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  • Is This Normal?

    I've measured the width of the ferrule on my cue (it is 8.9mm at the bottom of the ferrule & 8.6mm at the top of the ferrule just below the tip. Is it normal to have this kind of taper on a ferrule from 8.9mm at the bottom to 8.6mm at the top or should it be 8.9mm all the way up from top to bottom?

    Ideally I think I'd like my tip to be between 9.25mm-9.7mm as I feel that 8.6mm is too small. I'm normally pretty decent amongst the balls but struggle quite a lot on long range shots and have always been curious if having a wider tip would improve my long potting. I spoke to a bloke who used to be our local cue doctor (he's sadly passed away now) about having a wider tip and shortening my cue slightly to allow this but he said that no matter what the width of your tip is, you will still hit the same amount of the cue ball and it won't improve centre ball striking regardless of being a wider tip.

    What do you think, is 8.6mm too small and should I get my cue shortened a bit to allow for a wider tip?
    Last edited by dmorley85; 25 January 2018, 08:57 AM.

  • #2
    Try playing with a friends/club cue that has a bigger tip to see how you get on with it first before taking such a step.

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    • #3
      Usually a ferrule will be the same diameter for top to bottom, in my experience and the only time it was not was because (and this could be your case) the cue maker trimmed it down due to a customer request for a smaller tip size.
      I used to play snooker with my one and only cue which was (is) 8.2mm. When I got a snooker cue at 9.5mm my snooker game greatly improved.
      It is true that the contact area between cue and tip does not vary much between tip sizes, but I do think there is more to it than that.
      As above, try out some other cues with bigger tips and see how you do.
      Up the TSF! :snooker:

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      • #4
        Put a bigger tip on and have a mushroom on your own cue.

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        • #5
          One thing Robert Osborne pointed out to me was that it's quite common for the ferrule to be ever so slightly oval on handmade cues so perhaps you've taken the narrowest and the widest measurements moving between the ferrule?

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          • #6
            Originally Posted by qc2 View Post
            One thing Robert Osborne pointed out to me was that it's quite common for the ferrule to be ever so slightly oval on handmade cues so perhaps you've taken the narrowest and the widest measurements moving between the ferrule?
            The ferrule on my cue slowly gets narrower from the bottom to the top. It starts at the bottom at 8.9mm and slowly gets thinner and finishes at 8.6mm at the top just below the tip.

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            • #7
              I thought slight taper to ferrule was normal??
              VR Ultimate Limited Edition 1 Piece Ash Cue - 58” | 9mm | 18.9oz | 29.5mm | 18”.
              Long & Short Tele Extensions | 6” & 3” Ebony Mini Butts.
              Peradon Blue/Black Patchwork Leather 1 Piece Wide Case.
              Century Titanium Ferrule | ADR147 Tip | Taom V10 Chalk.

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              • #8
                Originally Posted by TooDark View Post
                I thought slight taper to ferrule was normal??
                Me too. Not so sure now though. If a ferrule is 8.9mm at the bottom should it also be 8.9mm at the top just below the tip and not 8.6mm?

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                • #9
                  Originally Posted by dmorley85 View Post
                  If a ferrule is 8.9mm at the bottom should it also be 8.9mm at the top just below the tip and not 8.6mm?
                  No, the cue is final fine sanded, wire wooled and finished with the ferrule in situ so the taper on the shaft will follow to the ferrule. This 0.3 of a millimetre difference is more than the taper of the cue but is probably just the result of the taking off and fitting of many tips over the years, the top of the ferrule will always come down a tad when a tip is cut down and shaped and the glue removed from the ferrule with fine sandpaper.
                  Brass isn't a hard alloy and is easily sanded down to size. Brass ferrules with internal threads have quite a thick side wall and for a 9.25mm final size I would fit a 10mm and take it down to 9.25mm along with the final fine sanding and wire wooling of the shaft leaving a ferrule with a thinner side wall that gives less defection to the cue ball.
                  Speak up, you've got to speak up against the madness, you've got speak your mind if you dare
                  but don't try to get yourself elected, for if you do you'll have to cut your hair

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                  • #10
                    Originally Posted by vmax View Post
                    No, the cue is final fine sanded, wire wooled and finished with the ferrule in situ so the taper on the shaft will follow to the ferrule. This 0.3 of a millimetre difference is more than the taper of the cue but is probably just the result of the taking off and fitting of many tips over the years, the top of the ferrule will always come down a tad when a tip is cut down and shaped and the glue removed from the ferrule with fine sandpaper.
                    Brass isn't a hard alloy and is easily sanded down to size. Brass ferrules with internal threads have quite a thick side wall and for a 9.25mm final size I would fit a 10mm and take it down to 9.25mm along with the final fine sanding and wire wooling of the shaft leaving a ferrule with a thinner side wall that gives less defection to the cue ball.
                    How would you take a new ferrule down from 10mm to 9.25mm, sandpaper? Should it then be 9.25mm at the bottom of the ferrule and the same at the top?

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                    • #11
                      Have to disagree with some of what has been written. Ferrule should be straight up and down. They're precision turned. Why would anyone create such a precision component, install it on a precisely cut tenon, then sand it to a taper weakening the part of the ferrule which takes the most impact from the tip?

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                      • #12
                        Originally Posted by dmorley85 View Post
                        How would you take a new ferrule down from 10mm to 9.25mm, sandpaper? Should it then be 9.25mm at the bottom of the ferrule and the same at the top?
                        No, I'd turn it down on my lathe while fitted to the end of the shaft, which will be about 0.5mm oversize, and then during final finishing and fine sanding and wire wooling the ferrule will have a very, very small taper to it as it will follow the taper of the shaft, not the 0.3mm the OP has but something like 0.03mm or even less.


                        Originally Posted by Elevenrts View Post
                        Have to disagree with some of what has been written. Ferrule should be straight up and down. They're precision turned. Why would anyone create such a precision component, install it on a precisely cut tenon, then sand it to a taper weakening the part of the ferrule which takes the most impact from the tip?
                        When you've made a few cues and measured the precision components you've just bought and understand the process I'm talking about and what is needed from the cue then you can pipe up.

                        The thickness of the side wall on a threaded ferrule that's less then 9mm is the same as one that's 12mm which leaves you having to cut quite a small tenon which really weakens the end of the shaft.
                        This is why I turn down a bigger ferrule to have a thinner side wall so I can cut a thicker tenon which together gives the cue less deflection:nonchalance:
                        Speak up, you've got to speak up against the madness, you've got speak your mind if you dare
                        but don't try to get yourself elected, for if you do you'll have to cut your hair

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                        • #13
                          0.03mm isn't really the level of taper the OP is on about. So, when I responded to this topic I responded to what the OP asked, which is whether a 0.3mm taper is normal. It's not, it should be straight up and down to all intents and purposes. I didn't comment on turning down ferrules to fit or thinning the walls. But that's how you fit a ferrule, so didn't really need a comment. So I'll continue to 'pipe up'- if a ferrule is notably conical, it's because it's not been put on right.

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                          • #14
                            Originally Posted by Elevenrts View Post
                            0.03mm isn't really the level of taper the OP is on about. So, when I responded to this topic I responded to what the OP asked, which is whether a 0.3mm taper is normal. It's not, it should be straight up and down to all intents and purposes. I didn't comment on turning down ferrules to fit or thinning the walls. But that's how you fit a ferrule, so didn't really need a comment. So I'll continue to 'pipe up'- if a ferrule is notably conical, it's because it's not been put on right.
                            Filing or sanding down the ferrule to make it conical is a good way of fitting a smaller tip without changing the responsiveness of the cue by retapering the shaft. There's plenty of metal in the side wall of a threaded ferrule to allow for this, after all it's round so a tiny amount is taken off the edge for the overall 0.3mm diameter difference.
                            If it doesn't work it's simple enough to put on a new ferrule and go back to what it was.

                            In my experience a ferrule that hasn't been put on right is simply not straight and making it conical doesn't hide that fact, but hey keep piping up about something you know nothing about, we're all learning something here, but not from you.
                            Speak up, you've got to speak up against the madness, you've got speak your mind if you dare
                            but don't try to get yourself elected, for if you do you'll have to cut your hair

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I don't think I've experienced a ferule taper of 0.3m on a new cue. Maybe after a few years of cleaning and playing that amount of material may have been removed. I suppose an issue could be, like VMax says, a small tipped cue could have a thinner walled ferule and removing another 0.3mm from this is probably going to have some impact on how long it will last if the owner cleans/polishes it too often. If I acquired an older cue with this much taper I'd get someone to look at it, because you don't want to cause damage to the shaft by playing with an overly weakened ferule.

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