No Small Miracle.....Jacoby Shaft Tool Review

That's great!

Most people haven't had the opportunity to learn the difference between a "warped" shaft, and a "bent" shaft. Obviously, yours was "bent" during shipping.

"Bent" shafts can typically be straightened fairly well. The tough part is getting them back to perfect, which I haven't had much success with. Your's is very good.

I have to jump in real quick and say that tubes are the worst package for shipping shafts I have tried. The really heavy ones are good, but they cost way too much and are very heavy. Adding to the shipping costs. The bigger triangle boxes offered by UPS and Fedex are much better. They are stronger and have plenty of room inside. The box and take a pretty good bend and the shaft still has room inside to float around and not get bent.

I recently built a shaft straightener, although I was very skeptical of it. I have shafts sitting to see the long term effect but it seems to work. I'm shocked.

You know if you cruise around the web there are plenty of references to bending wood. Seems to me that if it can be bent in one direction then it could likely be bent back. Fwiw some cuemakers have bending stations where the shafts are heated over propane flames and straightened before shipping. This technique is in use in the usa and asia.

I've been able to straighten warped shafts, as of late, but like I stated, time will tell. It has worked wonders short term. I had two shafts that needed to be turned down yesterday. Both were too warped. I ran my straightening tool up and down the high side and worked it out. I was able to turn the shafts.

Hi,

A customer came in to my shop and gave me a Jacoby shaft straightening tool and I installed and Kamui and did a shaft recondition if return.

I have done 7 shafts with it and so far no problems. I only have had it for 3 months. In that past when someone brought me a warped shaft I told them I could not help them.

I have not charged anything to do this but is it a good customer service device for good will.

JMO,

Rick

How does this shaft straightening tool work?

cueman said:

How does this shaft straightening tool work?

Click to expand...

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=312321&highlight=Jacoby

Heres the link to another post for ya cueman!

Charge?

scdiveteam said:

Hi,

A customer came in to my shop and gave me a Jacoby shaft straightening tool and I installed and Kamui and did a shaft recondition if return.

I have done 7 shafts with it and so far no problems. I only have had it for 3 months. In that past when someone brought me a warped shaft I told them I could not help them.

I have not charged anything to do this but is it a good customer service device for good will.

JMO,

Rick

Click to expand...

Hi,
I also have used this tool with about a half dozen shafts so far, and have been amazed by the results thus far. Like most others that have tried this and posted about it, I hold a degree of skepticism about the long term lasting results. But, so far of the shafts of my own (shafts lying around that I knew had an unacceptable amount of roll out), I have checked them each week for the last 7 weeks and not one of them has changed from the day I "fixed" them. I also did a few Predator shafts, one that is mine and 2 for customers/friends, after I got a little experience using the tool. They have also all stayed straight..

The tool takes a little time to get a feel for exactly how to use it, but a good pointer for anyone who purchases one to try for themselves is to NOT use as much pressure as you would naturally think you would. Use light pressure then do a roll check, and just keep doing this several times until you get it where you want it. The first shaft I did, I used too much pressure and took the bend from one spot to the exact opposite side of the shaft (lol). Too much pressure also leaves feel-able "grooves" and may also leave discolored marks. I would recommend putting the shaft on a lathe to do at least a quick sanding/burnishing of it when done, but if you do not use a lot of pressure it isnt always necessary (though still recommended)...


Now, heres my question for everyone out there, especially the cue repair-men. If this does have lasting results, or even if the results only hold up for a decent amount of time, say 6 months or a year. What would you charge for this service? I've thought about it, and Im completely at a loss as to what it is worth. Obviously if the results are long term its worth more than an every 6 month "tune-up". And do you automatically include the light reconditioning of the shaft, or offer it up as an A la carte?

Rain-Man

Rain-Man said:

Hi,
I also have used this tool with about a half dozen shafts so far, and have been amazed by the results thus far. Like most others that have tried this and posted about it, I hold a degree of skepticism about the long term lasting results. But, so far of the shafts of my own (shafts lying around that I knew had an unacceptable amount of roll out), I have checked them each week for the last 7 weeks and not one of them has changed from the day I "fixed" them. I also did a few Predator shafts, one that is mine and 2 for customers/friends, after I got a little experience using the tool. They have also all stayed straight..

The tool takes a little time to get a feel for exactly how to use it, but a good pointer for anyone who purchases one to try for themselves is to NOT use as much pressure as you would naturally think you would. Use light pressure then do a roll check, and just keep doing this several times until you get it where you want it. The first shaft I did, I used too much pressure and took the bend from one spot to the exact opposite side of the shaft (lol). Too much pressure also leaves feel-able "grooves" and may also leave discolored marks. I would recommend putting the shaft on a lathe to do at least a quick sanding/burnishing of it when done, but if you do not use a lot of pressure it isnt always necessary (though still recommended)...


Now, heres my question for everyone out there, especially the cue repair-men. If this does have lasting results, or even if the results only hold up for a decent amount of time, say 6 months or a year. What would you charge for this service? I've thought about it, and Im completely at a loss as to what it is worth. Obviously if the results are long term its worth more than an every 6 month "tune-up". And do you automatically include the light reconditioning of the shaft, or offer it up as an A la carte?

Rain-Man

Click to expand...

How long does it take to do it? Does it take as long as a wrap job? Or better yet if you install le pros (super low material cost) how many of them can you do in the same time it takes to straighten a shaft. Because that's essentially what you are charging for is your time and the best measure of your time is what you charge when nearly all of the fee to the customer is because of your time. So if a le pro takes 10 minutes and it's $10 then you charge $1 per minute and you should be ok.

JB Cases said:

How long does it take to do it? Does it take as long as a wrap job? Or better yet if you install le pros (super low material cost) how many of them can you do in the same time it takes to straighten a shaft. Because that's essentially what you are charging for is your time and the best measure of your time is what you charge when nearly all of the fee to the customer is because of your time. So if a le pro takes 10 minutes and it's $10 then you charge $1 per minute and you should be ok.

Click to expand...

My bigger question is, when is it the right time to use this product ?
Guy comes in with a warped shaft after a trip to Vegas .
Do you do the magic then ? Or you let the shaft sit in your shop for a week ?
What if your shop is in Vegas or China and is uncontrolled ?
I've seen my house cues warp during dry days. Wobble really bad on the table but come back straight after things normalize here.

JoeyInCali said:

My bigger question is, when is it the right time to use this product ?
Guy comes in with a warped shaft after a trip to Vegas .
Do you do the magic then ? Or you let the shaft sit in your shop for a week ?
What if your shop is in Vegas or China and is uncontrolled ?
I've seen my house cues warp during dry days. Wobble really bad on the table but come back straight after things normalize here.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't do it until the shaft is FUBAR and unplayable. It isn't for the wobbles that you cannot see without laying your head on the table. Just the ones where you can "jump rope."

ratcues said:

I wouldn't do it until the shaft is FUBAR and unplayable. It isn't for the wobbles that you cannot see without laying your head on the table. Just the ones where you can "jump rope."

Click to expand...

Ah, that makes sense.
I can see you doing it on a ChiMoo butt too.

scdiveteam said:

Hi,

A customer came in to my shop and gave me a Jacoby shaft straightening tool and I installed and Kamui and did a shaft recondition if return.

I have done 7 shafts with it and so far no problems. I only have had it for 3 months. In that past when someone brought me a warped shaft I told them I could not help them.

I have not charged anything to do this but is it a good customer service device for good will.

JMO,

Rick

Click to expand...

I read somewhere where a u shaped piece of wire rubbed on wood to a point where it is heated can straighten a shaft with quite a bit of effort.