Your shaft LD or regular Mayple?

Ak Guy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I use Diviney Lake Salvage shafts. I have tried 3 LD shafts and just prefer the maple shafts.

How bout you guys, is it LD or maple?

I know great pool can be played with either shaft.
 

pwd72s

recreational banger
Silver Member
I'd hardly say I play great pool, but I use a regular maple shaft. Tried an LD shaft some years back, it felt funny to me, and I really couldn't see that it helped my game, so I went back to what felt good.
 
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GaryB

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
There are several types of shots that are somewhat easier for me with a LD shaft but the feel that I get with a well hit ball with a maple shaft is unsurpassed.
 

Johnny Rosato

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I use Diviney Lake Salvage shafts. I have tried 3 LD shafts and just prefer the maple shafts.

How bout you guys, is it LD or maple?

I know great pool can be played with either shaft.
I use standard maple shafts, I haven't fallen for the LD gimmick yet. At 63 years old, I kinda doubt that I will !!!
 

PocketSpeed11

AzB Long Member
Silver Member
It'll be 7 years since I began playing pool this August. It wasn't until several months ago that I went LD. About a year into playing, I ordered an OB and it just didn't feel right. Perhaps I wasn't willing to give it enough time. Then I tried a Predator shaft this past summer and after a week, maybe a little more, I decided to just stick with regular maple. The Predator just felt like it was cheaply made and I liked the feel of a regular maple shaft better. However, the day I went back to a regular maple shaft I shot horrendous. Perhaps it was just an off day, but I felt like I had already began adjusting too much to the LD. So I decided to give LD an honest shot but this time I ordered a Mezz. It's LD but doesn't have the feel or construction of your typical LD shaft. I haven't looked back, absolutely love my Mezz. Has the LD helped my game? I feel like it has a bit, but it's nothing drastic. I shot some great pool with a beat-up house cue, so I'm aware that there are certainly more important factors to improving one's game. It's nice to get rid of the nagging wonder of if I would shoot better with an LD, and that is something I had wondered for several years.. At the very least, I know shooting with a quality LD shaft won't hurt my game.
 

philly

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Tried my best with an LD. Gave it a good shot. When I went back to the solid maple and it just felt so right. Maple for me.
 

Coop1701

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Low Deflection for me. I use a OB Pro and to me it's a sweet spot. I use to prefer Maple but I can't see using anything else.
 

Cezar Morales

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What makes people think LD shafts are not maple?

Why can't maple shafts be LD?



The posted question has been asked so many times and literally does not make sense and no amount of explaining can make it make sense. :eek:






.


Yes it can as long as its unlaminated i believe.

Mezz shafts r one piece solid unlaminated maple shafts.
Hits real solid too.
I believe its top of the production chain.
 

PRED

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The less glue the lower the deflection. Look for Maple shafts with the least amount of glue for a superior shaft.
 

gregnice37

Bar Banger, Cue Collector
Silver Member
I have about 15 cues in my rotation. I'd say 95% are regular maple shafts with ivory ferrules. The other 5% include lbm ferrules & I have 1 meucci pro shaft & looking to make it an ultimate weapon shaft soon for the 1 meucci I own.
 

Maniac

2manyQ's
Silver Member
I know great pool can be played with either shaft.

Not in my hands they can't. :eek:

When the Predator 314's became all the rage some years ago, I, like many others, felt the need to have one. The problem I found with the 314's (besides the hollow, soft hit) was that there was a learning curve to using them, just like there is to a standard maple shaft (when using english). They didn't help my game, but they were like a placebo. I thought they were helping my game. Looking back, I realize that being a fairly new student to the nuances of shooting good pool, the secret to my improvement was the amount of time and research I was putting into it.

Fast forward....mid-winter 2017. Me, being one of those with multiple cues and shaft combinations and uses them all at one time or another, recently started playing more with the standards maple shafts that came with my cues. I have found that I am really, really digging the solid feel of them, and my accuracy seems to be a tad bit better (especially on the long, straight-in shots). I am also starting to gravitate back to the 13mm diameter tips.

I have used and still have five different brands of LD shafts and I'll be honest, I just cannot condone them as some kind of miracle cure, although I believe (placebo effect?) I can put more extreme english on the cue ball with the LD shafts smaller diameter tapers/tips.

I am going to be using my standard maple shafts a lot more in the future.

Maniac
 
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hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I use standard maple shafts, I haven't fallen for the LD gimmick yet. At 63 years old, I kinda doubt that I will !!!

It's not a gimmick, have you looked at the tests with them? They actually a very noticeable difference in how you need to aim and how much power you need to spin the cueball.

Now if you mean that it won't automatically help your game, that is correct, someone going from a standard shaft to an LD shaft will most likely drop in skill till your aiming memory adjusts, but then it should be easier to work with an LD shaft since you are not compensating as much while aiming with spin.

I did see quite a few people that just can't play with an LD shaft because their natural aim over years has been based on some flaw like swerving the tip or hitting off center and then compensating by aiming off the real line. In those cases, the LD shaft will totally mess with your game since your automatic center ball hit is not actually center ball, and the LD shaft will not allow your automatic trained over years adjustment to work
 

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What makes people think LD shafts are not maple?

Why can't maple shafts be LD?



The posted question has been asked so many times and literally does not make sense and no amount of explaining can make it make sense. :eek:






.

I think the issue started because Predator was using pie construction, so many people have equated the non-solid shaft wood with "low deflection". Then OB did the same, as did earlier shafts like Dominiak. It's like people calling all web searches "Googling" or copying "Xeroxing", a misconception ingrained by passing down of information and attributing something to a wrong end result. Or maybe people arguing for an hour over 8 ball rules in bar because "that is how they played their whole lives" so their rules must be correct" LOL

Some of my favorite LD shafts are one-piece maple. I tried a few Mike Webb LD shafts, equal to the best Predator, but with 3 times as much hit feel quality and it's a solid maple shaft.
 

Superiorduper

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I like them all, some shots are easier with a sold maple and some are easier with laminated maple.

Force follow with inside, or long distance draw shots are much easier with a solid maple shaft, especially a nice stiff one.

Then long distance soft spin, kill shots, small maneuvering in tight spaces seems to be easier with a LD laminated shaft.

With my stroke, these are my conclusions, some might view it completely opposite.
 

Ched

"Hey ... I'm back"!
Silver Member
I like them all, some shots are easier with a sold maple and some are easier with laminated maple.

Force follow with inside, or long distance draw shots are much easier with a solid maple shaft, especially a nice stiff one.

Then long distance soft spin, kill shots, small maneuvering in tight spaces seems to be easier with a LD laminated shaft.

With my stroke, these are my conclusions, some might view it completely opposite.

yea - fits in my mind with my stroke as well.
 

scsuxci

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What makes people think LD shafts are not maple?

Why can't maple shafts be LD?



The posted question has been asked so many times and literally does not make sense and no amount of explaining can make it make sense. :eek:






.
Valid point, Ld shafts are maple but tweaked for less deflection. If they were copper ,I get it. Most TRUE LD shafts , there's a compromise.
You will sacrifice some feel for less deflection. It's all what makes you feel more comfortable at the table. For myself, I'll take the less deflection.The best feeling I get is when I win !!!
 

Agent 99

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I like them all, some shots are easier with a sold maple and some are easier with laminated maple.

Force follow with inside, or long distance draw shots are much easier with a solid maple shaft, especially a nice stiff one.

Then long distance soft spin, kill shots, small maneuvering in tight spaces seems to be easier with a LD laminated shaft.

With my stroke, these are my conclusions, some might view it completely opposite.

This has been exactly my experience ... So, I am still looking for the perfect shaft.

Perhaps the big step forward in shafts will come from new technologies and materials. I think everything that can be done with maple has been done.

Good luck and shoot straight.
 

9Ballr

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I use Diviney Lake Salvage shafts. I have tried 3 LD shafts and just prefer the maple shafts.

How bout you guys, is it LD or maple?

I know great pool can be played with either shaft.



Solid maple for me.
I fell for the hype and lies about LD's making my game better etc.
but the bottom line is that there's nothing LD's can do that solid
maple can not do......and in my case and preference the solid maple
do everything better.
 
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