Annie O custom cues ? ?

rogerb

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi, I looking for some feedback on Annie O's cues. I am very interested in feedback on the proplusshaft- "Predator Competitor" -- 72 Layer, 1/4 Radially Laminated Cue Shaft. How does it compare to a 314 or OB-1 ?
Thanks
 
I had many opportunities to play with these shafts...
The shafts were set up with a Talisman Medium; they played identical to the Z shaft from Predator. Since Annie's passing, the only 'new' shafts are in Scott Murpheys Inventory. I think he only has 3/8-10. Alot of players here in Houston had Annie make them shafts for their personal cues. And they are all still in use today.
 
AnnieO Cue Shafts

I bought one of AnnieO's AO-E flat laminated shaft for one of my cues. I ordered exactly what she recommended and gave it a try. I really liked the way the AO-E flat laminated shaft played. It took less time to get adjusted to than my first OB-1.

I was surprised when I check the diameter of the AO-E flat laminated shaft the other day (to determine what diameter I might want in a new cue I have on order). I was surprised to find out it was 12.6 mm diameter +-. (My estimate without digital calipers using a Muellers tip sizing guide.) This is smaller than my OB-1 shafts. For me, using smaller diameter shafts is an area of further investigation.

I had a new cue on order with AnnieO with three (3) ProPlus shafts, but she passed away before it got finished.

I tested one of these ProPlus shafts in her shop (her first one) and it also played well.

AnnieO was buying her blanks for these shafts somewhere and could turn one down faster than simple wood - because of the stability of the wood. Other than reproducing the taper and lightweight ferrule, wonder if she had something hidden inside the shaft - like many of these low deflection shafts.

Wish I could tell you about the other shafts you mentioned.

AnnieO had a passion for pool and cue making. She loved talking about how to make cues. Wished I had spent more time visiting with her. She is missed.
 
I have a Mike Stacey cue with two of those shafts. The cue was sold to me on Ebay by a guy named Gary Plumlee who lives near Mike. Gary told me that he is the one who makes these shafts. I don't know if that's true or not but that is the story I got when I bought the cue. I verified that it was made for Gary when I was at SBE and had the chance to talk to Mike Stacey.
Anyway, I had one shaft turned down from around 13mm to 12.75 and kept the other the original size. I played with a predator for around 3 years before I bought this. In my opinion this shaft out plays the predator. Now that is just my opinion but I felt that I had more feel and better control with it. The only difference between the predator I was using was that the stacey has a phenolic joint and the predator was a wood to wood sneaky. same tip, same diameter shaft.
Recently I purchased a cue that has a pin that is like the stacey and came with a predator 314-2 and I tried them out for a little trading the shafts on the same butt. There is a notable difference in the feel but I have not played with the combinations enough yet to determine which I felt better with on the same butt. At this point I will say that I really like the way the Stacey with the Annie O type shaft better than the predator.
 
I knew Annie and she was an accomplished player and it carried over into her cues , quality and performance combined very well ...She knew very well the importance of the shaft in relation to how a cue plays ... If you can get one of her cues or shafts you are fortunate and will be pleased ...
 
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