How many folks carry more than 1 shaft?

buckshotshoey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
There are very good reasons to carry two. I keep two as close to identical as possible. When a tip begins getting mushy, which happens, I will swap out. When I ding my shaft & the dent is bugging me, distracting me, I'll swap out. If it's humid and the tables are dirty, the towel just isn't doing the trick anymore, I swap out. These are all typical, every day reasons to have two shafts. Beyond this, it's nice having a spare when you have a tip blow out, pop off, ferrule crack, etc. I can't count all the times I have seen a cue get knocked over & bang everything on its way down, leaving it feeling more like a dildo than a cue shaft. No reason to quit the day, just swap out.

Now THATS funny right there! Disconcerting.....But funny!
 

Knels

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm getting a second one soon. I'm playing a soft tip right now and it wore down through heavy play in only three months. I live about 40 minutes away from a cue repair. Hoping to spread the wear out
 

buckshotshoey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
2x3 for me. 1 butt linen wrap, 1 wrapless. 3 shafts

I usually just carry 2 playing cues. I love to play with a lighter cue for most conditions.... about 17.9 oz. If I get on a really slow table, I shoot better with a 19. But if I throw a tip, only happened once, I can play with either.
 

philly

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I carry 4 shafts, all exactly the same. 12.25 mm, long taper, hard pressed Triangle tips. They all hit a little differently and I rotate them according to how I feel that session. You rarely have to shape a hard pressed Triangle tip much less replace one. Rotating 4 shafts I might never have to replace one.
 

DOA

Registered
When I first bought my Pechauer I got a 11.75 low deflection with crown jewel. People told me it was too small but seems to work fine for me. Then I sent it back for warpage (they gave me a new shaft free) Figured I made as well get a 12.75 low deflection too as they need the cue to lie up the crown jewel it was the perfect time to get a spare shaft and with two different sizes to play with.

I go back and forth, I recently play with the 12.75 for about 7 months and the tip kamui soft was wearing thin so swithed to the 11.75 in practice, now play with it full time. Sure is nice to have the option, seem to get more draw with the 11.75, you do have to be more careful with cue placement. Some day I will likely start missing and go back to the 12.75.

Playing a guy one day and somebody spilled beer on his tip and he could not play with it without miscueing. Having two shafts is a good thing, I do like having the option of two different sizes.
 

Ched

"Hey ... I'm back"!
Silver Member
I play with maybe a dozen of my cues .. probably 80% have a second or third shaft. Depends on what I feel like carrying as to how many I walk in with.
 

buckshotshoey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I play with maybe a dozen of my cues .. probably 80% have a second or third shaft. Depends on what I feel like carrying as to how many I walk in with.

Or where you will be playing at. I don't take my more expensive cue to a shady establishment or area.
 

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So I have one shaft for my cue and have been thinking about picking up a second. Interested in finding out why folks carry more than one, is it a just in case shaft? Just in case the tip pops off? Do you have the same exact shaft and tip combo? Same shaft different tip? Two different shafts, 1 maybe 12.75mm and one 11.75?

Just wondering....
Mainly, many players carry 2 shafts for these reasons - If a tip pops off during the session, you have a backup to go to that session, as well as using the backup until you can get the other one re-tipped.

Secondly, when one of your tips wears down to needing a new tip on it, if you have to send it off or go a number of days without it, you'll have another one to use while one is getting re-tipped.

Lastly and perhaps the best reason, anytime you get in a slump and think it can't be your fault but must be due to your shaft/tip, you have another shaft to switch to which sometimes is just what your mental game needs to snap out of that slump!
 

DJSTEVEZ

Professor of Human Moves
Silver Member
So I have one shaft for my cue and have been thinking about picking up a second. Interested in finding out why folks carry more than one, is it a just in case shaft? Just in case the tip pops off? Do you have the same exact shaft and tip combo? Same shaft different tip? Two different shafts, 1 maybe 12.75mm and one 11.75?

Just wondering....

I carry 2. It's the whole spare tire thinking. -Z-
 

Ched

"Hey ... I'm back"!
Silver Member
Or where you will be playing at. I don't take my more expensive cue to a shady establishment or area.

Oh agree 100%. I even have a cheapie ($60 Viper IIRC) for those types of places - although I tend to avoid them most of the time.
 

pwd72s

recreational banger
Silver Member
My Josey came with 2 shafts. Sure I carry both. Why not? All the reasons given above are good.
 

pwd72s

recreational banger
Silver Member
Oh agree 100%. I even have a cheapie ($60 Viper IIRC) for those types of places - although I tend to avoid them most of the time.

Truth. I also have a cheap Viper...because the only pros around the tables in my seedy little home town are the crack whores.
 

buckshotshoey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Truth. I also have a cheap Viper...because the only pros around the tables in my seedy little home town are the crack whores.

And truth be told, Viper doesn't make a bad stick for the money spent. Just put a proper tip on it.
 

WildWing

Super Gun Mod
Silver Member
No such thing as too many shafts.

All the best,
WW
 

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tableroll

Rolling Thunder
Silver Member
So I have one shaft for my cue and have been thinking about picking up a second. Interested in finding out why folks carry more than one, is it a just in case shaft? Just in case the tip pops off? Do you have the same exact shaft and tip combo? Same shaft different tip? Two different shafts, 1 maybe 12.75mm and one 11.75?

Just wondering....

2 shafts? Don't know why. Superstition I guess. Like blue chalk is better than green chalk. A one thousand dollar cue is better than a 3 hundred dollar que. People are funny.
 

wreiman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I always carry 2 shafts for my player. One is always an OB + with a med WB tip. The othe could be an OB classic , or an r360 if I'm playing with the cuetec. Sometimes I just like a different feel that night on the table. Really have not had tips come off in years.
 

Bavafongoul

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Some of my cues were made with 3 shafts but all of my cues, except the Palmer, has at least 2 shafts
My Runde Schon actually has 4 shafts and unless you're constrained by the economics, you really
should have two shafts. Sooner or later you need to replace a tip and sometimes your cue will suffer
surface damage that needs correcting to avoid becoming a distraction. Some players enjoy carrying
two different size shafts , ex. 13 & 12.75mm or perhaps having the original shaft and a low deflection
version shaft as well. All in all, a 2nd shaft is a relatively small cost, especially if your pool cue
happens to be a custom made cue. I've seen a few Joss West cues where there was only one
shaft. So overall. a 2nd shaft is really a great addition to have for your favorite pool cue(s).


Matt B.
 
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Grilled Cheese

p.i.i.t.h.
Silver Member
In 20+ years, I've had 1 tip fall off. It was during practice. Being that the majority of anyone's play is practice or a non-critical match, the odds are even less it will happen in a way to cause a problem. Other people have played longer and more than me, and never had a tip fall off.

I carried an extra shaft around for a long time, for nothing. I woke up, and stopped doing that. I also stopped carrying around a break cue and other nonsense. Downsized and simplified and am happier and more focused as a result.

If you make a living playing pool, have an extra shaft. 100% no argument there.

These are the only people with a necessity justification.

Everyone else does it just because they want to. For whatever reason. Which is completely fine. Just wanting it is a good enough reason. Aesthetics is another. Paranoia is good too. Cool factor. Whatever floats the boat. But it doesn't result in any practical advantage, benefit and almost certainly will never "save the day" ...

In reality, for the vast, vast majority of players - it is just a waste. Pretty laughable to walk into a room during league night, and see a house full of SL3's with dual shafts. Yeah, heaven forbid a tip falls off an you have to use a house cue. Instead of 8 innings of driving balls into cushions to win a rack, it might be 10! LOL.
 

Jon Manning

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I always carry two shafts (both with same spec) and play with both of them about the same amount of time.
I have had a tip blow out while in the middle of a big set, having the extra shaft that was as close to identical as possible, in my mind saved me.

I also like to play with short tips, it just feels better to me when it's about dime size.
 
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