Low deflection shafts

[Patrick Johnson]

you are correct PJ, I could have phrased that much better as yes thats all it is......in the normal the shaft the squirt is greater so that the spin cant match it to bring it back to the original line.

so in effect it does send it in a straighter line my friend, just not dead straight

We might just be talking semantic differences now, but the curve will look exactly the same in both cases - if you laid one curve on top of the other it would exactly match, assuming you "pivot" it a little first. It's the overall direction, not the amount of curve, that's different.

jump just fine with mine i made 3 last night at WD while matched up for 200. as the only time i ever use a jump cue is if its way too close or close and full ball, all others are with my playing cue.

This is one problem I do have with LD shafts. I've only had two different kinds, but I jump like a white boy with both. Any house cue is better for me. I should go back and mention this in my post to Donnie.

pj
chgo

 

[Fatboy]

I'm trying to learn all about low deflection shafts. What can you do with one that you can't do with a regular shaft, and vice versa?

If you've played with a regular shaft your whole life is it a good idea to switch now?

Which top pros don't shoot with a low deflection shaft?

If I got used to a low def shaft, would I definitely be a better player?


I shot a couple inside english shots with a low def shaft and noticed how much easier it is to judge.

all they do for me is make it easier(but still hard) to load up with inside, I mean really load up. Otherwise not much difference to me.

 

[uwate]

I'm trying LD out myself Donny. After 28 years of regular shafts it's frustrating when your second guessing so many shots. Raul Alvarez down here in miami switched and it only took him a month. I've decided to shelf it myself until after apa nationals in late April. I'm like u though, high inside English from 5 ft away is the major selling point to me on LD.

If anyone can do it, it's you Donny. You just gotta fade pounding the ball into the rail while the ol neuro net reassembles whats the correct way to pocket a ball.

On the downside, when you finally learn, you will be tied to your LD cue. So the next time your at a bar playing off the wall you will look like a real pool idiot when you miss everything due to deflection .

 

[HollyWood]

Where has the quality shaft-wood gone

I can't find a feel from the LD shafts. I would take a pred. remove the foam (stuff)-put in wooden tenon- Ivory ferrule. Dennis Searing and others do change the Pred. I own 1 too.pd 300. and its worth every dollar
Pred spins the ball inside and out. Ob-1,ob-2, allows more follow and bottom.
There are shafts made with no ferrules,great old wood, right here on az 250.
I just put a older but New shaft from Jerry Mcworter on. It has a pure cool sound,and it made all the shots( ) Tip not sure which kind but Hard.
I have never seen a SW with ld shaft- There shaft-wood is superior.The way they cut the shafts is differen't I also believe the threads are cut by hand so good it fit tight.
I did some reading in the Billiards Encylopedia ferruless shafts with tips were popular from the 1700s on. all the best players in the world used far less and played better on huge tables-for months at a time. Bill stroud invented his own ld shaft-he's on az. I would ask Bill Stroud his reasonings for sure.

 

[bdcues]

When i said unbiased i was referring to them using a machine to provided a consistent method of testing. I stated later in the OP that they were for sure trying to promote their black dot shaft. I would love to see them try this with a OB2 or OB Classic.

OK, try this. Years ago in Orlando at the BCA show Bob had his robot. I had sold a laminated SS360 shaft blank to Joe Sanko, who brought the finished shaft/cue to the show. We took it to Bob. His first test was his fishing weight test to show radial consistency. He held up the shaft and declared that since this was a radial laminate shaft it would have more variance in his side pull test. He mounts it up, rotates it 4 directions and has to declare that it has as little variance as any shaft of his he has ever tested.
So now the robot test. Bob mounted one of his shafts on the butt while an associate puts a new strip of contact paper on the end rail. Load and fire. You can see where the ball hits. They take a measurement in fractions of an inch. Take his shaft off, put on Sanko's, load and fire. The cueball hits inside of the mark made by Bob's shaft. Then Bob says - Since this is a laminated shaft you have to multiple the distance (the measurement of where Sanko's ball hit) by 1.6. See, it has more deflection! he declares. Magically, multiplying the distance by some magic number because it is a laminated shaft is somehow supposed to change where the ball actually hit.
The fact is where his ball hit was further to the left than were the ball hit with Sanko's shaft hit, period. I wouldn't buy a glass of water from Bob if I was dying of thirst.

 

[JoeyA]

I'm trying to learn all about low deflection shafts. What can you do with one that you can't do with a regular shaft, and vice versa?

If you've played with a regular shaft your whole life is it a good idea to switch now?

Which top pros don't shoot with a low deflection shaft?

If I got used to a low def shaft, would I definitely be a better player?


I shot a couple inside english shots with a low def shaft and noticed how much easier it is to judge.

Donny,
I really don't know the answer as to what you can do with one type of shaft versus another.

I did notice that the ENTIRE European Mosconi Cup Team uses Predator shafts. That's something worth noting.

Me, I am still using OB cues low-deflection shafts and will continue to use them until I find something else better.


JoeyA

 

[JoeyA]

One more thing Donny.

A low deflection shaft does not necessarily mean that you have to have a laminated shaft with the technology advancements of a Predator or OB cue shaft.

You can have a low deflection shaft using a traditional maple shaft.

You can have lower cue call deflection by reducing the size/mass at the end of your cue shaft.

I think a traditional maple shaft with the first four inches of the shaft being a diameter of close to 12.0 will give you some similar low cue ball deflection (similar to Predator and OB cues and others).

I would recommend you talking to Royce at OB Cues to get more information if you are serious about laminated low deflection shafts.

JoeyA

 

[JoeyInCali]

the lower the deflection the straighter the gun shoots.........all you got to ask yourself is "do i prefer my bullet to travel a more curved trajectory or do i want my bullet to travel in a straight trajectory (with english application)"

hope that helps you answer any questions.

-Grey GHost-

I've applied for a patent for my fluted shaft design.
I'm calling it White Feather or Remington 700.
One Shot One Kill will be the slogan.

 

[JoeyA]

I've applied for a patent for my fluted shaft design.
I'm calling it White Feather or Remington 700.
One Shot One Kill will be the slogan.

YOu jest, but I remember Bandito before his death, writing to me about some type of fluted? shaft design that he was working on.

JoeyA

 

[JoeyInCali]

YOu jest, but I remember Bandito before his death, writing to me about some type of fluted? shaft design that he was working on.

JoeyA

Yes, we discussed it. Edwin also developed his lightweight ferrule.
We discussed different ways of lamination too.

Nothing is worth patenting in pool imo.
If the configuration is changed by 20%, it can't be sued afaik.

Btw, any competent cuemaker can easily make a shaft with lower end mass.

 

[RDaniel13]

OK, try this. Years ago in Orlando at the BCA show Bob had his robot. I had sold a laminated SS360 shaft blank to Joe Sanko, who brought the finished shaft/cue to the show. We took it to Bob. His first test was his fishing weight test to show radial consistency. He held up the shaft and declared that since this was a radial laminate shaft it would have more variance in his side pull test. He mounts it up, rotates it 4 directions and has to declare that it has as little variance as any shaft of his he has ever tested.
So now the robot test. Bob mounted one of his shafts on the butt while an associate puts a new strip of contact paper on the end rail. Load and fire. You can see where the ball hits. They take a measurement in fractions of an inch. Take his shaft off, put on Sanko's, load and fire. The cueball hits inside of the mark made by Bob's shaft. Then Bob says - Since this is a laminated shaft you have to multiple the distance (the measurement of where Sanko's ball hit) by 1.6. See, it has more deflection! he declares. Magically, multiplying the distance by some magic number because it is a laminated shaft is somehow supposed to change where the ball actually hit.
The fact is where his ball hit was further to the left than were the ball hit with Sanko's shaft hit, period. I wouldn't buy a glass of water from Bob if I was dying of thirst.

Sounds like he made up some bs. The ball hits where the ball hits. You don't shoot a shot with that shaft in a game then multiply it and say it should have deflected further than it did.... But if he's paid by meucci to promote their products, i'm sure he doesn't wanna admit something is better....

 

[genomachino]

It sure makes it easier..........

I'm trying to learn all about low deflection shafts. What can you do with one that you can't do with a regular shaft, and vice versa?

If you've played with a regular shaft your whole life is it a good idea to switch now?

Which top pros don't shoot with a low deflection shaft?

If I got used to a low def shaft, would I definitely be a better player?


I shot a couple inside english shots with a low def shaft and noticed how much easier it is to judge.

Hi there Donnie,
I'm still learning myself. I started using one about 3 weeks ago. It took me about 15 minutes to adjust and I won the tourny later.

It really helps me when I'm tired. Now you don't have to worry about adjusting just right for your stroke and the squirt. Plus when we get tired we get a little lazy.

When you try to go around a ball you really have to go around it. You can't count on it squirting out to get around. That's one of the main adjustments.

The other when trying to hit the ball thin. It will still curve after the shot but it won't squirt over.

But what am I telling you. You'll have it all figured out in a day or 2.

I can't go back to a regular wood shaft.

I think they play great. That's why so many of these young players use them.

Good Luck...........

 

[donny mills]

Thanks for the feedback. I hit with a mezz for a few days. I think id be foolish not to switch to a low deflection shaft.