Helping side

[rimmer10]

The tip is in contact with the white for less than half a second, in this time the shaft has very little time to bend or flex, this is all done way after the white has left the tip. The amount of spin the white has is down to the speed you hit it, where you hit it and how well you time the shot. Certain tips can help provide a little, not much, more spin than others but the flex of a shaft has nothing to do with it. I can generate just as much spin with a whippy shaft than I do with a stiff cue.

I believe only 2 things determine the throw of a cue ball. Kinetic energy i.e. how hard you hit the white and how far off centre you hit it.
The important factor is speed here since kinetic energy quadruples when speed doubles so the actual weight of a cue is less important than the speed of it. Obviously the more off centre you hit the more the vector of thrust moves sideways relative to the direction of the cue travel since the vector of thrust always acts from the contact point through the centre of mass of the cue ball. Shaft deflection must come into play in my opinion but only because kinetic energy is deflected away from the impact point. Low deflection shafts can therefore not work for the reasons advertised since the difference of mass in the last 6 inches of a shaft is negligible. The only reason they throw less must be because of more deflection caused by hollowing out of the shaft.

[golferson123]

I've been fortunate to have played and learned with many of the games good players as far back as the 70s and then as now shaft flex was a strong indicator of spin. a lot can happen in this so called half a second and also I have been making cues since the 80s and so have had plenty of test subjects to play with. you can feel the give with a good cue this enables the tip to stay in contact with the cue ball that bit longer. it's nice to know that decades of belief and knowledge can be waved away so easily. forget hollowing out the shaft end that only applies to pool cues because of their bigger size. as for end mass that's no big secret either but you cannot reduce it too much because you need it or you would constantly misscue of the rails

[guernseygooner]

Does anyone find the majority of cues these days to be too stiff and lifeless? I have tried a few and some have been better than others but can tell straight away after a few hits. One cue I waited 6 months for was picture perfect if you are into that, but was like a lead pipe with a tip on.

Wasn't just me as it has since been resold 3 times on eBay. Is it cue makers producing cues for faster tables when the majority of us want something with a bit of give for help with slower conditions?

[Terry Davidson]

Does anyone find the majority of cues these days to be too stiff and lifeless? I have tried a few and some have been better than others but can tell straight away after a few hits. One cue I waited 6 months for was picture perfect if you are into that, but was like a lead pipe with a tip on.

Wasn't just me as it has since been resold 3 times on eBay. Is it cue makers producing cues for faster tables when the majority of us want something with a bit of give for help with slower conditions?

I can agree with you on this. Over the past 5 years I have ordered custom cues (looking for 'the one') and I always ordered medium-flex but every cue I bought turned out to be more stiff than I wanted. In the end I worked closely with Mike Wooldridge and finally got exactly what I wanted and I'm still using it after 18 months or so.

I have found in general today cuemakers are making their cues more stiff but I don't know the reason for this. In my case I find the most important spec for a cue is shaft flex.

Terry

[j6uk]

these cues probably aren't hand finished as they've gone through a machine process.. they'd be brought to life in the right hands

[jrc750]

these cues probably aren't hand finished as they've gone through a machine process.. they'd be brought to life in the right hands

Which cues ???

[jonny66]

these ones

[Stupree]

Does anyone find the majority of cues these days to be too stiff and lifeless? I have tried a few and some have been better than others but can tell straight away after a few hits. One cue I waited 6 months for was picture perfect if you are into that, but was like a lead pipe with a tip on.

Wasn't just me as it has since been resold 3 times on eBay. Is it cue makers producing cues for faster tables when the majority of us want something with a bit of give for help with slower conditions?

I am with you 100% mate! This is something I have found to be true too and long for the responsiveness of the cues of my youth. I do wonder the impact the use of the shorter blanks for cue making have on this, surely the shorter the blank the less resonance it is likely to have.

I just don't get this fascination and desire of stiff cues and firm tips.

[guernseygooner]

these cues probably aren't hand finished as they've gone through a machine process.. they'd be brought to life in the right hands

Do you mean they are too perfect and need a bit of human touch on certain sections of the taper? Good to see you back by the way :snooker:

[guernseygooner]

I am with you 100% mate! This is something I have found to be true too and long for the responsiveness of the cues of my youth. I do wonder the impact the use of the shorter blanks for cue making have on this, surely the shorter the blank the less resonance it is likely to have.

I just don't get this fascination and desire of stiff cues and firm tips.

I have seen it on cues where you can see the ash does run the full length as well Stu. Why do the Thais produce shorter shafts anyway?

Trump's bendy cue is the way forward!

[j6uk]

Do you mean they are too perfect and need a bit of human touch on certain sections of the taper? Good to see you back by the way :snooker:

good to be back inside where i belong. yeah i see the thai's are putting them through drum sanders and don't see them doing a lot more to them with the amount of volume they turn out. iv played with many of them but found them so wooded they may as well still had the bark on. also come across some top stuff that looked and felt cnc machined. don't see many now that play, look and feel like a knowledgeable fellas been hunched over it for most of the day

[Stupree]

I have seen it on cues where you can see the ash does run the full length as well Stu. Why do the Thais produce shorter shafts anyway?

Trump's bendy cue is the way forward!

True, its not exclusive to shorter shafts but I do find that Thai cues have a certain feel to them. I have had good results altering tapers myself to get a more responsive cue and I also prefer a 9mm tip.

Not sure of the reason for the shorter Thai shafts, it could just be economics being able to cut more from a single board, easier to ship as more can be fit on a container?!?

[Ramon]

of course shaft flex effects throw the right flex detemines how much spin is on the ball ie no spin more throw good spin more recovery

+10 to this !!!

[j6uk]

True, its not exclusive to shorter shafts but I do find that Thai cues have a certain feel to them. I have had good results altering tapers myself to get a more responsive cue and I also prefer a 9mm tip.

Not sure of the reason for the shorter Thai shafts, it could just be economics being able to cut more from a single board, easier to ship as more can be fit on a container?!?

not sure about this but what would you call a shorter shaft stu, what length?

[vmax4steve]

not sure about this but what would you call a shorter shaft stu, what length?

Many one piece cues are made today using the 3/4 joint system where the ash is in fact two pieces joined together at the 3/4 mark where it can be more easily drilled and weighted with a more forward bias to the balance. To weight a traditionally made one piece cue with a more forward bias entails some pretty nifty woodworking skills when splicing the butt on or a very long drill bit when the cue is finished.

Thai cues are almost exclusively made this way thus the blanks used for the shafts are in fact about 40-42 inches long rather than 56-60 for the trad one piece where one single piece of ash goes through the entire length of the cue.

And you're right j6 about cnc machining, the tapers of most so called hand made cues are uniform all the way from the butt to the ferrule, which says to me that the only hand holding any tool is simply pressing a button after a programme for a taper has been written.

Could be why Parris has such a long waiting list if he indeed does apply a hand made only rule to his product, whether it's his hand or not.