The Cue Stick

There are many types of Cue Sticks. There are Pool, Carom, Snooker, and Specialty sticks. They all are unique in their own way.

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Pool Sticks

    A pool stick, used for pocket billiards, it is usually made mostly of maple wood, and it is mixed with fiberglass. Sometimes it is also two pieces that screw together. There are also steel collars, and a pin. Normal Pool sticks are about 58 inches long. They are also available in 17-21 ounces. 19 ounces is the most common. There are many custom sticks. Recently, pool sticks are becoming more technological. They are using  materials like fiberglass, carbon fiber, aluminum, etc., for shafts and butts. There has been some experimenting with rubber, memory foam and other soft wraps.

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Carom Sticks

Carom cue sticks are similar to pool sticks, but are shorter and lighter. They also can come in two pieces. They are normally 54-56 inches long, and weights 16.5-18.5 ounces. The tip is also 11-12 mm in diameter. The difference in the Pool and the Carom sticks, is the Carom sticks are stiffer. Which is because of the heavier billiards balls. They also reduce the amount of deflection. Caroms sticks are made widely of wood, and the best sticks are handmade.

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Snooker Sticks

   These cue sticks are designed for the game, snooker. They are normally 55 inches long, and they have a 6 inch extension piece that makes the stick longer. The tips are normally 8.5-10.5 mm in diameter. They provide more accuracy and finesse, because of snooker balls being smaller then pool and carom balls. Snooker butts are flat on one side. This is so the stick can be laid flat on the table. The flat part helps make the players shots more precise.

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Specialty Sticks

   

Some Cue Stick makers, make a variety of special sticks made for specific shots. There are Pool break sticks are made from a very hard leather, this avoids excessive wear and tear on tips. Jump sticks are shorter and lighter then other sticks, and a very hard tip. It makes the jump shot easier. Some standard cue sticks have a two piece stick, which allows a player to create a jump cue stick. People who play artistic pool, sometimes have 20 or more cue sticks. They are each used for a specific shot. A high quality two piece cue stick that has a nearly invisible wood to wood joint is called a sneaky pete. These sticks look like cheap one piece sticks. Hustlers liked to use these sticks.

Here is a  video showing how cue sticks are made.

(if you want to learn about maintaining your cue stick properly click here)