My dilemma with low deflection

Wags said:
There is no magic by using one shaft or the other.

IMO the LD shaft is probably easier for a beginning player to learn. They can see the aim line and point and shoot. They don't need to learn to make quite the adjustment needed as with a higher deflection shaft.
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This is a good point and I agree that LD shafts will help a beginning player play better faster. Just point and shoot without fear of deflection causing a missed shot.

LD shafts are good tools and I think it's up to the individual which type of shaft they want to use. I've used both and I like both types standard and LD shafts, but you have to sacrifice a little whichever way you go.

Standard shafts: you lose the point and shoot ability because you have to know your equipment better and learn how to aim with your particular shaft, but you get more control IMO.

LD Shafts: just point and shoot, but you will lose some control on certain shots for example- shooting a ball in the corner pocket with high inside english to follow it out 2 rails. I've had trouble some times with my 314-2 shooting this shot and I think it's because of the give in the end of the shaft to reduce deflection causing the cue ball to not follow and take the english like a standard shaft does. It may just be me, but that shot has given me trouble and not all the time, but every once in a while i'll hit it and wonder what happened! I don't have that trouble with a standard shaft as long as I hit the shot correctly the cue ball goes where I think it's going, but every once in a while the predator shaft will hit that shot funny.

James
 
danquixote said:
I guess I fall into the minority here, but I prefer the LD shafts. I find that using the small diameter OB-2 shaft not only gives me more precise control, it also forces me to pay even more attention to a proper delivery and exact contact point.
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If you had a standard shaft with an 11.75 - 12mm tip do you believe there would be an improvement in control also or is it the OB-2 LD shafts other properties that give you more precise control?

Thanks,
 
For me its about feel and ball movement. I put my ob1 and ob2 away for the stock shaft for a while. I recently got a ca$h ferruless shaft, and I'm liking it alot. :thumbup:
 
Yeah, for some reason, the cue ball seems much more likely to end up right where I try to put it when i'm using a standard shaft.

However, as with SCC, if I were trying that on a long, high inside english shot for 3rail shape, I would not make the ball.

If you had to compare increased shotmaking success using the "point and shoot" reference mentioned earlier, at the expense of a little control, that's probably not such a bad thing.

I also do agree that all LD shafts are different and feel different also. Maybe that magical combination will come to me, either in lightening up the endmass of my conventional shaft, or finding that magical LD production shaft.

It's really hard to leave an old growth maple shaft (where the rings are so tight you cant see them) in the case.
 
I have been a LD user for the last 6 years 314 to be specific. Then i went to a custom cue of course with a regular maple shaft. The feel of the maple shaft is great compared to the 314 really a lot better but I find that i have to avoid english most of the time using my regular maple shaft, unfortunately in some situation you have to use english and you have to adjust. That's for me, the downside of having a regular maple shaft. The last thing you want is worry, especially on the heat of the match and missing a shot because you failed to adjust appropriately for deflection.

I am now playing with a mezz cue andsa WD700 shaft. I find it's a lot easier to move the cue ball around without worrying about deflection and plus it has the feel of a regular maple shaft. HP2 is the next on my list, i want a backup shaft and see which of the two will i like most.
 
LD vs. Standard.

I have used Predator 314, Z, Z-2, OB-2, and sharpshooter. My favorite is the Z-2 and OB-2. But i struggled with the same problem, trying to figure out what gave me the "action" I was looking to get on the cue ball. Well, I figured out I cant stand McDermotts shaft wood! And My CAM custom with Ivory ferrul gives good feedback but its weight is hard for me to control. And my conclusion is: I get my best results with any shaft as long as I am useing my Mind/Muscle connection and look where I want my cue ball to stop on the felt! Remeber 1 thing folks, your brain is a lot smarter than your eyes, let it do its job, and stop second, third and fourth guessing yourself.
 
pooltchr said:
I'm with you on this one. I tried the 314 out several years ago, but it never felt quite right to me. Of coures, I've got a LOT of years shooting with a solid standard shaft. I sold the 314 after about 4 months, and never regretted it.

One is not necessarily better than the other, but they are very different. So whichever shaft you are most comfortable with will be the one that is better for you.

I'm very comfortable with my standard shaft.

Steve
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Steve, I'm in the same boat. I know some guys that would never give up their ld shafts, and others that hate them. I personally like the hit and feel of my regular shaft and have no issues pocketing balls as I know how much to allow for the deflection of the shaft I have used for the last 7 years.
 
One of the new LD shafts by OB Cues seems to have more "feel" than other LD shafts. I started with the OB1, then the OB2 and now I'm using the OB Classic Pro. It has a similar taper to the OB2 but it doesn't have a hole all the way through the shaft like the OB2. It has a slightly stiffer feel than the OB2 and still has reduced cue ball deflection.

I am in the process of trying out a traditional maple shaft made of the Lake Salvage Wood which has dense growth rings and is very stiff but so far I like the OB Classic Pro better. If things change I will post a follow up.
 
~jj~ said:
I notice a fair amount of deflection, especially with a high inside english shot. Perhaps I shouldn't be hitting that shot, but it's a good test. the first gen 314 deflects enough that I decided to play with the conventional shaft for a bit. It deflects more on that shot, but the hit is way more solid.

the 314^2 and Z^2 require very little, if any compensation when i hit a high inside ball.

thanks for the responses guys. Anyone play LD and go back to conventional?
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I m back now to a conventional shaft- but i m no laminate-hater. I tested now almost every available ld and laminated shaft. Also to see the advantages /disadvantages between them.
The latest shaft i tested was from a nice guy and *bit newer* cuemaker from Austria. He just uses a very good wood, a shorter ferrule and a small hole under the ferrule. It hits like a usual conventional shaft- and it is really great. The diameter was 12.5 mm and as i said. it really played great. think the system (let me call it so) like on a WD 700, which in my opinion is also a very good shaft.
And further--for sure every *cuemaker* is able to make a hole into a shaft- at the end it s all about the whole build of a shaft. Everything here is important, taper, craftmenship, materials- ferrule etc. .

There are some very good conventional shafts with a low deflection- perhaps not like a z², but it s just about you re personally expecting.

And at least- if you have a good stroke-- then you can shoot with every shaft-just choose what makes you happy. the most 314-2 users are using it, because it s just a bit easier to get much action with a bit less acceleration in their stroke.

But still just one thing is important: to receive a REPRODUCABLE stroke with the result what YOU are expecting. And this is just reachable with much table-time and using the same cue. Too many guys are changing their shaft more often than changing their underwear......no good idea :)

lg
Ingo
 
SKILLZELITE said:
Personally I believe the Z-2 to be the best shaft available, though I must agree the feel is lacking...
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I played with a pre-cat 314 for quite a while and then switched to a 314.

It wasn't until I bought a Z2 about 6 years ago that I realized how inconsistent my stroke was. It took some time before I shot well with that shaft.

I believe that if you can play well with a Z2 you can play well with ANY shaft.

I've got four cues that I switch back and forth with. One has a Z2 shaft, two have Lake Wood shafts and one has a straight taper standard maple shaft. I shoot equally well with all of them now.
 
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