Air Joint Cues.

[ICUE147]

I am looking to buy a top quality snooker cue. I need to know about the air joint,when hitting the cue ball,does the brass air joint sound good,and have a better feel than other brass joints.

[sunny3909]

The only difference in these joints is that the air lock joints are a bit heavy and larger then the normal joints.There is no advantage of airlock joints over the normal ones.Air lock joints are used by cuemakers like Mike Woolridge,Robert osbourne,Andy Gibbs & few others.Trevor white,John parris,Mastercue,Craftsman cue use the normal joints.I would reccomend u the normal ones bcoz they are lighter compared to the airlock joints.

[Deano82]

I would reccomend u the normal ones bcoz they are lighter compared to the airlock joints.

what waffel the weight of the cue is (exp. 17oz) no matter what joint you have in it

[Mellow Yellow]

Waffel???? the weight and position of the joint will effect the balance of the cue.

[trevs1]

I am looking to buy a top quality snooker cue. I need to know about the air joint,when hitting the cue ball,does the brass air joint sound good,and have a better feel than other brass joints.

What joint is in a cue will have no major direct effect on how the cue plays or sounds, as too many other factors are at play.

There is no advantage of any one particular type of joint. As long as it tightens well and is strong enough to do the job, it should be fine. Perhaps one of the most important things about any joint is how it's actually fixed into the butt and shaft of the cue itself. This IS something that can vary considerably from what I've seen.

Obviously, there are some joints which I'd personally say are not as good as others, but in general, most seem to work ok..ish.

As for the airlock joint specifically, (which I don't use by the way) they are nothing special or magical, they are just another good joint, I like them.

My advice is to look at the overall cue or maker, the joint is not the most significant part of the cue.

[MikeWooldridge]

The only difference in these joints is that the air lock joints are a bit heavy and larger then the normal joints.There is no advantage of airlock joints over the normal ones.Air lock joints are used by cuemakers like Mike Woolridge,Robert osbourne,Andy Gibbs & few others.Trevor white,John parris,Mastercue,Craftsman cue use the normal joints.I would reccomend u the normal ones bcoz they are lighter compared to the airlock joints.

sorry friend but you're wrong.

airlock, parris, mastercue are all around the same weight at around 1-3/4oz. give or take a fraction, with mastercue, in fact, being fractionally the heaviest.

sizewise, when viewing the joins done up and out of the cue, the airlock is almost identical to the parris join.

the craftsman is the lightest i have here at around 1-5/8oz. and i think i have a trevor white one here too (not sure though but certainly looks similar) which is about the same.

the important point here is that nobody's gonna notice the difference weightwise when playing with any of these.

the only one that is noticeably different is the 1/2" screw thread used by robert osborne (last time i looked) which is without doubt the heaviest out there.

i use airlock cos i believe it to be the best in terms of engineering and strength compared to all the others out there. and i've used them all, or at least near on identical designs.

but my recommendation is not to worry too much about the join. if well fitted, in a good quality cue, any of the above will be fine.

[Lee Vilenski]

Meh. It doesn't really make much difference, I can hit 70+ Breaks with my £5 cue, it won't make you better having a more expencive cue...

[sunny3909]

sorry friend but you're wrong.

airlock, parris, mastercue are all around the same weight at around 1-3/4oz. give or take a fraction, with mastercue, in fact, being fractionally the heaviest.

sizewise, when viewing the joins done up and out of the cue, the airlock is almost identical to the parris join.

the craftsman is the lightest i have here at around 1-5/8oz. and i think i have a trevor white one here too (not sure though but certainly looks similar) which is about the same.

the important point here is that nobody's gonna notice the difference weightwise when playing with any of these.

the only one that is noticeably different is the 1/2" screw thread used by robert osborne (last time i looked) which is without doubt the heaviest out there.

i use airlock cos i believe it to be the best in terms of engineering and strength compared to all the others out there. and i've used them all, or at least near on identical designs.

but my recommendation is not to worry too much about the join. if well fitted, in a good quality cue, any of the above will be fine.

Hi Mike! Thanks for replying.I had based my opinion on my experience with my 3/4 osbourne cue.I found its joint to be on the heavier side.

[poolqjunkie]

Going a bit off topic here, I do not really like the quick release joint used at the end of the butt as it sometimes gives out a "ding" when I try to hit a power shot with the rest, or when I used the shorter extention to play a shot out of reach. Does anyone notice that?
Perhaps the airlock joint at the butt end will make the fit tighter, and still is quicker than a regular threaded pin?
Some joints when not installed properly will come loose, or the face might be a bit off. These will affect playability. I would look for a cue with a better sd joint rather than the one used by Parris, but with the main joint, I think as long as it is installed right, it alone should not affect much if anything.

[bebop1964]

Please excuse my ignorance but I cannot see any screw thread on the pictures of the air lock joint, does this mean they are held together only by vacuum or is there an internal thread?

[subzeer0]

like you have said.....its an internal thread

[bebop1964]

Thanks for the clarification subzeer0, I have now ordered my cue from Mike Wooldridge, can't wait to get my hands on it.