Is Shaft weight is important to you?

T

The_Marvelous

Member
Hi, I have a two playing shafts, one weigh 112 grams and the other is 118 grams. I find my position play and speed control is better on the lighter shaft. Although the tips for both shaft are not the same, the lighter shaft have hard tip and the heavier shaft have medium tip.

I do not know which contribute two a better playing shaft, the tips or the weight of the shaft. I will try to change the medium tip to a hard tip to see if there is a difference on the play.

Anyway, which do you prefer, heavy or light shaft?
 
Your talking about .211 ounces.
I'm guessing, it's in your tip....... I've never noticed a difference in that slight of a weight variation. Just my opinion though.
Think of it this way, people don't go buy a predator shaft and request a weight variation of + or - .2 ounces. I'm sure predator has their own weight requirements during manufacturing though. A lot of shaft weight could amount to properly dried wood. You might have one shaft that's more whippy than the other and suits your style of play better but I'm guessing it's not the .211 ounces of weight that's making much difference.
 
Thanks for your opinion, I notice the difference of the two shaft on my bridge that is why i thought it could be the weight of the shaft.
 
Yes, very important

Yes, shaft weight is very important, in fact I put a 1 oz. lead weight in all my Schon OB1 shafts to increase the weight from (generally) around 3.5 to 4.5 oz.
 
Maybe your noticing a difference in taper if your feeling it in your bridge. Shaft taper can, and will screw with you more then .2 oz. ever will. Put a micrometer on them both and take a series of measurements and compare them. You might find them different, you might not. You might just have one shaft that flat out plays better.
 
Clearly you were never a pot smoker, or you'd know how little 6 grams really feels like. I doubt you could ever reliably tell one shaft from another via weight alone in a blind test. It's the tips.
 
deadnutz said:
Maybe your noticing a difference in taper if your feeling it in your bridge. Shaft taper can, and will screw with you more then .2 oz. ever will. Put a micrometer on them both and take a series of measurements and compare them. You might find them different, you might not. You might just have one shaft that flat out plays better.
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Your seems to have a lot of experience when it comes to shafts, the heavier shaft is a HP2 and the lighter is WD700. WD700 plays better but have slight roll, whereas the HP2 is great, straight as an arrow but i played better on the WD700. The only thing is the slight roll on the shaft bothers me a little.

I'm not sure if both have the same taper. Anyway, i will replace the tip of the shaft of the HP2 to make the same as the WD700 and let you know if they play the same or close to same.
 
zencues.com said:
Yes, shaft weight is very important, in fact I put a 1 oz. lead weight in all my Schon OB1 shafts to increase the weight from (generally) around 3.5 to 4.5 oz.
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From your customers feedback. Which they prefer. light or heavy? 3.5 oz maybe too light for me. Around 4 oz feels good to me.
 
I can see where zencues might be getting different feedback from a shaft that is 1 ounce different but if somebody can tell the difference accuratley with only a .2 of a gram difference, I'd be surprised. Also, is it the shaft weight making the difference when adding the extra ounce of weight or is it the balance point of the cue changing that people are responding to??? Could be either, but if it works with good results that people like why not do it!
As far as your shaft having a slight roll.....it's probably not enough to effect playability. My daily player for 10 years has a slight roll in the shaft, I've often thought about having another one made for it, but think it will play different so I never bothered. If you can get past that roll mentally (knowing it's there), then why change a good thing? Again, just my 2 cents.
 
My 2 pennies worth

I have a cue with 2 shafts that are very darn close in all aspects with the only difference being the tips. One shoots better than the other due to the feel of the tips. The tips at one time were the same and I could not tell a big difference. I switched tips and one turned into a case queen.

As far as the original question, I prefer a shaft in the 4+ ounce range because I believe it gives the cue a better balance and feel. It feels more comfortable in my stroking hand and allows me to play much longer. I had an off balance cue that weighed too much in the butt to achieve my playing weight preference and after a few hours of play I felt as if I had been arm wrestling all night. Proper balance equals less fatigue.
 
The heavier the shaft the better, 4 oz plus for sure. Easier to move the ball around especially if you like light cues.
 
Oregonmeds said:
Clearly you were never a pot smoker, or you'd know how little 6 grams really feels like. I doubt you could ever reliably tell one shaft from another via weight alone in a blind test. It's the tips.
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6 grams can make a hell of a difference in pool playing ... especially if it's from Colombia!
 
mattb said:
I have a cue with 2 shafts that are very darn close in all aspects with the only difference being the tips. One shoots better than the other due to the feel of the tips. The tips at one time were the same and I could not tell a big difference. I switched tips and one turned into a case queen.

As far as the original question, I prefer a shaft in the 4+ ounce range because I believe it gives the cue a better balance and feel. It feels more comfortable in my stroking hand and allows me to play much longer. I had an off balance cue that weighed too much in the butt to achieve my playing weight preference and after a few hours of play I felt as if I had been arm wrestling all night. Proper balance equals less fatigue.
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Which tip plays better? is it hard or soft?

I play with the balance of the cue as well. i have weight bolts in 3 grams increment. My cue weigh 18.8 oz using the WD700 shaft. I'm very comfortable with this weight and balance. Doesn't feel forward or rear weighted.
 
Shaft weight

I spoke with Jermey Jones about this a a couple of years ago at Boogies in Houston Texas and said that it was very impotant and that it could effect the feel between shafts.

He talked about other factors, but if you are trying to get two playing shafts that have the same feel, all things being equal, weight will come into play.
The laminated shafts dont very much, but even the best shafts from the cue makers can be a little different.
 
I suspect you notice a difference because the shafts have different tapers, tips, ferrules, etc. Above all else, different wood. Not all maple is created equal. This is why good builders supply two shafts, and the best match the shafts according to tone, as well as weight. This way when one shaft is down for retip or gets damaged, you have another that plays & feels exactly the same, given that you have the same tips on both. Two shafts with the exact dimensions, ferrule, weight, tip, etc. can vary greatly in play & feel depending on tonal characteristics. One might be stiff & resilient while the other is flimsy & dead. So in order to compare two shafts, you must consider wood quality, ferrule material, ferrule length, ferrule install technique, tip, height of tip, quality of given tip (especially if not layered, they can vary greatly within any given brand), and weight. Weight of a shaft basically helps tune the overall balance of the cue, nothing much more. It does have a tiny affect on deflection but not enough to make a difference.
 
Tips

The_Marvelous said:
Which tip plays better? is it hard or soft?

I play with the balance of the cue as well. i have weight bolts in 3 grams increment. My cue weigh 18.8 oz using the WD700 shaft. I'm very comfortable with this weight and balance. Doesn't feel forward or rear weighted.
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Both tips would be in the medium hard range. One is a Moori medium and the other is a pressed LePro. They are both close but one does play better to me. My cue weights are in the 19.25 to 19.75 range. With a heavier shaft the butt can be lighter.
It is a preference thing for me. I know guys that wouldn't know a gram from a pound and shoot just fine with whatever cue you give them. I wish I could do that.
 
The_Marvelous said:
Hi, I have a two playing shafts, one weigh 112 grams and the other is 118 grams. I find my position play and speed control is better on the lighter shaft. Although the tips for both shaft are not the same, the lighter shaft have hard tip and the heavier shaft have medium tip.

I do not know which contribute two a better playing shaft, the tips or the weight of the shaft. I will try to change the medium tip to a hard tip to see if there is a difference on the play.

Anyway, which do you prefer, heavy or light shaft?
Click to expand...

weight is only part of the equation. but by weight alone you gotta pick the one that leaves the cue balanced where you like
 
I experimented with the balance point of the cue. As i mentioned i have weight bolts of 3 grams increment. At 19 oz HP2 shaft the cue is well balance.

I am looking for a tip that is harder than moori medium. It feel spongy to me. I will try the milk dud soon, hopefully this is the missing ingredient on the HP2 shaft.
 
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