Ferrules and Throw and Spin

[Leo]

Do you think any pros ever read some of the posts on here and think WTF are they all going on about. Just got a little feeling that the cue enthusiasts on here worry more about the flex of shaft and stiffness of their cues then the pros who use them for a living do. May not, I just can't see it TBH.

[sberry]

With all due respect to Terry and his vast experience I really don't think it's the different ferrule materials that cause different spin and throw. Hitting the cue ball off-center is what causes throw and spin.
Unless someone is going to give me some coherent and physically provable explaination why a plastic ferrule should cause less (or more) throw than a metal one, I prefer sticking with this.

A few months ago I had to get a new ferrule installed, I went from brass to stainless steel and I can assure you there is zero difference in throw or spin.

Well said, it is how you hit the ball, there is no evidence, physical or otherwise to say anything else - it's a bit like saying "look, I can throw tennis balls further with a special glove" - it's bollocks

However, some players really do believe that an 'ultimate' shaft can hit the ball differently and better than a club cue out of the bucket, despite the fact they're made out of the same dead wood - same with deflection and ferrules, same with different tips and spin - and salesmen love it

As Terry Griffiths said when commentating in the recent welsh open when comparing snookerers to golfers constantly changing their clubs "what these people don't realise is it's just an implement, it's you that makes it do things"

[Terry Davidson]

A cue's throw is mostly dependent on both the shaft flex (thinner to stiff) and also the end weight of the cue. Acuerate insists it is the last 18" of the cue (in a straight taper) along with the ferrule which gives them their 'reduced throw" cues. I have one here and I find lower down the cue the shaft is a lot more stiff than my Mine Wooldridge cue. I also reduced the ferrule height on my Acuerate and it did lessen the amount of throw but it still throws more than my MW with the BS ferrule.

My own thoughts are the flex of the shaft AS A WHOLE will contribute to the throw of a cue along with the weight of the ferrule. If a player happens to believe he gets unintentional side either all the time or sometimes (most players will get that unintentional side on some shots, even a lot of the pros on power shots) so you can reduce the effects of that by getting a handmade cue with a medium flex shaft and some type of lighter ferrule, either fiber or the Blackspin types. You can reduce the height on the brass, stainless steel or titanium to around 5mm and keep the walls as thin as possible without compromising the strength of the ferrule so you have some protection on a bad miscue.

I have ordered a lot of custom made cues but I will say the cuemaker who did the best job of getting the flex correct (for me) was Mike Wooldridge with Trevor White coming a very close second. But you have to be very specific when ordering a cue with medium flex as most cuemakers tend to make the shaft a little too stiff to achieve that.

I would also like to add that I don't know why some or even most of the pros don't get a lower deflection cue as with their fast cloths there is really no need to have cues that are stiff. Not really knowing for certain but I think Judd Trump's cue might be a medium flex.

[neuronic]

With all due respect to Terry and his vast experience I really don't think it's the different ferrule materials that cause different spin and throw. Hitting the cue ball off-center is what causes throw and spin.
Unless someone is going to give me some coherent and physically provable explaination why a plastic ferrule should cause less (or more) throw than a metal one, I prefer sticking with this.

A few months ago I had to get a new ferrule installed, I went from brass to stainless steel and I can assure you there is zero difference in throw or spin.

[Master Blaster]

What causes throw? Is it the difference in the density of the brass/SS/titanium ferrule and the ash/maple it surrounds? Metals can be anything up to 8.5 in relative density, with ash and maple down at around 0.8, i.e the metals are 10x more dense than the wood underneath (less in the case of titanium). Terry suggests that from his vast experience, fibre/plastic ferrules throw a lot less. Plastics tend to be around 1.0 - 1.2 in relative density, not far off the wood underneath.

So why don't we see many plastic ferrules on cues? Yes, we do see them on American pool cues and some N. American snooker cues but not on cues from Asia/Europe

Do members think that fibre/plastic reduces throw?

Do fibre/plastic ferrules result in more or less screw, top etc.?