Do carbon fiber shafts make the game easier?

To early to tell?

Maybe we need to wait awhile to see how many pros switch to a carbon fiber shaft and stay with them. Lots of them jumped on the low deflection shafts years ago. Time is usually a pretty good test of things.

Seems like Filler and Bergman were using carbon fiber and went back to maple. I am sure there are others I am not aware of.

Businesses like Predator and Cuetech have deep pockets and sponsor top players. That and sponsoring tournaments along with savvy advertising gets carbon fiber shafts lots of good press.

Maybe they are better, I am not a good enough player to know and don't plan on spending hundreds of bucks to find out.

I like the idea of CF's durability, consistency and liveliness. When it can match the specs of my current shaft (10 mm tip, stiff hit, 20" pivot point) - at a price that doesn't make me throw up in my mouth - I might make the switch.

Until then, I'm good with my wood.

Oh, stop it!

pj <- comedians
chgo

Patrick Johnson said:

I like the idea of CF's durability, consistency and liveliness. When it can match the specs of my current shaft (10 mm tip, stiff hit, 20" pivot point) - at a price that doesn't make me throw up in my mouth - I might make the switch.

Until then, I'm good with my wood.

Oh, stop it!

pj <- comedians
chgo

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Are you saying, "it's the cue, NOT the player?"

I'm sure there are LOTS of people who can do EXACTLY the same thing you can do with your cue with their cues that have nowhere near your "specs".

Can you only do "what you do" with your cue and no "other" cue?

Just asking.

Patrick Johnson said:

I like the idea of CF's durability, consistency and liveliness. When it can match the specs of my current shaft (10 mm tip, stiff hit, 20" pivot point) - at a price that doesn't make me throw up in my mouth - I might make the switch.

Until then, I'm good with my wood.

Oh, stop it!

pj <- comedians
chgo

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10 mm?
You're nuts.

JoeyInCali said:

You're nuts.

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I've been saying that all along.

HawaiianEye said:

Are you saying, "it's the cue, NOT the player?"

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I wasn't talking about that at all - but if I was I'd say the cue plays a much smaller part, but not none.

Can you only do "what you do" with your cue and no "other" cue?

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I can only do what I do as easily with my cue (or one with similar specs, since they're what I'm familiar with), and maybe only as well too (since they're tailored for me).

I designed my shaft to suit me, and it does that so well that I haven't played with anything else for decades. So any replacement would have to be at least as good for me or I'm just not interested, even though I like some qualities of CF. That was my only point.

pj
chgo

JoeyInCali said:

10 mm?
You're nuts.

Click to expand...

That's beside the point.

Ultra low squirt, great tip/CB visibility, nice stiff hit... what's not to like?

Well, I'd understand if you didn't like the conical taper, but I use an open bridge (or a really loose closed one), so it works for me.

pj
chgo

Patrick Johnson said:

That's beside the point.

Ultra low squirt, great tip/CB visibility, nice stiff hit... what's not to like?

Well, I'd understand if you didn't like the conical taper, but I use an open bridge (or a really loose closed one), so it works for me.

pj
chgo

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I can make a very low squirt shaft at 12 mm.
1.25mm taper to the middle.
.285 to .312 5" hole in the front.
CF pad, no ferrule or 1/2" micarta ferrule.

Conical is for billiard.

Patrick Johnson said:

That's beside the point.

Ultra low squirt, great tip/CB visibility, nice stiff hit... what's not to like?

Well, I'd understand if you didn't like the conical taper, but I use an open bridge (or a really loose closed one), so it works for me.

pj
chgo

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What is the diameter of your shaft at the 10 inch and 20 inch points?

Patrick Johnson said:

When it can match the specs of my current shaft (10 mm tip, stiff hit, 20" pivot point)

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I have posted before that I thought the 12mm shaft was the original LD shaft. So, I’m definitely a big fan of making maple more LD. I’m familiar with shafts below 12mm but 10mm as a regular playing cue is not familiar to me.

How many “turns” did it take to get a uniformed 10mm? Will all maple shafts turn down to 10mm without issues? Do you have a backup 10mm shaft?

Curious.



Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums

Scratch85 said:

I have posted before that I thought the 12mm shaft was the original LD shaft. So, I’m definitely a big fan of making maple more LD. I’m familiar with shafts below 12mm but 10mm as a regular playing cue is not familiar to me.

How many “turns” did it take to get a uniformed 10mm? Will all maple shafts turn down to 10mm without issues? Do you have a backup 10mm shaft?

Curious.



Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums

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I think his shaft is 10mm at the "tip" and maybe only an inch or so down. Then, it gets larger. It isn't 10mm for very far before the diameter increases.

I think the end of his shaft looks like a "sharpened pencil".

Scratch85 said:

I have posted before that I thought the 12mm shaft was the original LD shaft. So, I’m definitely a big fan of making maple more LD. I’m familiar with shafts below 12mm but 10mm as a regular playing cue is not familiar to me.

How many “turns” did it take to get a uniformed 10mm? Will all maple shafts turn down to 10mm without issues? Do you have a backup 10mm shaft?

Curious.



Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums

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It would have to be conical and really have straight grain to go that small.

HawaiianEye said:

What is the diameter of your shaft at the 10 inch and 20 inch points?

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I haven't measured it, but it's 29" long and the taper is straight from the 10 mm tip to a common Joss joint (prob ~20 mm), so you could do the math.

It's really straight, if that's what you're wondering; I've rolled it on the table to check more than once.

pj
chgo

Scratch85 said:

I have posted before that I thought the 12mm shaft was the original LD shaft. So, I’m definitely a big fan of making maple more LD. I’m familiar with shafts below 12mm but 10mm as a regular playing cue is not familiar to me.

How many “turns” did it take to get a uniformed 10mm? Will all maple shafts turn down to 10mm without issues? Do you have a backup 10mm shaft?

Curious.

Click to expand...

I didn't make the shaft - I can barely sharpen a pencil. Ed Young here in Chicago made it to my specs, with an identical spare that I use equally.

In addition to the snooker size tip, it's also hollow for the first 6 inches or so, with a 1/4" ferrule. With the straight taper it hits really solidly.

pj
chgo

$TAKE HOR$E said:

They warp, not as often as wood but most people would be surprised at the quality control coming out of these places making them. I spoke to a cuemaker recently and a Chinese company had about a 30% scrap ratio. That seems extremely high to me for a man made product but it’s possible I guess.

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That's very likely related to a pretty low level of quality insurance during production process..

garczar said:

If the layup and curing is not done properly you could get a non-straight shaft. Once its made its not going to change tho. They shouldn't change shape over time once the cf/adhesives are cured. Don't know about all brands but Go Customs has a +/-.3mm, +/-.01" straightness guarantee. That's pretty darn straight. I've seen played with four(both Revo's and BeCue, Cynergy) and they were all dead straight. As for easier? I don't really think so. Maybe a lil extra energ. trans. I do think cf is a FAR superior material as far as durability, ease of care. Look, getting quality, properly cured maple is already tuff and its not going to get any better. CF is the future.

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+/- 3 mm straightness at a pool shaft is totally shit quality! +/- 1 mm is even a bad tolerance window..

RADAR said:

Absolutely yes, you look at all the champions they either use carbon,kielwood or ld wood. Very few playing standard maple shafts. If so they are not winning the majority of the tournaments either.

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I think that most professional player are playing modern LD shaft, because most of these top players have sponsoring contract with the cue brands that want to sell the LD stuff. Look at the level that Strickland, Bustamante, Reyes and all the other older players had, they showed their beste game with standard maple shafts or similar, but not with these super LD shafts like Z2, revo, ignite, cuetec, ex pro etc. I think this way reflects more the real situation than just comparing actual tournament wins ..

hang-the-9 said:

I think we need to remove the fact of a carbon fiber shaft and just put in "a different shaft" in here. CF or not CF does not really matter when it comes to improving shooting, only thing that does is if the equipment makes it better for the person using it. It's like saying "will buying a BMW make you a better driver". If your issue is that you don't look where you are going, drive too fast for road conditions, follow too closely, nope. If your issue is that you want to stick to the road better or have a nicer ride, then yea it may help. But not any better than say a Lexus or any other good car.

This would depend on why you miss. Most misses I see are due to improper alignment and arm/hand/body motion on the shot. No shaft will fix that for you.

For those misses that happen because you did not adjust properly to spin, a different shaft should help if it matches how you aim. For those shots where you come up short on position, changing shafts also can help if they can get more action on the cueball with the same strength stroke.

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I think that decribes pretty good why amateurs may have e benefit from using LD shafts in comparison to professionals who know how to stroke and aim properly. In my opinion the most important is a relyable stroke in order to hit the white exactly where you intend to hit and exactly with the speed that you intend to have. If you aim is OK and if you fulfil these two fundamentals you can adapt to any kind of shaft, but which of the different shafts is the best is at the end a personal decission. I'm sure that LD and carbon are in first instance new products that have some advantages and disadvantages, but they are new and our industrie work on the fect that new things are more interesting than already well know and existing "old" things. This is why LD and carbon sell better over the last years and this is also the reason why from dy to day new LD and carbon variations are being thrown onto the sales market.

Straightpool_99 said:

Simple question, but to clarify:
Would a person who switches to a carbon fiber shaft (Predator, Cuetec, Jacoby etc.), play at a higher level afterwards, with the same amount of practise as before, after he has gotten used to it?

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I know this is an old post that was bumped but I posted my verdict on another thread and I will not post as long of a post as in the other thread, however, I will answer this simply because you said "Simple question" in the initial post.

Yes, a CF will make the game easier, and the player will be at a higher level afterward. This comes from a long study with experience (Not math or scientific method), just straight-up observation by watching some of the fellow players, young and oldies. I've seen it over and over.

Many of whom were at plateaued in their game for maaaaaaaaany years, changing to CF and a few months afterward and I can see a huge improvement, and I know that it's only due to the CF and nothing else, even if they themselves don't know it and they'll tell you that they have been practicing more because ppl love to be self-credited, its a human nature.

If you found somebody whose game has improved significantly all of a sudden after using a CF just asks them, how did you improve? They'd tell you its about practice and commenting more, or watching some youtube videos. They will never tell you it's because of the CF shaft, but in reality, it was straight-up due to his CF shaft and nothing else but he doesn't know it.

riedmich said:

+/- 3 mm straightness at a pool shaft is totally shit quality! +/- 1 mm is even a bad tolerance window..

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POINT-THREE mm not THREE. BIG difference. EVERY CF shaft i've seen so far has been dead straight.