rubber butt

[sonnic]

a year or so ago i added some weight into the butt of my cue which eventually caused the rubber butt to fall out and to be lost forever. Now i have been playing with it without a butt for a long time now and am seriously considering buying the 314 for it. But i want to get the maximum performance out of it.

Does the rubber butt do anything???

I wonder if im getting more vibration then normal because of it?

Should i upgrade the but to that new thing?

Your input is appreciated,
Sonnic

[Nick T.]

Sonnic . . . . .
In your situation I’d buy the Predator SPWU Sneaky Pete for the following reasons:
It only costs $92 more than buying a 314 shaft for your present cue and you still have your present cue to use as a break cue or as backup.

I don’t have an SPWU, but I have had an SPJLW for some time now and it is the cue that I use the most - - a solid hitter with excellent feel!

[audiopro]

The rubber butt is only there to protect the bottom of the stick when you set it down. Now maybe in extremes over time, the shock from being lowered to a hard floor, may cause hair line cracks in the butt, but this would likely take a long time, and have to be really dropped pretty hard before it would make much of a difference.

My opinion, the rubber butt is for protection only. Any damping effect that having a rubber ball in the back, would likely not be noticable to a human.

[New Kid In The Hall]

Go to any billiard store and I'll bet they'll give you a rubber butt free. I did this for a Meucci cue.

[Nick T.]

Just now came back from doing a little experimenting - - - and IMO you should get a replacement rubber butt plug.

I found a five foot section of PVC pipe in the garage and holding it near one end gave it a sharp rap near the other end and felt & listened to the vibrations. Next I stuffed a small rubber ball into the end that I was holding and repeated the vibration test - - and found that the vibrations were noticeably dampened. Score one for the plug.

Next test - - hit a few balls with one of my cues and then pulled out the rubber butt plug and hit a few more. I couldn’t really tell the difference, but I have antique hands and am far from having a delicate touch. IMO a very experienced shooter with a sensitive touch would immediately tell the difference in feel. YMMV!

[audiopro]

PVC is hollow and has a totally different density and composition as opposed to the wood butt of a cue stick. The frequencies and amplitude at which PVC resonates will be considerably different than that of wood even if the wood was hollow. This test can not be considered accurate because of too many variables.

As reported in your second test, you were not able to notice a difference with the butt in or out when using your actual cue. You do mention you have antique hands, yet you were able to notice the difference in the PVC test.

I would stick with my original post, that any reduction in vibration would not be noticable to a human.

But I definitely agree you should get a replacement. If not for the sole purpose of protecting your cue.

[dags_lax]

When I miss a shot I get frustrated and want to bang the bottom of the cue on the floor. The problem being that not only I am I lousy shot with the tip end of the due I am not any better with the butt end. I usually end up missing the floor and hitting my toes when doing this. Therefore I conclude that the sole purpose of a manufacturer putting a rubber butt on a cue is to protect my toes!

[audiopro]

LOL!!!! Nice!!! :D

[sonnic]

what about this limbsaver thing? Is there anything behind this or is it a scam? I would hate to spend 30-40 bucks on a rubber butt that i could of gotten for FREE! The sense im getting is get the free butt from the store and never think about it again... anyone disagree???

[audiopro]

I can't disagree with that.

I have looked at the limbsaver, and have concluded that it is ugly! I think as long as you are not attempting to use your cue for a pole vault, you should be good to go with a normal butt replacement.

Note that the butt caps insertion/attatchment method will vary from cue manufacturer to manufacturer. So the local pool shop may not have one that fits, but can probably get one and should not charge much for it. Another option is to contact the cue manufacturer directly and report your problem. In the interest of good customer service they may send ya one out for free.

[sonnic]

your right also by saying get it just for the simple fact of protecting my cue. but unfortunatly i think i may of already screwed it up. If i hold the cue with the butt to the ground say 6 inches off and drop it there is a very weird noise. i cant even explain it but it sounds broken. Now obviously it wouldn't make this noise if it had a rubber stopper on the end. if you take off your butt does it make a weird noise? If i am in the minority i will just have to take my cue into the dealer and see if they can determine the problem... oh also and this is obviously not good the pearl near the bottom of the cue is slightly cracked (im sure like dags said just pounding the floor with it). also has anyone read why the limbsaver is supose to work??? here is the site address if anyone missed it. http://www.seyberts.com/cue_accessories/limb/index.htm

[audiopro]

If something is cracked on your cue that is not good. Being near the bottom of the stick it probably won't drastically degrade your play, at least if not small. But it will probably annoy the hell out of you, and make you ever conscious of the problem. Possibly affecting your play.

The sound you hear when dropping could be several things. I am not sure if the cracked part you speak of is the butt-cap, or a pearl inlay. If it is the butt-cap, that is probably causing some of the noise.

It depends though really. Any wood will make some noise when dropped or tapped by anything. And the pitch that is created can be directly related to what it is hit with. All materials have a transfer function as far as sound goes. When sound is created, certain mediums will transfer the frequencies in different manners and amplitudes. So the sound may sound different when dropped on a hard floor, vs. a carpeted floor.

Either way you still have this "Weird" sound. You may want to have someone take a look at it. One thing you can do is hold different parts of the cue when you tap it. If it is silent when gripping it in a certain spot, you may have found the culprit spot creating the noise. Also try removing the shaft and trying it seperately. If no noise, may be a bad joint.

However, the more banging you do, the more damage you may cause. If this is a valuable cue I would suggest taking it in to an expert to have it looked at.

[sonnic]

thanks audiopro i agree it is not an expensive cue apx. $250 but certainly not pocket change. I think i will take it to a pro and have them take a look at it. It is the pearl behind the grip thread that is cracked almost all the way around. I dont think it will effect my play unless it has some performance issue. thanks for you input.

Sonnic

[audiopro]

If it is what I think you are explaining is a ring that circles the entire butt. If that IS cracked, it is very likely to make noise when ya tap it.

Hopefully your local shop can tell ya for sure.

Either way, good luck my friend...