Cue deflection

W

weegee3

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I know about "throw";the effect of english on the object bal and I know about deflection or squirt; the effect of english on the cue ball but need clarification on the effect of cue deflection.
What are the benefits of low deflection shafts? What exactly do they acchieve or avoid.

I just had a friend order a low deflection shaft from Predator for $220.00. He ordered it with an 11mm tip.
I an confused. Seems to me that a narrow shaft would increase deflection of the shaft off the cueball. Maybe that is the point. Whatever the point is.
Low deflection shaft or regular deflection, that is the question.
Elucidate me, will ya?
Weegee
 
weegee3 said:
I know about "throw";the effect of english on the object bal and I know about deflection or squirt; the effect of english on the cue ball but need clarification on the effect of cue deflection.
What are the benefits of low deflection shafts? What exactly do they acchieve or avoid.

I just had a friend order a low deflection shaft from Predator for $220.00. He ordered it with an 11mm tip.
I an confused. Seems to me that a narrow shaft would increase deflection of the shaft off the cueball. Maybe that is the point. Whatever the point is.
Low deflection shaft or regular deflection, that is the question.
Elucidate me, will ya?
Weegee
Click to expand...

weegee
im not an expert:o...:o
but here is my 2 cents
low deflection shaft allow you to aim closer to the aim spot without correction when using off center tip contact points
the farther off center the closer your aim point will be
said another way
low deflection shafts have less squirt:thumbup:
the purists ( and cuemakers)may feel offended that you are not using the cuemakers shaft
i wont get into that
the bottom line is play with the shaft that you play the best with:wink:

i will say the ld shafts ive experimented with dont give you the same feedbsck
jmho
icbw
 
I'm not going to comment on the characteristics of L/D shafts because that's been discussed to death.
Had you done a 'search' you would have never asked your question. You'd still be reading.
You do make a statement though that I feel needs clarification.

"I just had a friend order a low deflection shaft from Predator for $220.00. He ordered it with an 11mm tip."

Predator DOES NOT make an 11mm shaft. Predator DOES make an 11.75mm shaft called the Z shaft.
Predator will void the warranty of a Z shaft if it's diameter is turned below 11.25mm anywhere on the shaft.
My point is that you're friend bought a shaft FROM Predator, knowing that it would come with no warranty???
It's your story/post and you can tell it anyway you want to.
I just happen to know Predator shafts and all the associated numbers; it's my job.
Lately, on average I've been doing 6 T/Ds a day of Predator shafts and I WILL NOT turn one below 11.3mm.
When the discussion is Predator, I try to keep accuracy in the forefront.
There's a chance that someone will actually read this.

KJ
 
why low deflection

I'm a pretty good player, I've been playing for over fifty years. I switched to a predator shaft on my Mottey cue about two or three years ago. It took me almost a year to get my real speed back. I thought I was too old and was losing speed because of my age. Now, I seem to make shots I didn't make before with a higher percentage of success. I take respits every so often and don't hit a ball for a month. It's easier to get back after a layoff with the predator. I think that the aim point being closer on certain shots enables me to get back in stroke more quickly than when I was using the higher deflection shafts.
Also, maybe there is a tradeoff, I might not be as accurate on position as I used to be with the Mottey shaft?? This shaft spins more I think and makes for harder predictability when juicing up the cueball. It's still a mystery to me, I may switch back just to learn the difference. .lol

good luck, I think it's possible that the predator is too little deflection, and maybe I need a fairly low deflection shaft instead of NO deflection...They do produce different results for me. Jury still out....

try and learn

Bill
 
Last edited:
I was involved with STEVE TITUS when he was developing the PI LAM shaft as he called it way back whenever. And yes certain tapers deflect more than others but if you only play no more the one tip from center they are all the same....NO MATTER WHAT CLAIMS THE MANUFACTURER MAY MAKE.
BOTTOM LINE is that the PLAYER not the cue is the cause of deflection in that their mechanics are faulty. That is the player during the course of the stroke may lift his bridge hand off the table prematurely, or even more likely will do something wierd with his hand that is on the butt, such as twisting the hand, not going straight thru with the hand but rather slapping at the shot, ETC ETC. A player with good mechanics can play with anything. all others are doomed to failure, NO MATTER WHAT SHAFT THEY USE.
 
weegee3 said:
I know about "throw";the effect of english on the object bal and I know about deflection or squirt; the effect of english on the cue ball but need clarification on the effect of cue deflection.
What are the benefits of low deflection shafts? What exactly do they acchieve or avoid.

I just had a friend order a low deflection shaft from Predator for $220.00. He ordered it with an 11mm tip.
I an confused. Seems to me that a narrow shaft would increase deflection of the shaft off the cueball. Maybe that is the point. Whatever the point is.
Low deflection shaft or regular deflection, that is the question.
Elucidate me, will ya?
Weegee
Click to expand...

Shaft flex and cueball squirt are two different things.
 
nkvilliecues said:
I was involved with STEVE TITUS when he was developing the PI LAM shaft as he called it way back whenever. And yes certain tapers deflect more than others but if you only play no more the one tip from center they are all the same....NO MATTER WHAT CLAIMS THE MANUFACTURER MAY MAKE.
BOTTOM LINE is that the PLAYER not the cue is the cause of deflection in that their mechanics are faulty. That is the player during the course of the stroke may lift his bridge hand off the table prematurely, or even more likely will do something wierd with his hand that is on the butt, such as twisting the hand, not going straight thru with the hand but rather slapping at the shot, ETC ETC. A player with good mechanics can play with anything. all others are doomed to failure, NO MATTER WHAT SHAFT THEY USE.
Click to expand...

words of wisdom

Kim
 
weegee3 said:
I know about "throw";the effect of english on the object bal and I know about deflection or squirt; the effect of english on the cue ball but need clarification on the effect of cue deflection.
What are the benefits of low deflection shafts? What exactly do they acchieve or avoid.

I just had a friend order a low deflection shaft from Predator for $220.00. He ordered it with an 11mm tip.
I an confused. Seems to me that a narrow shaft would increase deflection of the shaft off the cueball. Maybe that is the point. Whatever the point is.
Low deflection shaft or regular deflection, that is the question.
Elucidate me, will ya?
Weegee
Click to expand...
I've played with predator shafts for over 5 years and when I started they helped my game a lot. After playing with them for a while I found out there were shots that I wasn't as accurate on with the predator shaft as I am using a solid maple shaft.

I missed the hit and sound of a regular solid maple shaft so I decided to try some different solid maple shafts to see how well I played with them compared to my game using a predator shaft.

My favorite shaft size has always been 12.75mm, but I had a couple of solid maple shafts that had smaller diameters that I haven't played with in years and I thought I'd give them a try. I had an old Schon shaft that is 12mm that i got from a friend of mine who said it was too small for him. The shaft has just been sitting in a case for years and i never thought about playing with a shaft that small. The shaft would fit on all of my cues since they all had the same joint style so i thought id hit some balls with it just to see what i thought and the shaft just plays fantastic. I've never played with a shaft this small, but due to the smaller diameter it seems to have less deflection and I'm playing better using this 12mm solid maple shaft than I've played in years. I admit that I got more spin and cue ball movement with the predator shaft than I do with this solid maple shaft, but with the solid shaft I can control the cue ball better.

James
 
Thanks for the replies, especially that of Mr. Dieckman, a hall of fame cue builder (not cuemaker) and one who has had one of his cues displayed in the Smithsonian. Not to mention that he likes cats.
I am honored to have him respond to my question and to confirm what I believed to be a correct asessmant of LD shafts.
Thank you, Dennis; You da' man.
Weegee
 
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