Any tips on going from ld to conventional shaft?

L

LHP5

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hey guys, I switched to a lambros standard shaft from a 314 back in November. At times I play real good with the standard shaft, but at other times I'm missing the pocket by a lot. When I'm feeling good and in stroke I'm out from anywhere on the table, but if I lose my confidence just a little I just plain miss balls I normally wouldn't with my old 314. The stroke to me is really different between the two cues and I don't really know how to fully adjust. Just keep hitting balls until I get used to it, I guess?

I should mention that I learned to play about 6 or 7 years ago with a first gen 314, so I understand there is a difficulty in re-learning. For instance, I can't really seem to stroke hard with the standard shaft with any consistency in making the ball. That seems to play into my mind sometimes on tough shots needing english and I end up thinking too much or psyching myself out and just miss. I just don't what to do here. I guess I'm really just asking how any of you all made the switch and if you all have any tips. Thanks.
 
Learn how to aim center ball, and tuck and roll for english. The regular shaft will squirt more the harder you stroke. The ld shaft does as well, but it is not as much. Another thought could be how far off center you are hitting for side spin. Try working closer to the center of the ball, no need to get out on the edge very often.
Chuck
 
Chuck Fields said:
Learn how to aim center ball, and tuck and roll for english. The regular shaft will squirt more the harder you stroke. The ld shaft does as well, but it is not as much. Another thought could be how far off center you are hitting for side spin. Try working closer to the center of the ball, no need to get out on the edge very often.
Chuck
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Sorry Chuck, i think you are not correct for above statement in red; CB squirt amount does not change with speed for LD or HD cues, it is a constant property that varies with each shaft/tip. At slower speed swerve tends to cancels squirt, and at times exceeds squirt on long shots. Many people think at hi speed CB squirts more, it is not true, it is the stroke becomes imperfect at high speed, tip veers off, or shaft becomes more parallel or pivoted during the high speed shot.
 
One month ago I switched from Z2 shaft to a standard 13 mm Joss shaft, and I'm playing one of my best pool. With 13 mm tip, pool seems be easy to play.
 
naji said:
Sorry Chuck, i think you are not correct for above statement in red; CB squirt amount does not change with speed for LD or HD cues, it is a constant property that varies with each shaft/tip. At slower speed swerve tends to cancels squirt, and at times exceeds squirt on long shots. Many people think at hi speed CB squirts more, it is not true, it is the stroke becomes imperfect at high speed, tip veers off, or shaft becomes more parallel or pivoted during the high speed shot.
Click to expand...

The squirt angle is the same, but the effective squirt is generally more with harder shots because absolute swerve is less and throw is slightly less on firmer shots.

Beginners will get more confused if they're simply told that squirt is the same at all speeds.
 
If u just can't go too maple u could always have lambros make u a L.D shaft I heard he makes pretty good one him self :grin:
 
Shorten up your bridge on your harder "hitting" shots to help cancel out any of the above things mentioned. You will have to practice a bit on that to find the sweet spot but this will help even the playing field and shorten the learning curve.
 
LHP5 said:
Hey guys, I switched to a lambros standard shaft from a 314 back in November. At times I play real good with the standard shaft, but at other times I'm missing the pocket by a lot. When I'm feeling good and in stroke I'm out from anywhere on the table, but if I lose my confidence just a little I just plain miss balls I normally wouldn't with my old 314. The stroke to me is really different between the two cues and I don't really know how to fully adjust. Just keep hitting balls until I get used to it, I guess?

I should mention that I learned to play about 6 or 7 years ago with a first gen 314, so I understand there is a difficulty in re-learning. For instance, I can't really seem to stroke hard with the standard shaft with any consistency in making the ball. That seems to play into my mind sometimes on tough shots needing english and I end up thinking too much or psyching myself out and just miss. I just don't what to do here. I guess I'm really just asking how any of you all made the switch and if you all have any tips. Thanks.
Click to expand...

If you are switching from an Original 314 to a maple shaft, you will be fine. I came in here thinking you wanted to go from a Z2 to a fat 13mm maple shaft or something lol.
 
You must retrain your brain. The most difficult calculations are figured in the subconscious. you just have to play with it.
 
LHP5 said:
Hey guys, I switched to a lambros standard shaft from a 314 back in November. At times I play real good with the standard shaft, but at other times I'm missing the pocket by a lot. When I'm feeling good and in stroke I'm out from anywhere on the table, but if I lose my confidence just a little I just plain miss balls I normally wouldn't with my old 314. The stroke to me is really different between the two cues and I don't really know how to fully adjust. Just keep hitting balls until I get used to it, I guess?

I should mention that I learned to play about 6 or 7 years ago with a first gen 314, so I understand there is a difficulty in re-learning. For instance, I can't really seem to stroke hard with the standard shaft with any consistency in making the ball. That seems to play into my mind sometimes on tough shots needing english and I end up thinking too much or psyching myself out and just miss. I just don't what to do here. I guess I'm really just asking how any of you all made the switch and if you all have any tips. Thanks.
Click to expand...



I played with my predator cue for about 6 or 7 years before I made the change back to a standard DP cue. The reasons I changed was because with a LD shaft you can't ... Masse' the ball nor can you jump even half a ball. In my case I can do more with the standard shaft. As far as hitting the CB hard.... That should be rare
Learn to use that deflection
 
Wood

LHP5 said:
Hey guys, I switched to a lambros standard shaft from a 314 back in November. At times I play real good with the standard shaft, but at other times I'm missing the pocket by a lot. When I'm feeling good and in stroke I'm out from anywhere on the table, but if I lose my confidence just a little I just plain miss balls I normally wouldn't with my old 314. The stroke to me is really different between the two cues and I don't really know how to fully adjust. Just keep hitting balls until I get used to it, I guess?

I should mention that I learned to play about 6 or 7 years ago with a first gen 314, so I understand there is a difficulty in re-learning. For instance, I can't really seem to stroke hard with the standard shaft with any consistency in making the ball. That seems to play into my mind sometimes on tough shots needing english and I end up thinking too much or psyching myself out and just miss. I just don't what to do here. I guess I'm really just asking how any of you all made the switch and if you all have any tips. Thanks.
Click to expand...

You missed shots with your ld correct? You will miss shots with your new shaft. You will miss shots all your life. You are a poolplayer. Missing is part of the game. You have a nice cue, go with it. Don't think about it. Being in dead stroke, which we all experience now and then, is more about not thinking and playing instinctively. The shaft does not miss the shot! It's a tool. You can bang your knuckles with Snap On tools or Craftsman tools. Don't blame the tool. Welcome back to old school maple shafts made from trees in the woods.
 
Pay attention to how the cue plays and try to quantify it as much as possible. There you'll have a baseline to always reference. When you begin missing the pocket by a lot, then refer back to the baseline & keep everything mechanical. You're not in stroke, but at least you'll be pocketing balls. When you are in stroke, let your freak flag fly & have some fun! Forcing yourself to refer to the baseline often enough will soon become a subconscious reflex, much like how aiming became as you first learned to play. Adjusting for squirt & power will become automatic soon enough.

It will eventually happen anyway if you just spend time banging balls, but it will happen faster & more effectively if you can quantify the playability & have a baseline to reference.
 
Chuck Fields said:
Try working closer to the center of the ball, no need to get out on the edge very often.
Chuck
Click to expand...

This is great advice and the closer you can stay to the center of the cue ball the less deflection you'll have to deal with. Try to learn to stun the cue ball more hitting close to the center of the cue ball with your angles using the speed of your stroke to move the cue ball instead of a lot of spin from hitting off center on the cue ball. Watch some of the top pros closely and you'll see what I mean.
 
When you play, shoot with only high, low, and center. The deflection characteristics between the two shafts should be almost nil.

When you practice, practice with extreme english and keep repeating the shots. Eventually you will get comfortable with it, but regardless you will still miss at times.
 
qbilder said:
Pay attention to how the cue plays and try to quantify it as much as possible. There you'll have a baseline to always reference. When you begin missing the pocket by a lot, then refer back to the baseline & keep everything mechanical. You're not in stroke, but at least you'll be pocketing balls. When you are in stroke, let your freak flag fly & have some fun! Forcing yourself to refer to the baseline often enough will soon become a subconscious reflex, much like how aiming became as you first learned to play. Adjusting for squirt & power will become automatic soon enough.

It will eventually happen anyway if you just spend time banging balls, but it will happen faster & more effectively if you can quantify the playability & have a baseline to reference.
Click to expand...

I agree!

A helpful tip is to isolate the particular shots you tend to miss and shoot them 20 or 30 times until you forget how you adjust with your old shaft and " program" your brain to automatically adjust to your new shaft. This is usually the case when switching from one shaft to another regardless whetherthe shaft is ld or conventional.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
peteypooldude said:
I played with my predator cue for about 6 or 7 years before I made the change back to a standard DP cue. The reasons I changed was because with a LD shaft you can't ... Masse' the ball nor can you jump even half a ball. In my case I can do more with the standard shaft. As far as hitting the CB hard.... That should be rare
Learn to use that deflection
Click to expand...

Really? That seems a bit odd.

I haven't tried jumping with a Low Deflection shaft, as I have a jump cue that I like to use, but I can masse' the ball with my 314-2 as easily as I can with any other shaft.

I wonder why you were not able to masse' as easily with a LD shaft.
 
Find the natural pivot point

Take a few minutes and find the natural pivot point of your new shaft. This is the bridge length where you can apply English by only pivoting on your bridge, and the squirt is offset by the new contact vector. Video instructions on how to do this can be found on Dr Dave's site.

Mark the spot on your cue for future reference during play. Bridging there with back-hand English will tend to neutralize squirt. It is not an absolute, but it is a useful point of reference.

This is good to do for all cues, LD or regular, since every cue is different and has its own natural pivot point. I'm considering marking my shafts with one or more embedded small stones. Can't decide between onyx, ruby or CZ.
 
Thanks guys for all the help. Just going to keep playing with it and try to readjust. Resisting the temptation to go back to the 314 too. I do notice that when I slow down and shoot softer I am alot more accurate and precise. I dont seem to need to force the cue ball as often as I did with my old cue. Not a bad thing I guess, just alot different than what I am used too.
 
peteypooldude said:
I played with my predator cue for about 6 or 7 years before I made the change back to a standard DP cue. The reasons I changed was because with a LD shaft you can't ... Masse' the ball nor can you jump even half a ball. In my case I can do more with the standard shaft. As far as hitting the CB hard.... That should be rare
Learn to use that deflection
Click to expand...

I seen a few others write about having a jump issue with a 314 but don't get it. I can masse or jump just fine with my 314.
 
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