New twist on crap Predator ferrule

Predator ferrules are rubbish, no doubt, but I've got a new one on their complete and utter rubbishness. I bought a new cue about 2 years ago, but only used the butt and not the shaft. I've just looked at the shaft for the first time since I banked it and have noticed the ferrule has a crack in it.

Yup, it's never hit a ball and has cracked - how is this possible?
 
Predator ferrules are rubbish, no doubt, but I've got a new one on their complete and utter rubbishness. I bought a new cue about 2 years ago, but only used the butt and not the shaft. I've just looked at the shaft for the first time since I banked it and have noticed the ferrule has a crack in it.

Yup, it's never hit a ball and has cracked - how is this possible?

Send it back to Predator for warranty/repair. Predator ferrules are not rubbish.

Pictures would help and telling us which Predator shaft and how old it is, will aslo help.
 
I don't know about this. Around five years ago I bought a 314-2 shaft to go with a Schon STL9. I had the shaft cut down to 12.5. In the interim I found that I liked a wrap less cue better so now use a Schon SP, BX2 with the old 314 on it. This is by far my most used shaft and no cracking.

Also, look at the sales of 314 and Z2 shafts. It has to be the top selling shaft in the world. Would the sales be so high if they were known for cracking? Now I admit I'm biased, love the old Predator SP 4 point with the wood to wood joint. No cracking there either.
 
You must have the worst stroke ever to have cracked it and never hit a ball LOL.....

May have been an issue during production where maybe you got the worst ends of the variances.. tenon on the high end and ferrule on the small end.. would think this will be warrantied no questions....
 
Send it back to Predator for warranty/repair. Predator ferrules are not rubbish.

Pictures would help and telling us which Predator shaft and how old it is, will aslo help.

It's a 314-2, a couple of years old. I don't have their warranty card and didn't buy it from a store. It's technically possible it could have been cracked when shipped, but I didn't notice if it was.

Predator ferrules are notorious for failing btw. Of the three I've owned, two have failed.
 
You must have the worst stroke ever to have cracked it and never hit a ball LOL.....

May have been an issue during production where maybe you got the worst ends of the variances.. tenon on the high end and ferrule on the small end.. would think this will be warrantied no questions....

So, it is technically possible for a ferrule to fail after QC and before being used? I mean a ferrule can crack without being used?
 
It's a 314-2, a couple of years old. I don't have their warranty card and didn't buy it from a store. It's technically possible it could have been cracked when shipped, but I didn't notice if it was.

Predator ferrules are notorious for failing btw. Of the three I've owned, two have failed.


It is also possible that someone worked on it before you got it.
As the founding partner of The Exploding Ferrules Corporation, I will say that Predator ferrule material is soft (similar to some of the Viking shafts I've seen) and they absorb a lot of black sanding dust when installing a tip.
The Predator Group would probably fix it under warranty anyway.

Good luck
 
Ive owned dozens of predator shafts and cues over the years. Any issue ive ever had has been replaced or repaired entirely by predator, this includes to and from shipping. they all come with a limited lifetime warranty. Ive had more shafts with separated laminates(2) than any ferrule issues (0). You can look into previous posts of mine stating the same claims as i am today. your mileage may vary of course. but predator has always, for more than a decade, stood by their products and had astounding customer service.

with that being said i think you will have to look into other reason of why. climate control? use and abuse? way it was stored? many possibilities. but ive never once heard of a ferrule cracking on a predator shaft all by itself.
 
Ive owned dozens of predator shafts and cues over the years. Any issue ive ever had has been replaced or repaired entirely by predator, this includes to and from shipping. they all come with a limited lifetime warranty. Ive had more shafts with separated laminates(2) than any ferrule issues (0). You can look into previous posts of mine stating the same claims as i am today. your mileage may vary of course. but predator has always, for more than a decade, stood by their products and had astounding customer service.

with that being said i think you will have to look into other reason of why. climate control? use and abuse? way it was stored? many possibilities. but ive never once heard of a ferrule cracking on a predator shaft all by itself.

Thanks. Their website makes it clear I'll be responsible for shipping there and back, and that will be expensive to/from the UK. How did you get yours paid for?

I've also had one where the laminate failed, which caused the ferrule to fail too. It's been stored flat in a drawer, wrapped in a towel. It got hot here last summer, so maybe that was a factor. It was cold last winter as well, and there's no heating in the room it's in. Can't really see temps being that much of a factor, but it's perfectly possible. I've never heard of anything failing because the UK is too hot before!
 
Just like some cars, it was perhaps made on Friday afternoon.

Some abnormalities simply happen and are inexplicable.

I'd send along a link to this thread, http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=340609 as I'm certain they'd be most appreciative of your feedback and also more than willing to make the necessary repairs.

However, I must add that before I bought my 314/2, I'd emailed them twice and never even got an automated response to my inquiries.

I'll be watching this thread with interest so as to see if your issue is resolved in a timely and professional manner. My dollars spend anywhere, and they don't have a monopoly on low deflection shafts, or anything else for that matter.

Best of luck, and please keep us updated.
 
Cracked ferrule

The ferrule cracked on my Z2 shaft. I'd heard that Predator was having problems with this. I sent it back to Predator and they fixed it free of charge eventhough I didn't still have the sales receipt. The new ferrule has worked out great.
 
I think they had a bad batch... I had some friends that all bought them from the same place and they all cracked in the same way. Predator was good about repairing and replacing though, after we threatened and berated them.
 
It may be a side effect of trying to make the ferrules lighter, shorter, or thinner for the sake of lower deflection.

I've had 2 OB ferrules crack on me, just had one of them repaired yesterday. I hit balls softly, generally speaking.
Had it replaced with a harder material, we'll see if it affects anything.
It shouldn't happen but it does. Make friends with someone who owns a lathe.
Nobody wants to hassle with shipping it hundreds of miles.
 
I have been selling and using Preditor products for 15 yrs , I saw 1 ferrel crack . I still use a Old 314 on my break stick . Changed the tip , but never the ferrel . Jim
 
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