Custom Cue Makers LD Shafts Question

LHP5

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So yes this is another ld thread, but I was wondering do custom cue makers ever explain how their shafts are low deflection?

I know there are a ton of custom shafts out there that are labeled and sold as ld such as lambros ultra shafts, searing ld shafts, ss360, dominiak, recently Samsara ld (as seen in the for sale section), and so on. People tend to bash the predator's or ob's and claim the custom makers ld shafts are better. Not saying their wrong but at least the production companies show you how their shafts are assembled and what gives them ld characteristics.

Are the custom cue makers simply marketing their own shafts as ld now and not really changing anything? I'd like to think not, but can someone who has a lambros ld shaft or a ss360 or a dominiak or whoever's ld explain how it works? I'm legitimately curious as most of their websites never really explain how they lighten up the front end.

Thanks for the responses.
 
So yes this is another ld thread, but I was wondering do custom cue makers ever explain how their shafts are low deflection?

I know there are a ton of custom shafts out there that are labeled and sold as ld such as lambros ultra shafts, searing ld shafts, ss360, dominiak, recently Samsara ld (as seen in the for sale section), and so on. People tend to bash the predator's or ob's and claim the custom makers ld shafts are better. Not saying their wrong but at least the production companies show you how their shafts are assembled and what gives them ld characteristics.

Are the custom cue makers simply marketing their own shafts as ld now and not really changing anything? I'd like to think not, but can someone who has a lambros ld shaft or a ss360 or a dominiak or whoever's ld explain how it works? I'm legitimately curious as most of their websites never really explain how they lighten up the front end.

Thanks for the responses.
I am sure they have their theories, some might even have been tested.

Best people to ask would be the individual makers themselves.
 
So yes this is another ld thread, but I was wondering do custom cue makers ever explain how their shafts are low deflection?

I know there are a ton of custom shafts out there that are labeled and sold as ld such as lambros ultra shafts, searing ld shafts, ss360, dominiak, recently Samsara ld (as seen in the for sale section), and so on. People tend to bash the predator's or ob's and claim the custom makers ld shafts are better. Not saying their wrong but at least the production companies show you how their shafts are assembled and what gives them ld characteristics.

Are the custom cue makers simply marketing their own shafts as ld now and not really changing anything? I'd like to think not, but can someone who has a lambros ld shaft or a ss360 or a dominiak or whoever's ld explain how it works? I'm legitimately curious as most of their websites never really explain how they lighten up the front end.

Thanks for the responses.

Good question and for me there is a good answer. Years ago I learned what Predator knew by reading their patent. Not by taking their shaft apart. If on my website I stated exactly how I reduced, as Dr. Dave says, the effective end mass then anyone interested, not just customers but competitors, would know why my shafts are made the way they are.
And it all works by allowing the front of the shaft to flex away from the cueball on shots with english. This is done in a variety of ways all of which work to lower the mass - weight, of the effective flex point. This effective flex point is different on each makers shafts because construction techniques vary. Which really make LD shafts HD shafts compared to normal shafts but the LD label has been in place for so long it will be hard to change... we are trying if you read our site.
 
Good question and for me there is a good answer. Years ago I learned what Predator knew by reading their patent. Not by taking their shaft apart. If on my website I stated exactly how I reduced, as Dr. Dave says, the effective end mass then anyone interested, not just customers but competitors, would know why my shafts are made the way they are.
And it all works by allowing the front of the shaft to flex away from the cueball on shots with english. This is done in a variety of ways all of which work to lower the mass - weight, of the effective flex point. This effective flex point is different on each makers shafts because construction techniques vary. Which really make LD shafts HD shafts compared to normal shafts but the LD label has been in place for so long it will be hard to change... we are trying if you read our site.

Good answer :)
There is nothing magical about a LD shaft. As long as you somehow reduce front end mass, you are making a LD shaft. Custom cuemakers can make LD shafts in several ways, without infringing on patents held by Predator og other commercial cue companies.
 
LD shafts are following the same "product progression" that occurs in every new product, in every industry:

Small pioneer developes a successful new idea. Low volume/high price with "early adoptors" as the only customers.

Small pioneer (or a small competitor) figures out how to manufacture the new idea efficiently. Price comes down a bit and customer base grows.

New companies form as they copy/improve on both the idea and the manufacturing process.

Mid- and large-sized companies take notice as they begin to lose customers because they don't offer the new product.

Mid- and large-sized companies begin to offer the new product just as another pioneer developes a different new idea.

And the circle starts all over again.
 
How many production shafts that are marketed as LD shafts are really low-end mass shafts ?
I just looked at one here two weeks ago. It's one of the bigger brands.
It was not LD AT ALL. Worse, it had a really heavy hard ferrule. It was really high cueball deflection shaft.
Some manufacturer who coat their shafts with fiberglass or use laminates can claim their shafts are LD all day they want . They're not LD.

Any custom maker can make a low-end mass shaft .
 
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