help with new cue

J

JOEY

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ok, this is the deal. i shot with a predator for 2 years. i just recieved my custom jacoby, and i had them make my shaft at 12.5mm (thats the size i shot with before my predator). now i got the jacoby, and i cant run 3 balls. the shaft is "whippy". i guess i got used to the stiffer predator. also, the balance is farther back than i would like. do i just order a predator shaft for this, or try and adjust? also, should i see if they can balance the cue more towards the front, or just try and adjust? too much adjusting going on here..lol. thanks for the input. joey

p.s they did a great job with the cue, and it hits great,
i just cant get used to it.
 
You got this cue custom made for you specifically? Why did they not take down exactly what you wanted on balance point and the taper (which would affect the "whippyness" of the shaft). When I got my cue made I made sure it was to my exact specifications of what I like, it's weight, it's balance point, it's taper, everything on it is exactly how I knew I wanted it from past experience and that is how it got built. If you really think the shaft is whippy then I would maybe take it back to Jacoby and get it retapered or get a new shaft with a different taper, that can change alot of the playing characteristics of the cue. Blud probably could tell you alot more specifically what to do, but I do know taper is a big factor in the way a cue hits and how stiff it is.
 
I think you should go with the Predator shaft, if your new cue feels too whippy. It's no shame using custom cue+Predator shaft combination.
 
mjantti said:
I think you should go with the Predator shaft, if your new cue feels too whippy. It's no shame using custom cue+Predator shaft combination.
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The crowd of 100,000+ screams out in unison....boooo.....booooo....booooo
booooo.....boooooo.....boooooo
 
mjantti said:
I think you should go with the Predator shaft, if your new cue feels too whippy. It's no shame using custom cue+Predator shaft combination.
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I have built butts to match someones Predator shaft as they really liked the shaft, but not their cue. They swore it was the best playing cue they ever had. Then he buys another cue of mine with my shafts from a went broke player and sold the cue with the Predator shaft and then swore the newer cue was the best he had ever played with. And this guy is a top B level or lower A level player. So I agree if he likes a Predator shaft play with it. But be aware there may be something better out there, just depends on cloth you are playing on and the cue ball action desired, feel, etc.. I have also built a butt to match Schuler's Carom Billiard shafts. Same story: He loved the shaft but hated his cue. Then he claimed it was the best he had played with once he got my cue on his shaft. So does the shaft or the cue get the most credit for how the cue plays? I think that depends on how nice the cue looks. If it is plain the customer gives the Predator shaft the credit for making the simple cue play well. But if the butt is fancy the shaft is rarely mentioned. Just some of my personal experiences.
Chris
www.cuesmith.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
 
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What a mess. This is going to be an ongoing problem I'm afraid for a lot of cuemakers.

I play with a Predator shaft on a custom cue. Some conventional cues squirt so much I don't think I could ever play 100% with them. I guess you have to give it enough time to find out.

If you get a Predator for the Jacoby, the cue will definitely need to be re-balanced - the Predator shaft is usually about 1/2 ounce lighter than a conventional shaft and the weight is removed from the tip end.

Chris
 
how hard is it to rebalance the cue, hence moving the weight forward? althoug ive been shooting for a long time, i really dont understand this whole deflection thing. my complaint is that its too whippy. its my fault for ordering a 12.5mm shaft, but that is what i WAS ised to until i got used to my predator. everyone here is agreeing on the fact that it changes your aiming, do you think it makes it easier or harder? i just started shootin great with the predator, now i sold it. i dont want to have to get used to aiming and readjusting for english agai. joey
 
JOEY said:
how hard is it to rebalance the cue, hence moving the weight forward? althoug ive been shooting for a long time, i really dont understand this whole deflection thing. my complaint is that its too whippy. its my fault for ordering a 12.5mm shaft, but that is what i WAS ised to until i got used to my predator. everyone here is agreeing on the fact that it changes your aiming, do you think it makes it easier or harder? i just started shootin great with the predator, now i sold it. i dont want to have to get used to aiming and readjusting for english agai. joey
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I think you should have specified 12.5MM tip but stiff taper.
12.5 is not just 12.5 for all shafts.
It boggles me that a quarter of an oz. taken from the front is throwing you that much. It'll be a lot easier to add a quarter of an oz. of weight on the shaft instead of in the butt.
 
JOEY said:
how hard is it to rebalance the cue, hence moving the weight forward? althoug ive been shooting for a long time, i really dont understand this whole deflection thing. my complaint is that its too whippy. its my fault for ordering a 12.5mm shaft, but that is what i WAS ised to until i got used to my predator. everyone here is agreeing on the fact that it changes your aiming, do you think it makes it easier or harder? i just started shootin great with the predator, now i sold it. i dont want to have to get used to aiming and readjusting for english agai. joey
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Joey,

Predators are stiff in relation to most shafts. I've had (and have) a lot of 12.5 mm conventional shafts that are plenty stiff.

Your shaft sounds like a bad one - too soft, maybe the wood is not dense enough. It probably is light too. Every once in a while you get a stinker.

I think you should talk to Jacoby about taking the shaft back and getting another with a different taper - you want a stiff taper obviously, usually this means more cone shaped than straight.

There are a lot of tricks for moving the weight forward - some not so easy. The simplist way is removing weight from the butt (reducing the cue weight) - this obviously moves the balance point forward. You can get a heavier shaft - which is what you need anyway. If this doesn't work, the cue can be bored from the weight bolt side and filled with lead and epoxied, then maybe a lighter weight bolt (aluminum) can be used - or no weight bolt at all.

Seems like a lot of trouble - hope you get it right.

Chris
 
12.5 is fairly small to me anyway. If it's a pro taper I'll bet it's whippy. Changing the taper on your shafts will result in a smaller shaft but it can be done. I'll leave this part to the cue makers on the forum.

I have made aluminum butt screws threaded inside for a steel stud. The steel stud threads into the front of the aluminum towards the forearm. This effectively moves weight forward but not much if it's a short screw. Maybe the cuemakes will comment but the hole has to be deeper to make much of a change.

Rod
 
Any time you go below 12.75 it is going to be whippy, I am surprised the cuemaker did not warn you of this! Mine did!!
Rodd said:
12.5 is fairly small to me anyway. If it's a pro taper I'll bet it's whippy. Changing the taper on your shafts will result in a smaller shaft but it can be done. I'll leave this part to the cue makers on the forum.

I have made aluminum butt screws threaded inside for a steel stud. The steel stud threads into the front of the aluminum towards the forearm. This effectively moves weight forward but not much if it's a short screw. Maybe the cuemakes will comment but the hole has to be deeper to make much of a change.

Rod
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Jacoby

Ok guys heres my 2 cents worth. I DONT think that predator is just a marketing idea, it does have less deflection! I just got a new Jacoby and am expirencing the same thing as Joey although I wouldnt call it "whippy". I started shooting spot shots with my new cue and didnt notice a difference until i used more than a tip of english. Draw and follow are the same, and BTW I think the jacoby is more stiff than the predator shaft. Using extreme english I would miss the ball about a ball and a half. Now at first I thought "the eglish isnt throwing the ball the same distance but after further inquiries its not that. Its that the ball "jumps" to left with right english and visa versa. I tried to set up a tough cut shot w/ the object ball on the center diamond off of the head rail and an extreme cut. When hitting center english I make it no prob with either cue. Now when I put inside and try to cut the ball thin into the corner, the predator makes the ball no prob. When I use the Jacoby I MISS THE BALL. The ball is jumping (squirt, deflection, what have you) so much I dont know how to compensate. I have been playing w/ a pred for about 4 years. Is this something other people have noticed or am I just looney?
 
sucks, dont it?

t-dog, sorry i havent replied to your pm yet. i am glad its not just me. i havent tried to set that shot up yet, but ill give it a try. i had jacoby make my shaft at 12.5mm, and its normally 13mm, so just think of the problems im having....lol. actually, i was onna have them make me a predator shaft for it, but im slowly getting used to it. its a little harder to control whitey, but ill get the hang of it. its kind of funny when i put extreme english on a ball and the shadt wobles like hell after the hit. im not used to seeing that after using the predator. its kind of like learning all over again. ttyl, joey
 
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