Here's a quick-and-dirty calculation based on "pivot lengths".What's the approximate deflection % difference between a LD shaft & a regular shaft? I've been using a LD shaft for about 6 months now & the difference seems minimal.
A cue with average squirt will be up to an inch and a half - more than a half ball - off target for a 30” shot.Even if your regular shaft causes 1° more cb squirt/deflection than your LD shaft, it's enough to miss balls when using spin.
DD uses a South West maple shaft. I find that interesting when nearly all pros are using LD or CF shafts
The majority of Chinese and Taiwanese pros use stiff maple shafts, preferably with tip diameters larger than 13mm.
Didn't they just dominate the US Open for the most part?
Why do they prefer regular shafts, while American and European players seem to think the LD and smaller diameter shafts work better?
The Taiwanese claim their shaft of choice have more "power".
Pred FAT was also "invented" for Taiwanese taste.
Good post Pat. FYI, I've added a quote here:Here's a quick-and-dirty calculation based on "pivot lengths".
A shaft's pivot length is the distance from the tip to pivot in order to compensate for that shaft's squirt (ignoring "swerve"). It's also the distance of CB travel at which it will go offline the same distance as the tip's offset from center CB (in this case the tip offset is assumed to be 9/16", or maximum). So with that (and a little trig) the shaft's squirt angle for the chosen tip offset can be calculated.
The "Squirt Grades" are my subjective grades - you might grade them differently.
For easier visualization, the last column shows how far the CB goes offline (without swerve) for a 30" shot (about average, I think).
pj
chgo
View attachment 518851
What's the approximate deflection % difference between a LD shaft & a regular shaft? I've been using a LD shaft for about 6 months now & the difference seems minimal.
The chart above shows that a high squirt shaft misses the target by about 2" shooting from 30" away from the OB. From the spot to the end rail is 2 1/2 times that, so (without swerve) that same shaft will miss by 5 inches (more than 2 ball widths). A low squirt shaft will miss by about half that.I have seen as much as a half ball or more width difference shooting from the spot to end rail contact point.
Even among LD shafts, there can be huge differences in deflection depending on the shaft, and particularly depending on how much spin (how far off center) you are applying. For instance, there is not that big a deflection difference between a Predator 314-3 and a Predator Z-3 - both considered low deflection shafts. However, if you compare a Mezz WX700 to a Mezz WX900, also both considered low deflection shafts, there is an extremely noticeable difference, with the WX900 shaft deflecting considerably less. That is my experience anyway.What's the approximate deflection % difference between a LD shaft & a regular shaft? I've been using a LD shaft for about 6 months now & the difference seems minimal.
The chart above shows that a high squirt shaft misses the target by about 2" shooting from 30" away from the OB. From the spot to the end rail is 2 1/2 times that, so (without swerve) that same shaft will miss by 5 inches (more than 2 ball widths). A low squirt shaft will miss by about half that.
Is it any wonder that lower squirt shafts are becoming the big thing? Sure, you can learn to cope with any amount of squirt eventually, but it's inherently easier and more accurate to cope with less.
pj
chgo
Yes, for instance it's much harder to learn to aim with a gun that doesn't shoot straight. And as I've said before, swerve is an even bigger problem because it's way less predictable.I also think in my experience with working with some newer players, that deflection in shafts causes a big issue with players getting better.
Squirt happens because the CB rotates while in contact with the tip, pushing the shaft to one side and the CB the other way. So I'm thinking without CB rotation there's no squirt - but I can't think of a way to test it.So I wonder if anyone can do a simulation if pool balls where square. If you hit a flat surface to the side, let's say it had no way to spin on the center but otherwise was free to move in any direction, would it still be pushed to one side?
It may be some theoretical surface where the center of the object was fixed and the object could not spin, but it can go side to side or any direction except around it's own center axis.
So I wonder if anyone can do a simulation if pool balls where square. If you hit a flat surface to the side, let's say it had no way to spin on the center but otherwise was free to move in any direction, would it still be pushed to one side?
It may be some theoretical surface where the center of the object was fixed and the object could not spin, but it can go side to side or any direction except around it's own center axis.