cheap whippy shaft?

A

ac11

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Who makes a cheap whippy shaft? I know whippy is subjective and I dont want to get into a huge debate about stiff vs whippy...just looking for helpful suggestions. I used the search function on this site but had a difficult time finding a thread about specific shafts without the thread being bogged down by the aforementioned debates.

Thinking of around 150$(will pay more if I absolutely have to) and I like a pro taper and a smaller shaft diameter. Also I dont care if the shaft is labeled as low deflection. I hear the players hxt skinny is pretty whippy but have never tried one. I also hear meucci but ive heard so many horror stories about them that im scared to try haha.

thanks for any helpful suggestions.
 
You don't have to worry about the shafts. You want whippy, try a Black Dot.

I tap mine on the side and it will vibrate like a tuning fork for you.
 
ac11 said:
Who would u recomend?:grin:
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That's a tough one.
Something could be done with the shaft taper to make it less stiff, but I don't think any cuemaker sets out to make whippy shafts or purchase cheap shaftwood, when they do it is typically a mistake.
You could end up spending good money on a bad shaft, and if it turns out to be a good shaft you are back to square one.
I don't recommend re-tapering shafts either, so in general I would come up with a new plan.
 
Just go on ebay, buy one for 30 bucks from any number of vendors, put on the tip of your choice, put the shaft in your drill, get some sandpaper, and taper it how you like. A long slim pro taper will provide a whippy shaft.

Take the hundred plus dollars you saved and repeat process 3 or 4 more times.

I don't know how to copy and paste links on this damned tablet, but look up vendor "Billiardsheaven" for example. Or "Carlscues". There lots of them and they are just fine!
 
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3andstop said:
Just go on ebay, buy one for 30 bucks from any number of vendors, put on the tip of your choice, put the shaft in your drill, get some sandpaper, and taper it how you like. A long slim pro taper will provide a whippy shaft.

Take the hundred plus dollars you saved and repeat process 3 or 4 more times.

I don't know how to copy and paste links on this damned tablet, but look up vendor "Billiardsheaven" for example. Or "Carlscues". There lots of them and they are just fine!
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I'm not very handy so I'd probably screw about 7 shafts up before I got one right...at least....also in that case would I just sand down the ferrule as well?(stupid question Im sure but I don't know...)

Also this would be for a players sneaky butt...I was looking at the black dot as suggested above but didn't know of I could get it to fit the cue.
 
Outside of the already mentioned Meucci shafts, the Samsara I had was very "whippy". I have wanted a Samsara for many years, once I got it, had to change cues after a month, it was like playing with a spring, aiming with english was an adventure hehe.
 
shaft

ac11 said:
I'm not very handy so I'd probably screw about 7 shafts up before I got one right...at least....also in that case would I just sand down the ferrule as well?(stupid question Im sure but I don't know...)

Also this would be for a players sneaky butt...I was looking at the black dot as suggested above but didn't know of I could get it to fit the cue.
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what size of threads do you need?

black dot shafts are not cheap, but they are the whippiest shafts on the marker.


MMike
 
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I have a Players HXTE10 with a 13mm HXT shaft. I don't have a lot of experience with other shafts but I'd describe it as "flexible." Friends with a lot more experience (and much more expensive cues) have played with it and liked it. I suspect the shaft and the Kamui Black Soft tip contribute to it's soft hit.
 
Funny that you should mention the HXT. I am having a nice Pred refinished and ordered 3 HXT shafts. 2 of the 12.75 mm and one 11.75 mm. I am quite excited about trying them out. I bet that they will play decent.

I'm not very handy so I'd probably screw about 7 shafts up before I got one right...at least....also in that case would I just sand down the ferrule as well?(stupid question Im sure but I don't know...)

Also this would be for a players sneaky butt...I was looking at the black dot as suggested above but didn't know of I could get it to fit the cue.
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First, thats something that you wouldn't be able to do by hand. Need a lathe Bud, sorry.

Muecci doesn't seem to have a set shaft diameter at times. They can vary a bit. The best way would be to get a set of calipers (cheap), measure the butt diameter and mention that to which ever dealer that you are talking to to see if he can match you up the best he can.

I have my first taper bar set to a nice Pro Taper. The second bar is just whatever I want to set it to at the moment. The last one I did was measure and duplicate as close as I could, a Meucci taper on one shaft. Its a skinny mini thats fer sure.

If you have a repairman handy, that may be the cheapest way for you to go. Specially if its just and experiment for you and you are putting it on a sneaky butt.

You can buy final sand shafts from Schmelke for $16. Good deal. Take one into the repairman and ask for a meucci taper. He'll know what you want.

If he does it for you in one day, he won't guarantee it, due to probable warpage.

If you are willing to leave it with him, he will take it down in increments over a period of time.

In the short run, that may be the cheapest way for you to go. Check Schmelke out. They are great to deal with and their final sand shafts are decent for the price.

I always keep a half dozen around in case I need one in a hurry and they will do in a pinch.

Try a repairman first and see what the butt diameter is. I took mine down to .840 so it will fit my McDermott. If that will fit yours at .840 and it is still straight
after all these months, I can send it to you for the price of shipping from Canada because I can almost guarantee you that I didn't use one of my best blanks when I was messing about with this one. I pulled it back way past 14 inches but you still might want it skinnier.

You will just get the blank without an insert, ferrule or collar so you would still have to have a repairman do that for you.
 
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ac11 said:
I'm not very handy so I'd probably screw about 7 shafts up before I got one right...at least....also in that case would I just sand down the ferrule as well?(stupid question Im sure but I don't know...)

Also this would be for a players sneaky butt...I was looking at the black dot as suggested above but didn't know of I could get it to fit the cue.
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Yeah sand down the ferrule also. If you're not handy I'm sure someone you know can do this. Honestly, this isn't rocket science. Those shafts are rock maple and just fine. I wouldn't spend 150 bucks on a shaft so long as these are out there. Shaping them is very easy, as is replacing the tip.

Even if you went to a pool room and had the owner do it for 20 bucks, we're still talking only 50 bucks.
 
3andstop said:
Just go on ebay, buy one for 30 bucks from any number of vendors, put on the tip of your choice, put the shaft in your drill, get some sandpaper, and taper it how you like. A long slim pro taper will provide a whippy shaft.

Take the hundred plus dollars you saved and repeat process 3 or 4 more times.

I don't know how to copy and paste links on this damned tablet, but look up vendor "Billiardsheaven" for example. Or "Carlscues". There lots of them and they are just fine!
Click to expand...

To add to this....also on e-bay you can purchase arbors that will fit your particular joint thread (in the OP's case, probably a 5/16 x 18). Just screw it into your shaft, put the arbor into a drill motor (variable speed works best), use a leather glove (or sock, etc.) on your non-sanding hand to keep your fingertips from getting friction-burned, and either have a second person hold the drill motor (or clamp it into a vise) or simply place the drill motor on the floor, and sand away to your heart's content. Don't start with anything under 400 grit. I go from 400 (if I want to take wood off FAST), to 600, to 1000, to 1500, to 2000 grit, and finish up with a good burnishing with a piece of clean, soft leather. You could conceivably go from 600 to 1500, or from 1000 to 2000 if you don't want to buy so many grits of sandpaper.

Like somebody said, this ain't rocket science. With little practice, you can easily re-taper a shaft to suit your needs. If you want to practice first, ask around at your local poolhall to see if anyone has an old, bent or broken shaft they no longer want that you could practice on.

Edit: Maybe ix-nay on the bent shaft for practice. That thing would probably beat the hell outta your hand.

Maniac
 
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