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POOL TABLES
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Pool Cues
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Pool Cues Stick
A pool table with a pool cues stick at the right A pool cues stick or
simply pool cues, is an item of sporting equipment essential to the games
of billiards, pool and snooker. It is used to strike a ball, usually the
pool cues ball. pool cues are tapered sticks, typically about 1.5m (5ft)
and 510-600g (18-21oz). Most pool cues are made of wood, but occasionally
the wood is covered or bonded with other materials including graphite
and/or fiberglass.
pool cues are of two major types. One type is a one piece pool cues. These
are generally stocked in pool halls for use by the casual player. They
have a uniform taper, meaning they decrease in diameter evenly from the
end or butt to the tip. The other type is the two piece pool cues, divided
in the middle for ease of transport. The large heavy piece of the pool
cues is known as the pool cues butt and the smaller end is known as the
shaft. The two pieces of the pool cues are attached at the joint, which is
normally made up of a screw rising from the butt end of the pool cues
which is threaded into a receptacle on the shaft. The joints are made of
various materials; usually, Aluminum, Brass, Plastic, Stainless Steel,
Wood but sometimes custom pool cues are made of bones, antlers, and other
materials that are usually less common. Shafts are made with various
tapers, the two most common being the pro taper and the European taper.
The end of the shaft has a cuff known as the ferrule which is used to hold
the pool cues tip in place and to bear the brunt of impact with the pool
cues ball so that the less resilient shaft wood does not split. Ferrules
are predominantly made of ivory, carbon fiber or a plastic such as
melamine, aegis or phenolic resin. Leather tips of varying degrees of
hardness are affixed to the ferrule. The tip end of the pool cues will
vary in diameter but is typically in the 11.75 to 14 millimeter ('mm')
range with 13 mm for pool pool cues being most common and 10 mm for
Snooker pool cues being most common.
The leather tip of a pool pool cues is used to hit the pool cues ball.
Because leather will slide off of the pool cues ball on the hit without
some material allowing it to grab, pool cues chalk is placed on the tip of
the pool cues, ideally after every shot, so that the player does not
mistook cues. This is especially important when the player is not hitting
the pool cue ball in the center and is, thus, imparting spin to the pool
cues ball. There are different grades of hardness for tips, ranging from
very soft to very hard. Softer tips hold chalk better, but tend to erode
faster from abrasion (from chalk), shaping (from pool cues tip shapers/tackers/picks),
and mushrooming (from normal use or hard hits). Harder tips maintain their
shape much better, but because of their hardness, chalk tends to not hold
as perfectly as it does in softer tip materials. Usually the hardness of a
tip is from the compression that was used in making it from leather. Some
tips are layered and some are one-piece. Layered tips hold their shape
better than one piece tips, but they can sometimes "inlayer" from use,
shots, or tip tools. One piece tips don't have this disadvantage.
The pool cues butt is often inlaid with exotic woods and other materials
and includes decorative rings. The use of various types of wraps on the
pool cues butt, such as Irish linen or leather, provide a player with a
better grip as well as absorbing moisture.
The choice of materials used in the construction of the pool cues butt and
the artistry of the design can lead to pool cues of great beauty and high
price. Good quality pool pool cues are customarily made from maple wood,
especially the shaft. Snooker pool cues, by contrast, are almost always
made of ash wood. pool cues are not always for play -- some are purely
collectible. There have been a number of famous pool cues makers over the
years. The most famous are Herman J. Rambow and George Balabushka, whose
pool cues are very valuable to collectors. These "collector" pool cues
often have ornate inlays with metals, and varying woods to display designs
and works of art. These pool cues are also valued because of how well they
perform.
"Feel"
Some people think that the "feel" of the pool cues is distorted with
different materials used in the construction of a pool cues. Different
hard nesses in tips, ferrules, woods, steels, and plastics alter the
vibration felt in an experienced players hands. The common view is that
harder materials transfer less resonance though the wood of the pool cues,
not allowing a player to feel if the shot was shot as intended. Note that
all pool cues are made of wood, if it is a graphite or fiberglass pool
cues, it is only the outer layer that is bonded with the inner core of
wood. The feel of graphite and fiberglass pool cues have been ridiculed by
the pool playing community for being very bad in that they are harder to
maintain (compared to wood pool cues) and feel stiff. Because of this,
they are usually used as break pool cues. If the fiberglass or graphite on
a pool cues is scratched, it is rendered unrepairable, also, after some
use, the materials become very glossy and thus not as smooth as they were
originally. Wood doesn't have this problem as it can be sanded or put in a
pool cues lathe. The rise in the popularity of synthetic materials used is
considered much due to the sponsors of professional players, as well as
new players thinking that there is an improvement in technology of pool
cues by use of graphite and fiberglass, much like how tennis and golf have
used lighter materials. But this is not the case for pool cues because
they must have a specified weight according to the rules, and composite
materials do not make the pool cues much stronger. Much has been done to
have a better feeling pool cues, leading to a debate between whether major
pool cues manufacturers make better pool cues or if custom pool cues
makers do. Brand names have been criticized for their production lines of
plain designs and poor materials compared to hand-selected materials used
by custom pool cues makers. Whatever the matter, the feel of a pool cues
is usually a personal preference and may be influenced by the first pool
cues that a person has gotten used to.
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