Wood Shaft v CF

lfigueroa

lfigueroa

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So, I was at the pool hall minding my own beeswax when a player starts telling me a story about spending a half hour talking to a *very* famous player (don't ask, you would definitely know of him).

The take away from this conversation was two-fold: first, that wood moved/changed enough in different environments to noticeably effect play and second; not all CF shafts, even from the same manufacturer, played the same so players need to try them out and choose the shaft they like.

Personally, I take no issue with the second point. But I really have to wonder about a wood shaft changing enough from say, a bone dry Las Vegas environment, to a New Orleans cookin' a big pot of crawfish in the back environment.

What says you?

Lou Figueroa
 
I think unless wood is well sealed it will change depending on humidity level. Wether a person could tell the difference, I don't know.
 
I never noticed any diffenence, but I stink.

I do recall Corey D years back would say something to the effect of he'd get a new shaft every so often as the fibers would break down, and affect the play.
 
Wood shafts are like baseball bats to me. Eventually it loses its structural integrity. Baseball players constantly changing their bats for this reason. Now their point of contact are different than ours but we make contact with a ball more often than they do on a bat.

The shafts flex and vibrate every time we make contact. I was told a long time ago to let a cue warm up if it’s cold outside. Put the cue together and let it warm up to the room’s temperature. Then again there were a lot of half truths and folklore then.
 
shooter_Hans said:
Wood shafts are like baseball bats to me. Eventually it loses its structural integrity. Baseball players constantly changing their bats for this reason. Now their point of contact are different than ours but we make contact with a ball more often than they do on a bat.

The shafts flex and vibrate every time we make contact. I was told a long time ago to let a cue warm up if it’s cold outside. Put the cue together and let it warm up to the room’s temperature. Then again there were a lot of half truths and folklore then.
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There is some truth to letting wood acclimate to a room but I'm not sure a few minutes or even an hour is really enough. When installing wood floors the box usually says to leave in the room to acclimate for atleast 24-48 hours if I remember right.

I think it would take a really good player to notice the difference. I think most would notice the difference in the speed of the table due to the humidity before the change in the shaft.
 
I think that if you have decided to use wood shafts for playing pool (I am one who uses wood) -/ then you just screw your cue together and forget about everything else - just play! If I had to think
About my cue shaft under different playing conditions it would hurt my game.
I agree, table conditions are the biggest variable in playing pool - pocket size, pocket angles, cloth speed, rail rebound/ speed — way more than worrying about a cue shaft.
 
Humid. will make the outside sticky but won't affect the actual make-up of the shaft. The CF/epoxy matrix used to make them won't absorb moisture from humid air. Certain kinds of CF can be affected if soaked in water but humidity won't do anything to them.
 
they have been used successfully for hundreds of years. If you take care of them (dont leave it in freezing or Hot cars etc), these are lifetime long products. Of course, I am not a pro. Earl strickland once said he hates crowds watching him because it is too many people breathing near the table and messes up the play. So, his opinion on this would be fascinating.
 
IMO, CF shafts are not alike, even from same company. If it takes weeks to "get used" to a shaft, I have no interest.
Like wood, some are sweet, some not. IMO, LD shafts from large companies are more consistant. Have, fun with it, try 'em out :-)
 
Sounds like a BS story concocted by the CF shaft industry to push their garbage. Not that it’s needed as every hack league player in this game has purchased at least 1 and some 4 or 5 different brands of the CF shafts like they do every new tip, chalk, etc. looking for that “magical piece of equipment” that will take them from being a 3 ball runner to a great player. Sadly it doesn’t work like that.
 
The vagueries of the human experience will influence your game far more than weather conditions will a sealed wood shaft. But, given that guitar necks change in extreme weather conditions, even sealed cue shafts could, too. But we’re talking going from swamp to desert to Baltic conditions.

You can’t seriously trust your instincts on such minutiae when your environment, what you ate for dinner, how many beers you had yesterday, whether you exercised or not, how much screen time you’ve had, etc., etc., will all impact your mental state, hand to eye coordination, timing and quality of sight wildly.

99.9% of the time, when you are blaming the equipment, it’s 100% you.
 
lakeman77 said:
IMO, CF shafts are not alike, even from same company. If it takes weeks to "get used" to a shaft, I have no interest.
Like wood, some are sweet, some not. IMO, LD shafts from large companies are more consistant. Have, fun with it, try 'em out :)
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Curious here but just how does one measure 'consistency'?? Construction, playability?? CF shafts are WAY more consistent(manufacture wise) from shaft-to-shaft than wood could ever dream of. This would lead to them(same brand/model) playing much the same. Never happening with wood. I've had more than a couple cues that had two really well made wood shafts and i RARELY if ever used both shafts. They were so different in their hit/feel that one was basically a 'case queen'. I'd bet pretty good that if you took,say, ten cf shafts(same maker/diameter/tip) you'd be hard-pressed to tell them apart. Not impossible but almost.
 
Interesting thread, and very good comments. Does wood "change" based upon it's environment? Well, it depends on the kind of wood, but to some extent, yes, it does. In this context, vis a vis a shaft, it could, but it would be very slightly. Noticeable? Perhaps to the keenest of feel, sensitivity, etc. Even then, it might be over the long-term. However, what will happen, over time, is that the structural integrity of the wood will change. There's texture, strength, feel, vibration, and more, in the wood and it changes due to impact, use, time, environment, humidity, temperature, and again, more. There could be a diminishing of the structural integrity, and once could definitely feel that over time, or immediately if there was a change or break down in the structural integrity of the wood. No different than with the old-fashion tennis rackets, or wood hockey sticks.

In addition, machine made or hand made, each piece of wood is different, even if it comes from the same tree, cutting, section, etc. However, go from the highest of altitudes to the lowest, the most humid environment to the lowest, and so on -- the change initially will be unnoticeable to most. Over time, perhaps, but what is more likely being felt or noticed is that change to the structural integrity. Is that change due to environment? Yes, again, to some extent, but initially it's slight.

As far as the CF shafts -- I know nothing about them! LOL. I am actually wanting to read and learn about them. I hear about high deflection, low deflection, and I have no idea what that means either, LOL. But I am interested in learning about CF as an alternative. My knee jerk reaction is -- wood butt and CF shaft -- how does that work? But then again, like I said, I know nothing about it, LOL. I am thinking something like -- half the hockey stick is CF and half is wood? Hmmmmm. Confusing to me, LOL. Thanks again everyone!
 
TrxR said:
I think unless wood is well sealed it will change depending on humidity level. Wether a person could tell the difference, I don't know.
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At normal, even really high, humidity level a wood shaft is not going to absorb enough moisture to change how it plays. Outside will get sticky for sure. I live in Okla. and have dealt with these cond's my whole life.
 
PoolPlayerNNJ said:
Interesting thread, and very good comments. Does wood "change" based upon it's environment? Well, it depends on the kind of wood, but to some extent, yes, it does. In this context, vis a vis a shaft, it could, but it would be very slightly. Noticeable? Perhaps to the keenest of feel, sensitivity, etc. Even then, it might be over the long-term. However, what will happen, over time, is that the structural integrity of the wood will change. There's texture, strength, feel, vibration, and more, in the wood and it changes due to impact, use, time, environment, humidity, temperature, and again, more. There could be a diminishing of the structural integrity, and once could definitely feel that over time, or immediately if there was a change or break down in the structural integrity of the wood. No different than with the old-fashion tennis rackets, or wood hockey sticks.

In addition, machine made or hand made, each piece of wood is different, even if it comes from the same tree, cutting, section, etc. However, go from the highest of altitudes to the lowest, the most humid environment to the lowest, and so on -- the change initially will be unnoticeable to most. Over time, perhaps, but what is more likely being felt or noticed is that change to the structural integrity. Is that change due to environment? Yes, again, to some extent, but initially it's slight.

As far as the CF shafts -- I know nothing about them! LOL. I am actually wanting to read and learn about them. I hear about high deflection, low deflection, and I have no idea what that means either, LOL. But I am interested in learning about CF as an alternative. My knee jerk reaction is -- wood butt and CF shaft -- how does that work? But then again, like I said, I know nothing about it, LOL. I am thinking something like -- half the hockey stick is CF and half is wood? Hmmmmm. Confusing to me, LOL. Thanks again everyone!
Click to expand...
CF shafts on wood butts work fine. IMO cf butts are nothing but a sales gimmick. All it does is hold the shaft. I know one person that sprung for GoCustoms butt and he said he could tell little-to-zero difference from the wood butt and same shaft.
 
dont like cf because of the surprises it gives when using english. after visiting with a well known pro he explained in detail the didderence between cf and wood. what makes the most sense is the consistency of wood throughout versus no consistency from the outside of cf to the middle of cf. a more consistent hit with wood versus surpise results with cf.
 
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