Low deflection vs traditional shafts

Honestman

New member
Hi guys newbie here with a question are there any good low deflection shafts made here in the good ole USA ??? I know McDermott make some but opinions seem to mixed. You know a company can have stuff made over seas and assemble it here and legally call it American made. I could import shafts from China with no tip put a tip on it and call it American made witch is sad our country allows this. So i wan't a good low deflection shaft that is 100% American made.
 

Buckzapper

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I play with both. The traditional shaft has much to offer over the LD and either way, your aiming and the speed of the shot has to be there. Some conventional shafts have way too much deflection for me, so I have to consider the speed of the cloth, humidity and how fast the rails are. My first 20 minutes of play, is adjusting to the speed of the table. Am I hitting too soft or too hard.
Schmelke shafts are excellent if you like a small amount of deflection, but I also have Richard Black shafts and Tim Scruggs. The hardness of the tip and the level that you play at is another factor.
 

nj82tj

The dude abides.
Silver Member
Jacoby Hybrid and Pechauer Plus shafts are the only LD shafts I cared for. That being said, I tried them and have gone back to regular maple. Old growth if you can find it.
 

336Robin

Multiverse Operative
Silver Member
Jacoby Hybrid and Pechauer Plus shafts are the only LD shafts I cared for. That being said, I tried them and have gone back to regular maple. Old growth if you can find it.

The Hybrid is no longer produced and from what I've heard of its
replacement, the discontinuance of the original Hybrid was a big mistake. I think the
new shaft has 64 pieces in it, which to me means that the shaft is a higher percentage
glue. I'd like to try one but I can't make myself pay 280 with the reviews I've heard.
 

Kim Bye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Bob Danielson makes his own high quality LD shafts, I'm certain he will be more than happy to make you a shaft that suits your style.
 

jokrswylde

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I play with both a pechauer p+ (12.5mm) and a p+lite (11.75mm) both in 30 inch shafts. Great shafts, and they do everything from start to finish in their shop in wisconsin.
 

CESSNA10

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I use predator 314-3 shafts on all my cues. I think it is important
to stay with one shaft. Switching around in my opinion is not recommended. The 314 shaft seems to be consistent from one to anther. I order them to be about 3.7 to 3.8 ounces.
 

Tony_in_MD

You want some of this?
Silver Member
I tried the Jacoby carbon fiber shaft last week. Felt good to my hand. At 60 years old I am undecided if I want to take the CF plunge.
 

erhino41

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The idea that cue ball squirt or deflection is inherently bad and must be engineered out of the game is silly. Ld shafts do not make any of this easier, they simply make the calculations needed to adjust different. Ld shafts do not spin the ball easier or better.

Find a shaft that you like the feel of and learn how to adjust to the properties of that shaft, LD or not. Don't go down the rabbit hole of thinking you need x or y shaft to play better. Improvement comes from knowing your equipment and knowing exactly how to adjust for it.

If you bounce from shaft to shaft you'll end up being a jack of all trades and a master of none.

This doesn't answer your question of American made ld shafts, it does address your title of ld vs. standard shafts.


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garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The Hybrid is no longer produced and from what I've heard of its
replacement, the discontinuance of the original Hybrid was a big mistake. I think the
new shaft has 64 pieces in it, which to me means that the shaft is a higher percentage
glue. I'd like to try one but I can't make myself pay 280 with the reviews I've heard.
New one is the Ultra. 140 pieces. Hit one at a tournament. 12.75 version. Played great.
 

StuartTKelley

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've hit with a lot of LD shafts and played a lot with a few. For me, the OB Classic has been the best for me all around. It hits and plays great in my opinion. Won a lot with it for sure. That said, I prefer standard maple shafts or old growth wood. LD, I vote for OB all the way.
 

HueblerHustler7

AndrewActionG
Silver Member
Hi guys newbie here with a question are there any good low deflection shafts made here in the good ole USA ??? I know McDermott make some but opinions seem to mixed. You know a company can have stuff made over seas and assemble it here and legally call it American made. I could import shafts from China with no tip put a tip on it and call it American made witch is sad our country allows this. So i wan't a good low deflection shaft that is 100% American made.

Being American made has nothing to deal with quality, quality has to deal with quality and some may argue some of the best LD shaft on the market or simply the best LD shafts come from over seas. If you're going to let ( America ) be your bases for getting a ( Good) or ( best ) ld shaft, sorry to say your not being open enough. Although I so not play with LD shafts anymore. But the best I have played with in the past goes in this order, Mezz, predator, OB...
 

Cadillac J

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
All it takes is a little adjustment to go between a LD and regular maple shaft...both are great for their own reasons. Depends on my mood...sometimes I prefer one over the other.

Also keep in mind that not all LD shafts are built the same--seems like majority use laminated pieces of wood glued to form a 'perfect radial construction' (bunch of b.s. hooplah to me, as having "our most radially accurate shaft ever!" doesn't really make a difference--I seem to favor LD shafts that are still one piece of wood, even if they might hollow out or lighten front-end mass towards the tip.

To the original poster -- are you looking to purchase a new cue or shaft? If so, I would have many recommendations based on your price range and specifications.

My favorite cue brands: Mezz, Meucci, Schon, McDermott, Joss, Viking, Pechauer, Lucasi, Players/Pure-X

If we are just talking LD shafts (for brands not mentioned above), I'd look to: OB, Bob Daniels SS360, Predator, Jacoby

This is all person preference. Hope you find what you are looking for.
 

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Squirt is useful!!

eliminating it leaves a huge gap in your game

The cueball will get to and hit the same spot of the ball with LD or standard shaft. You need to hit the same spot to make the ball, the difference in shafts is how much you need to compensate for the cueball going off the line with side-spin.

What a standard shaft may help with is getting around a ball in the way, since it curves to the target more, it can get around that ball. They are also much better at jumping. But LD shafts are better at getting spin on the ball with less force. I've done several tests with a friend, we all got more spin with an LD shaft (we tried 3-4 shafts of each type with different tips). In summary we had one layer tip with standard shaft as least spin, LD shaft with layered tip at most spin.
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
The idea that cue ball squirt or deflection is inherently bad and must be engineered out of the game is silly. Ld shafts do not make any of this easier, they simply make the calculations needed to adjust different.
I think they make aiming easier by reducing the size of aiming adjustment estimates that need to be made for squirt. It's easier to be more accurate with a smaller estimate.

Ld shafts do not spin the ball easier or better.
True dat.

pj
chgo
 
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