Laminated/spliced shaft vs. standard maple

jalapus logan

jalapus logan

be all. and supports it to
Silver Member
I posted a question in another thread about sneaky petes that now has me wondering if I should step into the 21st century and try one of these new fangled OB/predator shafts (or some other brand). I have no idea what the advantages or disadvantages are, only that they supposedly have less deflection. Also a consideration is that I have been using standard maple shafts for so long that I wonder that I might not be able to adjust to the way these new products play. Any thought? Thanks.
 
I just got a new cue with a laminated shaft. It is just laminated hard maple, without all the holes, inserts, bells and whistles of the aftermarket shafts. I have little playing time with it, but the shaft is certainly much stiffer than the hard maple shafts I have always used. From what I can tell so far, I think I'm really going to like it. The hit is superb.
 
jalapus logan said:
I posted a question in another thread about sneaky petes that now has me wondering if I should step into the 21st century and try one of these new fangled OB/predator shafts (or some other brand). I have no idea what the advantages or disadvantages are, only that they supposedly have less deflection. Also a consideration is that I have been using standard maple shafts for so long that I wonder that I might not be able to adjust to the way these new products play. Any thought? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Laminations don't reduce a shaft's squirt; reducing its "end mass" does that (usually by drilling it out, reducing tip width, using smaller/lighter ferrules, etc.).

Laminations (at least when used by mass manufacturers) probably just allow the shaft maker to use lower quality maple without worrying about warpage - the laminations tend to "randomize" the warping forces so they cancel each other out. Of course that's not what they say - they say laminations produce more "radial consistency", which pretty much means "as far as you know".

By the way, I used laminated Predator shafts for years and liked them (although I never personally experienced "radial consistency"), so I'm not bashing laminations, just trying to demystify the hype.

pj
chgo
 
Last edited:
i played with meucci and a jos for 15 years before switching to predator and it took me about 2 months to adjust.

the advantage of "radial" lamination, what predator, ob, tiger use, is radial consistancy. meaning no mater which way the cue is turned, the shaft will have the same flex. this isnt true with flat lamination, meucci black dot.

with regular solid maple shafts you have a grain pattern and you can think of it liek a stack of papers. when the stack is layed sideways, it bends really easily, but when you turn it on the side, it bends more dificulty. the same is true with flat lamination.

radial lamination was ment as a resoltion to this. where standard radial laminate is pie configuration.

above that, the main players in the market manipulated the front 10" or so of the shaft to reduce weight in order to reduce squirt. predator drilled a hoolow and lined the sides with a liquid phonelic that hardened to add support, ob, drilled out a hollow and filled it with foam, meucci leaves a hollow space between the cap and tennon in the front of the ferrule. and tigers ferulle is hollow and has the tenon on it and is inserted into the shaft, etc.
 
I've never tried a predator, but I did try an OB-1 for 2 months. The spin that it puts on the cueball is crazy. Way too much for me to adjust to.

Poster RAGBUG74 made a cue for me with a flat laminmated shaft.
www.q-werkscues.com
Its definitely not whippy, straight as hell, and hits hard. I make no effort to always have the grain vertical or horizontal. Makes no difference to me.
 
Joss High pro

I recently got my first batch of Joss high pro Shafts in. the shafts are laminated with the pie construction. From my standpoint they were very nice. similair to a predator. the Ferrule was a bit shorter than usual and the tips they use on these shafts are exceptional.
the shafts are gone now and i have to get a few more. They were gone n a week.
I thought they hit very well. i definitly prefer them over standard shafts that i've played with. I din't have a very hard time adjusting to it, but my games not really good enough that it would be drastic anyway.
 
jalapus logan said:
I posted a question in another thread about sneaky petes that now has me wondering if I should step into the 21st century and try one of these new fangled OB/predator shafts (or some other brand). I have no idea what the advantages or disadvantages are, only that they supposedly have less deflection. Also a consideration is that I have been using standard maple shafts for so long that I wonder that I might not be able to adjust to the way these new products play. Any thought? Thanks.
Click to expand...

There's good and bad to them. i'd start with a predator shaft and expand from there if you really want to try one. i'm partial to the WD700 (by mezz)
 
I have 2 cues with standard shafts. All the shafts shoot and behave differently.
They all have a different amount of flex and there is a difference at 90 deg to the grain flex to with the grain flex.
I am not saying that I miss because of the radial orientation of the cue, but when I have played with an OB or Predator shaft or my own Carbon shaft, I seem to be more consistant in what I am doing. Hitting or missing.LOL But overall tend to make more shots with the laminated shafts and the carbon. I have not shot with a flat laminated shaft, only the different radial shafts.
Bottom line is you have to try them. I think you also need to try them with differnent tips as well.The wrong tip on a shaft for you is a bad shaft, but a tip change can make it a good shaft for you.
Yes, the newer tech shafts are different, and not everybody likes them.
Neil
 
socks said:
with regular solid maple shafts you have a grain pattern and you can think of it liek a stack of papers. when the stack is layed sideways, it bends really easily, but when you turn it on the side, it bends more dificulty. the same is true with flat lamination.

.
Click to expand...

If you put some glue between those layers which keeps them from sliding you will find they don't bent at all.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Nonsense.

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

Yea, I like the OB1. If you are putting more spin than you want hit closer to center! :grin:

I go back and forth between a 314 and OB1. The Predator is on my everyday beater cue that stays in my truck. Still straight after lots of years! The OB1 is on my Lambros (don't tell Mike) and the combo is magic. The two shafts play similar but different, the OB1 has more feedback to me.

Steve Lomax is matching a new OB1 to the beater cue.

Having said that, what I would like is a traditional one piece shaft with the low deflection front end. I'm not wild about the look of a laminated shaft. I plan on trying a McDermott Intimadator I2 next. Tested one at Valley Forge and liked it.
 
thisshitagain.jpg


For the record I own(ed) many Lam shafts.

The laminated part isn't what gives it the low deflection property that they are know for. It is the light end mass towards the tip that does it. This is usually obtained by hollowing out the first few inches and filling it with high density foam for stability. The lamination is more there to give it strength and "uniqueness".

I personally shoot with a 30" OB-2.

But beware; once you go lam it's hard to go back.....some call it the dark side!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top