doesn't squeak at all or stick it the hand anymore.. but I'm yet to play with it yet.. tomorrow I will be taking to the snooker hall to try out so will let you know.

Thanks also for the info on the woods cues.. I'll take them off the radar.. I did read that they were a little hit and miss (last thing you need in this game!)

I'd never paid too much attention to the arrows on ash cues before.. having read more about them, it appears that they can help with aiming. Is that true? If so, is it really important that all the arrows line up correctly? The reason I ask, is if say, the top one is a little off line, could it put off your aiming? If so, when choosing a cue, you'd presumably have to see the cue in question first or in some detailed pictures at least no to check the alignment of them?

Thanks

[ADR147]

Thanks so much for the advice guys. Really appreciate it and so happy to find a vibrant snooker community online!
I sort of went in the middle and started on a 400 grit up to a 2000..
I leant on the side of not enough than too much sanding.. and then applied some raw linseed oil and buffed today after 12 hours.. Again I leant on the side of not enough linseed oil.. I can always redo the process if needs be..

So far early signs are good.. Doesn't squeak at all or stick it the hand anymore.. but I'm yet to play with it yet.. tomorrow I will be taking to the snooker hall to try out so will let you know.

Thanks also for the info on the woods cues.. I'll take them off the radar.. I did read that they were a little hit and miss (last thing you need in this game!)

I'd never paid too much attention to the arrows on ash cues before.. having read more about them, it appears that they can help with aiming. Is that true? If so, is it really important that all the arrows line up correctly? The reason I ask, is if say, the top one is a little off line, could it put off your aiming? If so, when choosing a cue, you'd presumably have to see the cue in question first or in some detailed pictures at least no to check the alignment of them?

Thanks

the trick with the oils is a little lots of times.