Predator 314 ferrule

Tony Not Drago

Tony Not Drago

Active member
I've got two Predator 314-2 shafts. Both ferrules cracked from normal use (not breaking with them) within 2 years and had to be replaced. I like the shafts, but could do without the hassle. I have my eye on a custom with after market original 314 shaft. Were the ferrules less prone to failure in the earlier models, or in the newer 314-3 shafts for that matter? Otherwise, any LD shafts which are less likely to break, but have similar deflection to the 314-2?
 
Predator 314's ferrule supposedly has gotten stronger with each step from 314-1 to 314-3. This was what I learned from Budget Billiards' Julia Meucci Patrick and references therein. See snippets and complete response below.

The original 314 introduced the concept of a hollow-front low-deflection shaft. The 314-2 advanced it with a shorter, stronger ferrule, a foam-glue plug, and a sturdier joint. The latest 314-3 ties everything together with a sophisticated front-end assembly (vault plate + ferrule + silencer + foam), achieving even lower deflection and a more solid hit.​

In the 314-3, the ferrule is no longer simply glued onto wood – it’s bonded to this Vault Plate, which in turn is bonded around and into the wood, creating a unified “front end assembly”. Beneath the tip, Predator added a V-Tek fiber silencer (a thin vulcanized fiber pad) to damp vibration and sound at impact​
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Predator 314 evolution.jpg
 
Tony Not Drago said:
I've got two Predator 314-2 shafts. Both ferrules cracked from normal use (not breaking with them) within 2 years and had to be replaced. I like the shafts, but could do without the hassle. I have my eye on a custom with after market original 314 shaft. Were the ferrules less prone to failure in the earlier models, or in the newer 314-3 shafts for that matter? Otherwise, any LD shafts which are less likely to break, but have similar deflection to the 314-2?
Click to expand...
It's the shaft with the highest percentage of failiure, ask any cue maker..
The reason why it's like that is obvious, it's an incredibly thin walled ferrule and Isoplast once it gets a small nick in it, will develop a crack..
Looking for an older "mytical" shaft, that's really no different isn't the solution. The 314/3 version has a completely different construction and crucially a stronger ferrule material, so those do have less issues, but they do require careful monitoring of that tip plate..
Why not just go with a shaft that solves this problem by not being built in a way that makes them so fragile?
Just as a comparison, the Mezz Sigma shafts has been their standard shaft for years now and I have sold a lot of them. To this date, I have yet to repair one, no cracked ferrule, no split lamination or no tip pad that can fall off or gets removed by an inexperienced player with the result being that the ferrule and possible the shaft will develop a crack..
 
I've got two different predator cues with 314-2 shafts one was my main playing cue the other one I used as a break cue , I've not had any problems with either of these cues or the ferrules on them .

One has a milk dud tip the other a Le Pro tip if that makes any difference.
 
I've had a 314-2 for 10 years and have broken with it many times and it's never suffered any damage. Still in great condition, it just sits in my case since I use a Z3 now. Always had a Kamui black tip on it, not sure if that makes any difference.
 
I've had about 6 or 7 314-1 and Z-1 and 5 or 6 314-2 and Z-2. I never had a -3 of my own (switched to a Revo).

The 2's have a better ferrule than the 1's. The 1's were softer, and over time with lots of draw shots or break shots, they would get flat spots on them from rubbing on the cloth. The 2's were a harder material, and that would not happen.

The very early 2's had a ferrule problem where the glue was poor, and the ferrule would fall off. The later 2's they fixed that. (1's and 3's never had this issue).

In all the shafts I had, I never had a ferrule break. I've had the wood split along the splice on a couple of them however.

Revo 12.4 plays exactly the same as the 314's, imo. Its durability is bulletproof. It never gets any dings, and the front end is super solid.
 
iusedtoberich said:
I've had about 6 or 7 314-1 and Z-1 and 5 or 6 314-2 and Z-2. I never had a -3 of my own (switched to a Revo).

The 2's have a better ferrule than the 1's. The 1's were softer, and over time with lots of draw shots or break shots, they would get flat spots on them from rubbing on the cloth. The 2's were a harder material, and that would not happen.

The very early 2's had a ferrule problem where the glue was poor, and the ferrule would fall off. The later 2's they fixed that. (1's and 3's never had this issue).

In all the shafts I had, I never had a ferrule break. I've had the wood split along the splice on a couple of them however.

Revo 12.4 plays exactly the same as the 314's, imo. Its durability is bulletproof. It never gets any dings, and the front end is super solid.
Click to expand...

i don't know what the difference in polymer was but the original 314-1 didn't crack like the 2nd gen, at least not in my experience from both usage and changing tips for others. flat spots i haven't seen on any preds but i believe you, friction heat can do that sometimes
 
I have a bunch of 314-2 shafts, all over 15 years old. Never had an issue with the ferrules.
Just recently I've noticed what looks like a crack on one of them... I contribute it to normal wear and tear after so many years of usage.
I'm not going to bother with it, it did it's time. It was custom made from a blank to fit my Carmeli so that's a bit of a bummer...

Cracked-314-2.jpg
 
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