Switched back from LD; now what?

R

RichSchultz

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I switched to a traditional shaft recently, after years with LD (did use traditional before that, but years ago).

So...now shots involving extreme left or right English are missing. For example, long cut shots where OB is on the short rail. Now, I seem to driving the OB into the rail. I think the increased deflection is messing me up.

Any tips?
 
RichSchultz said:
I switched to a traditional shaft recently, after years with LD (did use traditional before that, but years ago).

So...now shots involving extreme left or right English are missing. For example, long cut shots where OB is on the short rail. Now, I seem to driving the OB into the rail. I think the increased deflection is messing me up.

Any tips?
Click to expand...

Go back to LD shaft. Problem solved.

Thanks

Kevin
 
I did the same thing. Tried to get on the LD bandwagon, but fell back off. I play a 12.75mm maple shaft now. There is a little bit of a learning curve to get back to neutral. Just give it a little time.
 
It takes a certain amount of play over a certain amount of time for your mind to learn to subconsciously adjust for the new squirt amounts. The same thing happens and it takes close to the same amount of time whether going from regular shaft to low deflection, or from low deflection to regular (or any two shafts with different deflections for that matter). You learned to adjust when you changed to low deflection, and you will learn to adjust when changing back. You are just anxious to be playing well again and haven't given it enough time and play yet is all.
 
RichSchultz said:
They don’t make ‘em for SugarTree joints. 3/8x10 modified.
Click to expand...

Get a blank, any decent cuemaker will be able to modify it. Eric is a member here to and posts a bit, you can go to the ask a cuemaker section and I'm sure he'll see this.

I found you pretty much have to aim up to 3/4 of a ball off the shot when aiming with spin for a non-LD shaft depending on the distance, speed hit and spin amount. Once you use one, it's very obvious about what you need to do when adjusting, if you only use a standard shaft, the shots look natural. Once you use an LD and go back you are looking at and going "I'm like a diamond off on that aim" and it goes in.

Look at Bustamante aim sometime on shots, on a few of them it looks like he will miss the whole ball.
 
Well if you switched back because you wanted to, then just keep practicing and you'll figure it out. Maybe use doughnuts to shoot some of the same spin shots a bunch of times.

If you switched because you couldn't find a LD shaft to fit your butt, buy a partial and send it to a cue maker, as others have mentioned.

I've been playing predator shafts now for 20 years. No way would I want to go back to regular shafts, ha ha.
 
iusedtoberich said:
Well if you switched back because you wanted to, then just keep practicing and you'll figure it out. Maybe use doughnuts to shoot some of the same spin shots a bunch of times.

If you switched because you couldn't find a LD shaft to fit your butt, buy a partial and send it to a cue maker, as others have mentioned.

I've been playing predator shafts now for 20 years. No way would I want to go back to regular shafts, ha ha.
Click to expand...
thanks; i want to stick with the shaft Eric made for the cue. I’ll just put in more table time downstairs. Thanks for the guidance!
 
RichSchultz said:
I switched to a traditional shaft recently, after years with LD (did use traditional before that, but years ago).

So...now shots involving extreme left or right English are missing. For example, long cut shots where OB is on the short rail. Now, I seem to driving the OB into the rail. I think the increased deflection is messing me up.

Any tips?
Click to expand...

I hear you, I've done the same thing myself, after trying a traditional shaft after playing LD Mezz and Predator shafts. With the long shot you describe, especially if you're trying to spin the object ball in with inside english, that traditional shaft is going to deflect much more away from the object ball than the LD shaft. It will hook or swerve somewhat, but the key is the LD shaft doesn't do that as much. I would pick what you're comfortable with, and stay with it, but realize there is a different aim point when english is applied. Hope that helps.

All the best,
WW
 
RichSchultz said:
I switched to a traditional shaft recently, after years with LD (did use traditional before that, but years ago).

So...now shots involving extreme left or right English are missing. For example, long cut shots where OB is on the short rail. Now, I seem to driving the OB into the rail. I think the increased deflection is messing me up.

Any tips?
Click to expand...

Allow for deflection then.
 
More practice to get used to it... or... turn the shaft down to a smaller diameter (if you haven't already)... taking some of the "meat" off the shaft will help it "flex" a little more and it will act more like a LD
 
RichSchultz said:
thanks; i want to stick with the shaft Eric made for the cue. I’ll just put in more table time downstairs. Thanks for the guidance!
Click to expand...

My solution...since the 70s....re-taper the shaft to around 12mm....carom taper.
I aim the same way as a 314 at most ranges....
...but it deflects enough that slow spin doesn’t massé on me....
....and when I need power, it produces more than an LD.
 
Captain18 said:
More practice to get used to it... or... turn the shaft down to a smaller diameter (if you haven't already)... taking some of the "meat" off the shaft will help it "flex" a little more and it will act more like a LD
Click to expand...

Just an FYI, the shaft flexibility or stiffness has relatively little to do directly with the deflection properties of the shaft. It is the end mass/weight that makes the bulk of the difference, and taking down the diameter of the shaft does decrease deflection but it is mostly because you reduced the mass/weight at the tip end of the shaft and not because you changed the flexibility.
http://billiards.colostate.edu/threads/squirt.html#endmass
 
I went from a Z2 11.75 to a 13mm Josey and the first couple days although I loved the hit everything i shot was to full. Fast forward a month I like the cue even more and have adjusted to maple just fine .You will to
 
When I purchased my LD, the complete opposite, thin cuts I would miss the ball

completely, I don't have that problem any more because LD's are no longer in my

case. Problem solved, by realizing their wasn't one in the first place.
 
RichSchultz said:
I switched to a traditional shaft recently, after years with LD (did use traditional before that, but years ago).

So...now shots involving extreme left or right English are missing. For example, long cut shots where OB is on the short rail. Now, I seem to driving the OB into the rail. I think the increased deflection is messing me up.

Any tips?
Click to expand...

Everything comes around.


If you want to get used to a regular shaft, the quickest way to find out how much Squirt you have is by doing the Aim & Pivot Method to test how much Effective Squirt your cue has with the Effective Pivot Point as the metric. It's "Effective" because the test uses an object ball and the overall cue ball / object ball interaction, as opposed to the "Natural Pivot Point," which only is describing the shaft and cueball interaction.

And for those reading these terms for the first time, this has been described on the interwebs since the mid 90's. Bob Jewett's pool and billiard FAQ describes the Aim & Pivot test.

Most normal cues have a range of effective pivot points in a normal short bridge length, making backhand English a powerful and longtime successful tool.

Freddie
 
gerard soriano said:
I went from a Z2 11.75 to a 13mm Josey and the first couple days although I loved the hit everything i shot was to full. Fast forward a month I like the cue even more and have adjusted to maple just fine .You will to
Click to expand...
I'm a little confused. You hit everything too full. Are you using outside English on every shot? It seems with inside English, you would miss completely with HD shaft. Same as OP, he said driving OB into rail. If he cuts ball on short rail to bottom left pocket, with inside he should not even contact object ball, but with outside, drive it into rail. Hmmm?
 
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