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RAVEN Custom Cues
Marion, IA 52302
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Shafts: Diameter, taper and length.
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Most two piece pool cues are between .800 and .880 inches at the joint. The average is about .840 inches. If everything else is equal the cue with a thicker joint tends to be a bit stiffer. Thinner joints tend to be a bit more flexible. Keep in mind that I’m talking about tendencies, not irrefutable facts. Generally speaking (if all else is equal) a stiffer cue is designed more for control and repeatability. More flexible cues tend to have a bit more action and sacrifice some control. Neither is better or worse they are just different. The differences in shafts are designed to suit different players with different playing styles.
At the tip pool cue shafts are usually 12.5 to 13 millimeters. That is .502 to .512 inches. Tips can range from about 10 to 14 millimeters. That range is .394 to .551 inches. At the extreme end of this range the variation is almost 1/2 of an inch from the joint to the tip. How that difference is distributed, throughout the length of the shaft is critical to how the cue plays. Snooker shafts will get down to the range of 7mm, but snooker balls are smaller and lighter than pool balls.
There are probably countless variations of how cue makers could taper a shaft, but, fortunately there are only about 5 common variations. (1) The shaft can be a conical taper from the tip to the joint. That is it just gradually, and consistently, tapers from the tip to the joint. Billiards shafts tend to be conical. They are typically stiff because billiard balls are larger and heavier than pool balls. (2) It can have what is known as a pro-taper. That is where the shaft is a consistent diameter for the first 10 to 14 inches and then gradually tapers back to the joint. Pro tapers tend to be the most flexible unless they are coated like CueTec shafts. (3) Shafts can have a slight taper from the tip to the first 10 to 14 inches and then a more radical taper to the joint. How stiff they are depends on how little or how much the tapers are. (4) Or they can have multiple tapers from the tip to the joint. How stiff these shafts are depends on how little or how much the tapers change. (5)The Euro (European) taper is becomming more common. The Euro taper is more or less conical. It varies widely in size and acutal dimensions.
There is another taper that is occasionally referred to. The parabolic taper. I am not an engineer but the term seems to be misused or at least the meaning of the term seems to be stretched. A parabola is a mathematical / geometric shape. The elliptical orbit of a comet around the sun or the flight of an arrow or bullet in the air is close to the shape of a parabola. The term sometimes describes a shaft that has an intentional decrease in diameter (a narrowing) usually in the 10 to 14 inch range of a shaft. It is generally imperceptible to the user but creates a kind of artificial flex point in the shaft. Other times the term is use to describe shaft with a gradual taper that is not a true conical taper. I suggest you inquire with the cuemaker if you encounter this sort of taper.
Which shaft taper is right for you?
See The RAVEN Taper
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