The point of McDermott I shafts?

HSV B.47 - Effect of shaft endmass and squirt on miscue limit
http://billiards.colostate.edu/high_speed_videos/new/HSVB-47.htm

I really enjoy this Dr. Dave guy!

eihi said:

I know Meucci isn't to highly regarded around these forums, and I haven't picked up one his cues in 20+ plus years, but I feel he was really a pioneer of LD, what are your thoughts?
I am not nearly as knowledgeable as a lot of people on the forums and if my opinion isn't based on fact feel free to correct me.

Click to expand...

If he was working on it he was keeping it quiet lol His garbage robot he brought made out of junk yard parts he brought to the expo a couple years after predator came out was as $hitty as the junk cues he was putting out at the time. Predator was first on the market then then meucci came out with this silly dot on the shaft that if it was facing up you knew the cue would hit the same . Non sense in my opinion but if you liked the way it hit play with it...I never liked the way they hit.. back in the day I was a McDermott guy.

scassidy77 said:

I'm trying to figure out what the point is of McDermott I shafts? What is thier intended purpose or why were they made?

Click to expand...

You can make the same statement on every cue that is above $50 for the most part as provided the cue is straight every single one of them will go exactly where your tell the cue ball to go. Deflection, regardless of shaft, is something you have to personally learn for the cue you are playing with. Whether it is a house cue or a $4k low deflection one, you can hit it just as consistent based on your knowledge gained through the experience of using it. Anyone that tells you different is either justifying why they overpaid for their cue, selling something or have no actual clue about shooting.

According to them:
The Triple-Layer Carbon Fiber Core technology increases radial consistency, reduces vibration and virtually eliminates the inconsistencies found in a traditional maple shaft.

The i-Shaft’s patented Tenon Tip Technology increases the "sweet spot" of the shaft by transferring energy from the tip directly into the carbon fiber core. This results in a more solid hit that maximizes the accuracy of your shot.

Are those things 100% true? Maybe, maybe not. It is all about marketing just like you hear every phone company out there talk about how they have the greatest nationwide coverage.

I personally do own McDermott cues, all in the $250-$399 range. All but 1 of them has the G2 shafts. I purchased them for a multitude of reasons but it ultimately came down to what others said about their quality and service and the fact they are american made. I have had to use their service a couple times and it is top notch.Would I ever buy one of these shafts? As I said above, it is the Indian not the arrow so unless it came with the cue to begin with, I probably would not buy it as a replacement with the thought that it is going to improve my game.

trob said:

If he was working on it he was keeping it quiet lol His garbage robot he brought made out of junk yard parts he brought to the expo a couple years after predator came out was as $hitty as the junk cues he was putting out at the time. Predator was first on the market then then meucci came out with this silly dot on the shaft that if it was facing up you knew the cue would hit the same . Non sense in my opinion but if you liked the way it hit play with it...I never liked the way they hit.. back in the day I was a McDermott guy.

Click to expand...

That was more along the response I was expecting around here regarding Meucci, I have only owned one McDermott, ordered new, showed up crooked with the pin offset in the butt, pilot hole for the shaft also misaligned. Although, it was one of the cheapest models they sold, never bought another, it was this model right here


Most of my friends have had good experiences with Mcdermott, so no hate on them.

Skippy27 said:

Deflection, regardless of shaft, is something you have to personally learn for the cue you are playing with. Whether it is a house cue or a $4k low deflection one, you can hit it just as consistent based on your knowledge gained through the experience of using it.

Click to expand...

You can hit just as consistent with a high deflection cue as with a low deflection cue, but estimating a larger aim correction is harder to do than estimating a smaller one. Here are a couple of examples to illustrate what I mean:

1. If you're shooting an arrow in a crosswind, do you want more or less crosswind?

2. If you need to estimate the length of a board to within 1/4 inch, is it easier to do when the board is about 1 inch long or when it's about 1 foot long?

pj
chgo

Patrick Johnson said:

You can hit just as consistent with a high deflection cue as with a low deflection cue, but estimating a larger aim correction is harder to do than estimating a smaller one. Here are a couple of examples to illustrate what I mean:

1. If you're shooting an arrow in a crosswind, do you want more or less crosswind?

Click to expand...

If the cross wind is 0.30 mph or 0.32 mph how much difference does it make to a shot of 8 feet ? The issue is not like a variance of 15 mph on a 40 foot shot. It's quite a small difference. Anecdotally we've all seen top quality pool played with all sorts of shafts so it must be reasonable to become proficient with shafts that exhibit varying amounts of deflection.

Dave

DaveK said:

If the cross wind is 0.30 mph or 0.32 mph how much difference does it make to a shot of 8 feet ? The issue is not like a variance of 15 mph on a 40 foot shot. It's quite a small difference. Anecdotally we've all seen top quality pool played with all sorts of shafts so it must be reasonable to become proficient with shafts that exhibit varying amounts of deflection.

Dave

Click to expand...

My thought as well. I like to watch old youtube matches recorded long before limited deflection was a phrase. How'd those guys shoot so well with solid maple shafts, long ferrules, single layer tips? Skill...Skill no gadget will give you. Skill no money can buy.

I wonder if guys like C J or Surfer Rod would of had Low Deflection broomsticks if they could had scored better.I think many are getting shafted and dont know it .To shaft or not to shaft.(Custom cuemakers) should offer no shaft discount on orders .

DaveK said:

If the cross wind is 0.30 mph or 0.32 mph how much difference does it make to a shot of 8 feet ? The issue is not like a variance of 15 mph on a 40 foot shot. It's quite a small difference. Anecdotally we've all seen top quality pool played with all sorts of shafts so it must be reasonable to become proficient with shafts that exhibit varying amounts of deflection.

Dave

Click to expand...

An average low squirt cue with about half maximum spin creates about 1 1/2 degrees of squirt, about 2 1/2 inches over the length of a 9-foot table. An average high squirt cue creates about 2 degrees of squirt, about 3 1/2 inches over the length of a 9-footer.

That's 1/3 more squirt. Scale that up or down for different shot lengths and squirt amounts - the difference will still be 1/3.

You can get plenty good at estimating the corrections for both, but I think a difference of 1/3 makes a significant difference in the difficulty of getting there, and maybe in the degree of precision possible.

pj
chgo

Patrick Johnson said:

An average low squirt cue with about half maximum spin creates about 1 1/2 degrees of squirt, about 2 1/2 inches over the length of a 9-foot table. An average high squirt cue creates about 2 degrees of squirt, about 3 1/2 inches over the length of a 9-footer.

That's 1/3 more squirt. Scale that up or down for different shot lengths and squirt amounts - the difference will still be 1/3.

You can get plenty good at estimating the corrections for both, but I think a difference of 1/3 makes a significant difference in the difficulty of getting there, and maybe in the degree of precision possible.

pj
chgo

Click to expand...

FYI, here's where I get those numbers - a broad comparison of commercial cues done by Platinum Billiards.

My shaft is the one on the left, a 10mm hollow point straight taper built by Ed Young. Its squirt is half that of a normal squirt cue.

There is a potential drawback to low squirt cues: their longer pivot lengths might be farther from your bridge length, and therefore less forgiving of stroke error.

pj
chgo

View attachment 70661

Since you are publishing this data I am sure all variables were addressed

alphadog said:

Since you are publishing this data I am sure all variables were addressed

Click to expand...

You'll have to take the variables up with Platinum. It's their data, published by them.

pj
chgo

Patrick Johnson said:

You'll have to take the variables up with Platinum. It's their data, published by them.

pj
chgo

Click to expand...

No they didnt post it.

I appreciate their effort. I dont take it as controlled scientific data.

eihi said:

That was more along the response I was expecting around here regarding Meucci, I have only owned one McDermott, ordered new, showed up crooked with the pin offset in the butt, pilot hole for the shaft also misaligned. Although, it was one of the cheapest models they sold, never bought another, it was this model right here

Most of my friends have had good experiences with Mcdermott, so no hate on them.

Click to expand...

Thats because it’s fact. He was just pumping out cues faster then he could keep up with quality. Let’s face it they were the cue every one wanted then and he was cashing in. Do I blame him? No He’s a bussness man but it sure gave them a bad name for a lot of years after that.

alphadog said:

No they didnt post it.

I appreciate their effort. I dont take it as controlled scientific data.

Click to expand...

If there's a list you think is better, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

pj
chgo