314-2 woes

BazookaJoe said:

Why did I suddenly start playing horribly with my 314-2? The hit doesn't sound bad, and I can see no visible defects, but I have had to switch back to my standard maple shaft.

I suddenly started playing horribly, and discovered by accident that I played MUCH better with the original shaft.

Anyone have any clues to why it has just happened after a year of playing with this shaft?

Someone th the pool hall suggested a problem with the "spine"??????

Click to expand...

edited due to misunderstanding your post


I did hear some people saying that the 314v2 had a recall on some of their shafts due to QC issues... The original 314 is better IMO

Maybe you should send it to a cue repairman....

BazookaJoe said:

I played very well with the shaft for over a year.

Then suddenly................WHAM

Click to expand...

that happened to me. i ended up switching up with a standard maple shaft.

Bazooka,
Like any other shaft out there it is made of wood. Climate changes effect wood. My personal 314 shaft varies in its rigidness depending on climate and its changes throughout the year. Also, my 314 has progressively lost its crispness of hit as it ages. Now it has not lost its playability or its cue ball control.

Now if you are experiencing tinks or other weird sounds in the hit of the shaft you may need to have someone look at it. The 314-2 had varrying manufacturer defects after they moved production overseas. Most of these defects(such as the ferrule, tip, and glue types) have been addressed and remedied at the manufacturer. If you have any of the defects mentioned above I would send it into Predator for them to inspect and repair if necessary.

BazookaJoe said:

Why did I suddenly start playing horribly with my 314-2? The hit doesn't sound bad, and I can see no visible defects, but I have had to switch back to my standard maple shaft.

I suddenly started playing horribly, and discovered by accident that I played MUCH better with the original shaft.

Anyone have any clues to why it has just happened after a year of playing with this shaft?

Someone th the pool hall suggested a problem with the "spine"??????

Click to expand...

Joe,

On my last 314 shaft, it had worn down to under 12 mm at 6 to 10 inches inches from the tip and I started hitting them bad. It felt like the cue was unpredictible. I knew the shaft had lost it's taper. I think the shaft was worn down from play and from sanding after re-tipping.

I decided to replace it with a 314-2 and noticed the shaft was a lot firmer and held up better on harder hit spin shots, giving me a lot more confidence right away.

Whatever is causing the problem, I personally think it's best to just replace a bad shaft, or your play will continue to deteriorate. I have a back up 314-2 that plays just like my other one, so when it's time I will replace the shaft I'm using now.

Chris

BazookaJoe said:

I played very well with the shaft for over a year.

Then suddenly................WHAM

Click to expand...

This description is a little vague. Could be the cue, could be you! ( Hey, a rhyme!)

Since you have another shaft, I agree with the earlier poster who said send it in to Predator. Could be a loose ferrule, maybe the tip got soaked with some crap, maybe a super small split or crack in the lamination somewhere.

Have you tried a new tip?

BazookaJoe said:

Why did I suddenly start playing horribly with my 314-2? The hit doesn't sound bad, and I can see no visible defects, but I have had to switch back to my standard maple shaft.

I suddenly started playing horribly, and discovered by accident that I played MUCH better with the original shaft.

Anyone have any clues to why it has just happened after a year of playing with this shaft?

Someone th the pool hall suggested a problem with the "spine"??????

Click to expand...

If you have sanded it too much and reduced the diameter then it's now a different shaft. But the sudden onset of your problem suggests that something else is at work.

It COULD be the dreaded slump that all pool players experience that you just have to work your way out of.

Another possibility is something happening with your tip. It may be delaminating.

Hope you get it all worked out.

Regards,
Jim

BazookaJoe said:

The shaft hasnt been sanded

I thought it was a slump until I switched back to the standard and suddenly cant miss. (well not as much anyway)

I'm gonna let one of the other guys who play with a 314 try it on their cue tomorrow, and see if they think it's the shaft

Click to expand...

I had the same problem, after about 7 or 8 months playing with a predator 314-2, I just realized I was playing horrible. I just thought it was a mental thing, still do. You get a new cue/shaft that has a lot of hype behind and it builds your confidence. It may build ones confidence enough as to where they overlook the obvious deficiencies they may have in their playing ability. I played with the cue for a long enough time where its novelty value wore off, and I realized that I wasn't playing well at all. This went on for a bit, and one day I let my GF play with the predator and I played with a house cue. The beat up house cue just felt so much better to me than the predator, I regained some confidence and started playing well after I switched back to a cue that used a traditional shaft...

At least for myself, I don't think there was an defect in my predator cue. I think I just got swept up in the hype of their low deflection shaft, and thought I was playing great with it for awhile... and in reality, I was playing poorly because a.) I'm no pro, b.) the predator shaft just isn't for me. After the novelty value wore off, as I said, I realized I just like the traditional shaft better in terms of feel and hit.

But regardless of the cue... everyone gets in a slump, and the balls just roll funny sometimes.