Custom shaft questions

CeaseLess

CeaseLess

Active member
I'm thinking of getting two, mostly identical shafts made. Solid maple, no splicing, 3.8 oz, 12.4mm, 29 inches, pro taper. I'd like both to be a lively, in terms of vibrational feedback, as possibleThe only real difference I want is for one to be stiff and one to be whippy. How exactly would you go about that? In terms of specs maybe go extend pro taper on the whippy shaft, 17 inches taper, maybe go a hair thinner, 12.2 mm. And a shorter 14 inch taper on the stiffer shaft? And in terms of wood selection, what would you look for for the two? There are terms I don't completely understand. Would you look for a weaker/ stronger spine, tight/ loose grain, what other things would help get me what I'm looking for?
Second, unlike most players I don't enjoy a crisp hit, I like a more, soft, buttery hit. In my experience most of that has to do with the type of ferrule I'm shooting with. My favorite hitting shaft is an 80s dufferin that still had those very soft, I think called vulcanized plastic, ferrules. They were almost bouncy. What type of ferrule material do you think would come closest to that feel?
Thirdly, is there anything that can be done to make these shafts lower deflection besides drilling and leaving hollow or filling with foam? I like a lively shaft and this always deadens the hit so much. The best hitting le deflection shaft I've hit with is a maple meucci pro, I know they drill a hole, then replace it with a lighter wood, it keeps a solid, lively hit while lowering the deflection.
And lastly I own a custom kielwood shaft, I enjoy how it plays but the hit is lacking for me. Not much vibration or feeling. It's there a way to make a Kielwood shaft softer and livelier, or does the process of removing all the moisture and sugar lead to that general stiffer/ less vibration.
Feel free to answer any or all, I'm just curious and interested in the opinions of more knowledgeable individuals than myself. Thanks in advance.
 
Thanks for the input. I only ask so much because you guys do amazing work and I don't have the knowledge to know the extent of the possibilities. Im just asking to see what is possible. I feel like the specs are pretty normal. When it boils down to it, I just want two shafts, one stiff and one whippy, with soft ferrules. Just wondering what specific characteristics in wood lead to those two different hits.
 
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Most shafts from the 80s had a shorter, 12" taper. That, coupled with a SS collar, 5/16-14 pin, and Aegis or ivory ferrule, made for quite the "ping."
 
CeaseLess said:
Thanks for the input. I only ask so much because you guys do amazing work and I don't have the knowledge to know the extent of the possibilities. Im just asking to see what is possible. I feel like the specs are pretty normal. When it boils down to it, I just want two shafts, one stiff and one whippy, with soft ferrules. Just wondering what specific characteristics in wood lead to those two different hits.
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Your specs aren't normal.
I wouldn't make those if you paid $1000 each.
12.4mm and you want 17" or 14" " pro "? Meaning almost straight for those lengths.
Any maker can tell.wood stiffness by simple bemding test.
But, those specs will result in warped shafts.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Your specs aren't normal.
I wouldn't make those if you paid $1000 each.
12.4mm and you want 17" or 14" " pro "? Meaning almost straight for those lengths.
Any maker can tell.wood stiffness by simple bemding test.
But, those specs will result in warped shafts.
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I didn't realize they weren't normal. I figured it was because I've owned shafts at those specs, the meucci pro for example is 12.5, 14 inch taper. Is there a way to achieve that size tip with a longer pro taper that is not prone to warping?
 
CeaseLess said:
I didn't realize they weren't normal. I figured it was because I've owned shafts at those specs, the meucci pro for example is 12.5, 14 inch taper. Is there a way to achieve that size tip with a longer pro taper that is not prone to warping?
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I think you should switch to carbon fiber shaft. If you insist on that zero taper for 17 inches.
 
fish2 said:
I mean, can you get two shafts using carbon, one is whippy shaft and the other stiff.
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have yet to see a cf shaft that was 'whippy' in any way. Even the 10.5's ive hit were pretty damn stiff. That's one thing you CAN do with cf: make very thin yet still be stiff. No way Jose when using plain wood. Maybe wood with a cf core but not solid maple. If you want under 12mm wood you need to go with a conical taper otherwise it'll be a noodle.
 
fish2 said:
I mean, can you get two shafts using carbon, one is whippy shaft and the other stiff.
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I've never come across a carbon fibre shaft I would call whippy, it's really the opposite of the inherent qualities of carbon fibre.
If you for some reason want a whippy shaft, then get an old Meucci shaft, those things where about as soft as a maple shaft can be.
If you showed up at my shop, my first question would be why you want one stiff and one soft shaft, what's the purpose?
To me knowing your equipment so atleast that's not an x factor, when there can be so many other X factors in a tournament like cloth wear, clean or dirty ballset, humidity and so is a huge plus. That gives you atleast one consistent reference. The people I see that switches out equipment all the time thinking that it's the shaft, tip, butt, chalk etc that's the issue, they never tend to play with any consistency at all. If it's one thing I talk about more than anything else, it's just that; consistency. Having a playing style and equipment that's not reliant on you having a great day is what separates the pro's from casual players. With a few exceptions it's rare to see a pro use some really weird equipment like a ultra skinny shaft or extremely heavy cue and so on, Earl is obviously an outlier here, but then again he's not in that top 25 anymore. The playing style has also become a lot simpler, crazy draw shots or going 4 and 5 cusions you almost never see anymore, because all of these things takes away from consistency.
 
the BECUE PRIME M shaft (not the new model that was released) is whippy and plays very similar to wood, just hits much softer and doesnt have the resonance that wood with ivory ferrule has (my preference) a 12.0mm tip diameter will potentially provide the play you are looking for.
 
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