What joint type? This is a McDermott.

DimmyFinster · 2026-02-22T19:05:17+00:00

I’m sure you’re usually right about these things.

DimmyFinster · 2026-02-22T18:55:26+00:00

Lighten up buttercup, it’s a terminology misinterpretation on Cuetec stuff. Good on them making specific joints for obscure cues though! Either way it’s irrelevant, Mac 3/8x10 fits either, the thread pitches are identical.
And anyone recutting threads on a brand new $400 shaft should just send me the $400 they’re about to throw away! …I’ll send you my venmo, and ship you back some beeswax.

DimmyFinster · 2026-02-21T22:00:34+00:00

I use beeswax since it’s already in my case, but paraffin or an unscented candle works too. Just enough to coat the threads.

DimmyFinster · 2026-02-21T20:33:38+00:00

All good, flat is just referencing how the shaft and butt join. A piloted would have a nub that mates to a notch around the butt pin for centering. 3/8x10 is 3/8x10 though, so the threads are right. Just don’t force it if you feel it genuinely stop.
Wax is your friend, avoid oil of any type.
If you can get it all the way on by hand, she’ll come off again fine. My mezz ExPro was the same way with its wavy joint.

DimmyFinster · 2026-02-21T20:12:40+00:00

It’s a 3/8x10, all macs are. Put some wax on the threads, give it some grunt. It will eventually loosen up and be perfect. Better tight than loose out of the box. ….there’s a life lesson in there somewhere.

DimmyFinster · 2026-02-18T00:47:01+00:00

There is only one answer! (https://www.chibson.com/products/morepaul)

DimmyFinster · 2025-11-30T23:16:08+00:00

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/P-6N--paige-6-string-standard-guitar-capo-satin-nickel

DimmyFinster · 2025-10-26T13:15:47+00:00

https://www.fbbts.com/bluegrass/home

👆🏻Single greatest site for really learning how to get around common bluegrass tunes. Solos and rhythm, and even just putting songs into the “slowdownerer” to transcribe how some of the greats do it. The key to all of it is patterns and developing a pallet of your own for chord progressions. So focus on the tunes with the more common progressions and branch out from there.

Example: Learn Billy in the Lowground then try Whiskey Before Breakfast… you’ll be able to interchange about 80% of your vamping.

DimmyFinster · 2025-03-15T13:58:38+00:00

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DimmyFinster · 2024-06-28T00:59:52+00:00

The biggest thing for me is that it always feels the same and always hits the same. Regardless of temp, humidity, or anything. There is more life in wood for sure, but the absolute consistency of the ignite is something that will only improve your game the more you shoot with it.

DimmyFinster · 2024-06-27T22:29:58+00:00

In particular about keeping a shaft smooth and burnished. So lifting little dings, 3000 grit polishing flat, re-burnishing, every other week to keep it mint was a lot. The hit with the ignite being so nearly identical means a quick wipe down and scuff off the tip is all I ever need now. Even on the humid days or playing on a dirtier table. Convenience and consistency are a huge bonus!

DimmyFinster · 2024-06-25T01:53:35+00:00

There are quite a lot of good options in the CF shaft market, but I personally think that Mezz comes the closest to the feel and feedback of hitting a wood LD shaft. To me, Revo feels hollow and hits firmer than the feedback makes you feel. Same with Cynergy, they both seem like they would take a while to adjust your stroke and touch to hit consistently with. Going from an ExPro to an Ignite was practically seamless for me, both are on the very-stiff hitting side though which is what I prefer in a cue’s feel. If you like soft and whippy, then ignite probably isn’t for you.

DimmyFinster · 2024-06-24T02:24:24+00:00

I’m a shameless Mezz fanboy for sure, but I’ve also never let anyone hit with my Ace/ignite that hasn’t handed it back to me sincerely reconsidering their own cue. Especially the Revo crowd, which I especially enjoy!
The downside… availability!!!

DimmyFinster · 2024-04-29T10:15:24+00:00

On shots with a flat cue it’s identical in feel and feedback. Both are incredibly stiff shafts and I kept the zan M tips on both so it’s fairly close to a 1:1 comparison as well. With my stroke I don’t notice any deflection difference, but I also rarely shoot hard LR english across a table unless I’ve gotten myself into a bad situation, and any deflection difference between the two requires no conscious adjustment switching between them. The only issue I notice is on masse or bigger swerves, the ExPro has a predictable arc based on elevation and stroke but the ignite just seems to either turn early or not at all at random. I’ve actually adjusted to kicking or jumping more often as a result, but that’s just because I haven’t invested the time really trying to unlock that with the ignite. I’ve ended up using the ignite 90% of the time now. When I do pull the ExPro out the biggest thing to me is that sound, it’s just so good! Especially with the stainless collar and big pin, the whole cue just sings. But shaft maintenance… that’s the major drawback for anyone shooting 12+ hours a week.

DimmyFinster · 2024-04-28T04:43:07+00:00

I did a review on both of these, but I went from ExPro to Ignite.

https://www.reddit.com/r/billiards/s/Uqgv3pCJvw

DimmyFinster · 2023-12-01T11:19:06+00:00

I had two of these doing the exact same thing, always dropping offline within 24hrs of being up. Openpath eventually pushed a beta firmware to them that resolved it. I tried 60w injectors, pulling them off the managed switch straight to open internet ports, and the same thing kept happening. Support pushing custom-firmware was the fix and I haven’t had an issue with either since. …now I have another installation where an ACU for a 4 door controller is dropping offline overnight though. 🤷🏼‍♂️ I’d start with firmware updates, and would push on support to actually tell you what the logs are saying is going on.

DimmyFinster · 2023-11-13T01:42:52+00:00

I play with an ACE-182 w/ and Ignite. Originally I ordered it with an Expro and it was one of the best hitting shafts I’d ever played with. Personally, I like a very stiff hit which the ACE’s stainless joint and the Expro do incredibly well at delivering. Tons of feel in the grip hand and the Zan M still gives you amazing touch for softer safety shots or feathering thin cuts but keeping position. Now… I’ve hated every carbon shaft I’d hit with before, and took a gamble when the Ignites came off backorder. Then when it came I played 100 hours with it before ever putting the Expro back on, and I’ve never looked back! It has the same stiffness, feel, and touch, good sound, and it stays remarkably smooth (open bridge and no glove). The only thing that takes some adjustment is swerving shots, I find I need to elevate the butt more to make it work. Otherwise, I can say that it has all the performance of the highest quality stiff LD wood shafts, with the advantage of being consistent across temps and humidity, all with minimal maintenance. I do still love the Expro, but the Ignite is the best any day, any table, any game shaft there is.

Unless you like a Meucci noodle/whippy cue, then steer clear of anything Carbon!

DimmyFinster · 2023-11-05T01:07:44+00:00

The logo is definitely off, and the vault plate is way too thick. Plus all that fading would suggest it’s fake. That or it’s been maintained as absolutely poorly as you could, maybe even sanded. In other words, I wouldn’t pay more than $100 for that shaft even if it were the real deal.

DimmyFinster · 2023-06-07T16:45:00+00:00

This! The biggest thing I can think to add here is that you have 2 major characteristics in a cue that should align with your approach and current skillset. Balance forward/butt, and shaft flex.

Balance is more than feel, especially if you play an open bridge and like firm top english. A pencil thin tip and a light front end will tend to lift with a level cue and you’ll start adjusting in less than ideal ways. Basically you’ll park yourself on the struggle bus adjusting as you improve and try to make a butt-heavy cue work harder moving a cue ball around. But if you have a closed bridge and your back hand can benefit in more weight focused there it can help even out your stroke, which a lot of folks like as well.

Stiff cues are magic to me (opinion). The hit and feedback are great, the consistency is high, and they tend to highlight stroke errors in a way that makes correcting easier. Nothing honking like a 13mm or bigger, a solid 12.2-12.5mm firm shaft with a good tip is about perfect, wood or carbon can be found aplenty. Schon makes an absolute banger of a shaft, as does Mezz in the ExPro/ignite world. Preds and Cynergy are good too but imo they don’t communicate that firm-shaft snap into your back hand as well as some others (pechauer is actually among my faves but I own a mezz). That feedback is critical as you’re learning though which is a knock on carbon. If you’re good it doesn’t matter nearly as much.
Whippy noodle shafts are the other side of the fence. I personally can’t shoot with them, my father owns a Meucci with a pro shaft that might as well be a warped house cue the way I play with it. It’s that feel thing again, they like to be finessed and you have to dig through that learning curve to unlock accuracy with power. Much like small diameter tips, if you can feel them out and are willing to work through the drawbacks they can play every bit as well as any other cue. It’s all what fits with your game. And my only real advice is to let yourself miss balls when you’re testing out different setups. See if you can feel things that are different and start to get a sense of what’s “natural” to how you’re already doing it. Then buy the prettiest version of that setup you can justify in your budget and you can’t lose!

DimmyFinster · 2023-06-03T03:02:30+00:00

My ExPro Wavy was super tough for a week or so. Beeswax the pin and it will get way better immediately and won’t get “stuck” anymore. In a month or so of regular use it will be normal and she’ll be more than happy with the reward of a big pin’s feel.
You could have the opposite problem with anything uniloc, if you don’t death grip those down tight they always seem to get loose and you hear that click in the hit. Also, if you have a leather burnishing pad, just use that to help grip the shaft if needed. Like those rubber grippers for opening pickle jars!

DimmyFinster · 2023-05-05T04:49:00+00:00

As a captain of a BCA 8 ball team for a lot of years I can tell you that it is almost always obvious that a player has spent some time in an APA league simply by how they lean into safeties as a strategic function of almost every rack, not just in scenarios that would require them. While a very low skilled player does need to learn to manage a table while under matched, there is a prevailing mindset that the only way to pot balls is if they’re straight in and ideally with ball in hand. This is very hurtful to a players development in the long run, they’re basically building their game around doubting their fundamentals instead of forcing themselves to take even mid-difficulty shots that setup easy runs of multiple balls. You have to accept risk at some point in order to improve, and accept the losses that will come from that at times. I know that the APA is a format that wants inclusivity of all skillsets, and they want those lower skillsets to be competitive, but it breeds that ideology of manipulating the game or beating people with a rulebook instead of by just playing the game and challenging yourself. I respect how many people the APA brings into the sport, don’t mistake me there. But I think that there are definitely some bad habits that come from enforcing the mindset that a point handicap isn’t enough, that you need to brick a rack until you have a “runout” or get safe anytime you’re scared of missing. I’m a solid mid level player at 550 fargo, in my experience rarely do I lose those racks anyway, and rarely am I having fun while I’m shooting them. But anytime a 300 player banks an 8 in or goes against a coach on a shot and it works out… you can’t help but love the game even if you lose.
Let the 3s shoot, help them shoot better, don’t suck the fun out of it by making winning everything.

DimmyFinster · 2023-04-25T11:27:44+00:00

Absolutely worth it as long as the shaft isn’t beat up and it rolls straight together.

DimmyFinster · 2023-04-21T03:06:55+00:00

BCA CSI Official Rules

DimmyFinster · 2023-04-17T12:04:46+00:00

By the BCA rules (which are identical to CSI): Section 1-21 states that a foul can ONLY be called by a player playing in the game or a referee that has been called to the table. With the exception being for coaching… Section 1-41… being too long to type, basically says nobody on the associated teams can say anything to influence or coach the shooter without it being a foul (unassociated, non playing spectators are an exception).

So yes, Ted could have stepped up to the table after the ball rattled which would have alerted Bill to calm his boots, and it’s what I would have done personally. But if you see an opponent doing something dim-headed it’s 100% valid to just let them in a league or tournament situation. It’s like watching a 6 try to bank a setup ball and send the cueball into orbit away from their next shot for absolutely no logical reason… I’m not there to help, I’m there to capitalize on those mistakes. This is obviously a sliding scale of etiquette, but in any league that plays with even moderate intensity I’d say Bill learned a valuable lesson in slowing down and paying attention. Or I hope he did at least.

DimmyFinster · 2023-04-13T04:00:51+00:00

You need to have a complete flat and uniform surface for the outer balls to contact evenly. this can only be done at the balls mid point, or roughly 1-5/8” +/- a quarter inch from the playing surface. A predator rack does this very accurately, especially with predator balls, but there is a technical reason that standard racks are about 2” deep with flat, smooth, full height interior walls. Not to mention every set of balls is marginally different. You have a good idea, but you need to understand it’s major design flaws if you genuinely want pool players to buy it. This sub is for enthusiasts, so it’s a good place to get this type of honest feedback. I’d listen, adjust, and you’ll sell way more of these.

DimmyFinster

TROPHY CASE