OB-1 shaft- 0 deflection?

poolpro

poolpro

Not a pro
Silver Member
Hello all. I have heard about and seen a couple of OB-1 shafts around, but tried one out for the first time ever this week. I use a ist gen predator 314 currently and wasa thinking about changing over. The guy who had th OB-1 said that it had NO deflection. I said you mean it has very little deflection, right? He said firmly that the OB-1 shaft had zero deflection. This floored me, I felt that this is against the laws of physics. I have a pretty good understanding of physics, especially as it relates to pool, and I do not think that you can have zero deflection with a hit that imparts english. So, he offered to let me try it. I have to admit I was very impressed! I juiced up the cueball with a lot of inside english on a thin cut shot, and a few frozen rail shots, and got a ton of spin without losing any accuracy. I just want some other thoughts to know if this is my imagination or what?

I also clicked on the link at the top of this page that was advertising these shafts, and they claim reduced deflection, not zero deflection. I mean if it truly has zero deflection I think they would be shouting it out and writing it in big letters on every site that they could, right?

Either way, I am very impressed and will probably sell off my cue to buy another and an OB-1 shaft

I was also considering the universal smart shaft. Anyone know how these two compare?

Thanks for any info
 
i shot with a predator shaft for like 3 years. when i got my queperfect i was blown away by how little deflection it had. no for real it threw my game way out of wack, way out!! i haven't tried an ob-1 shaft yet but if it had 0 deflection it probably wouldn't be easy to just pick up and shoot with. it's probably slightly less than the 314.
 
poolplayer2093 said:
i shot with a predator shaft for like 3 years. when i got my queperfect i was blown away by how little deflection it had. no for real it threw my game way out of wack, way out!! i haven't tried an ob-1 shaft yet but if it had 0 deflection it probably wouldn't be easy to just pick up and shoot with. it's probably slightly less than the 314.
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If you believe there is a zero deflection shaft, i dunno what to say.
 
alright fellas for real what'd i say? i did say IF it had 0 deflection. no where did i say i believed there to be a 0 deflection shaft.
 
Hey, this is what I am saying. I absolutely did NOT believe it! I was impressed and liked it very much, but could not comprehend that claim. I actually have researched it more sisnce my post. Platinum billiards has a good page on deflection and rates a lot of different shafts and gives their results. The OB-1 actually rates lower than the predator in deflection. I think that I may prefer the feel of the OB_i, but in reality the predator has less deflection.
 
poolpro said:
Hey, this is what I am saying. I absolutely did NOT believe it! I was impressed and liked it very much, but could not comprehend that claim. I actually have researched it more sisnce my post. Platinum billiards has a good page on deflection and rates a lot of different shafts and gives their results. The OB-1 actually rates lower than the predator in deflection. I think that I may prefer the feel of the OB_i, but in reality the predator has less deflection.
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i've heard that about them feeling better than predator shafts before. i'd like to give one a try but nobody here has one. i hear they're a little whippier is that true?
 
hey player, it defineately did not feel whippier. I hate whippy shafts like meucci or similar. It does have a longer taper, though. The front end of the ob1 is wood and not hollow like the predator. However, the ob is hollow the rest of the way down though ( with a foam core). So, my take is that the feel is very solid, and may actually give the impression of less deflection than the predator, when in reality it may not be true. I want to say that I only played with the ob1 for about 15 minutes, so I am not saying that I know a great deal about these, but I liked it very much.
 
poolpro said:
... The guy who had th OB-1 said that it had NO deflection. I said you mean it has very little deflection, right? ...
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Early in my learning process, I was using a cue with lots of squirt. At the time, I didn't know that such a phenomenom existed. I happened to leave my cue at home once, and had to use what must have been a low-squirt house stick. To me it felt like the cue ball was crossing over the line of aim by a lot, so that if I had known what to call it, I would have said that it was a negative-squirt stick.

The problem is that most people judge squirt by where they aim on spin shots, and that is nearly always by feel. I think a stick might feel like zero squirt if it is 1/2 or even 3/4 of the squirt you are used to.
 
I don't want to turn this into a Physics class but your working with 3 adjustable variables:
1. Horizontal Offset (Number of tips)
2. Angle of cueing (from verticle...jacked up)
3. Velocity (Force)

Now depending how strike the ball you will get some degree of squirt (deflection). Now as the cue ball begins to roll and come out of it slide it begins to bite and come back (think bowling ball). The further out you strike the cue ball the more squirt. The further out of horizontal you strike the ball...the more squirt (assuming you applying some sort of horz spin). The harder you do the aforementioned...the more intense to above effects. Low deflection cue allow the tip to get out of the way of the cue ball and thus deflect (squirt) less. Zero doesn't exist. Over the years you have conditioned yourself to adjust. This is why your "eyes" say zero.

I've got 5 Preds and one OB1. All the OB's I've hit are a little whippy. Nice feeling but whippy. Try this OB1 and Pred owners. Setup a ball two feet away and now jack up and spike the cue balls at about 45% and draw the rock back three feet or more. I bet you'll be surprised. The Pred keeps the cue ball on the table and the OB1 will pop up and crawl up it's back (semi-jump). It really whips and trampolines the cue ball. I also found the Predators play more linear. More = More. More x 2 = More x 2 etc. The OB's seem to masse the ball and thus don't react as constant. Nice product but not for me.

Nick

P.S. Where does the term "Jacked Up" come from?
 
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You have to use a 22.5" bridge with a half twist on contact to attane a zero deflection.;)
 
I've played with 314 and Z shafts from both generations and OB-1 Shafts, and I can say my personal preference is the 314-2 over any of the mentioned shafts. The 314-2 deflects less than the OB-1 in my experiences, but is still and incredible shaft. Someone said they had theirs modified on these boards and like it better. If you don't like the feel of it, see if you can search out who had it done and see if you like the idea!
 
poolpro said:
Hey, this is what I am saying. I absolutely did NOT believe it! I was impressed and liked it very much, but could not comprehend that claim. I actually have researched it more sisnce my post. Platinum billiards has a good page on deflection and rates a lot of different shafts and gives their results. The OB-1 actually rates lower than the predator in deflection. I think that I may prefer the feel of the OB_i, but in reality the predator has less deflection.
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I hit dozens of shots with a friend's cue with an OB 1 shaft and it squirted the cue ball very little. That and a Z-2 Predator shaft and my thin diameter maple shaft from Bender. Didn't have a 314-2 to test.

JoeyA
 
I've shot with many engineered shafts. I'll play with whatever you put in my hands and usually like it as long as it's consistent, I can adjust to it's characteristics, and the construction is reliable. I shot with Jerico shafts for years, and if I were to go back to a one piece shaft that would be the one, or a McDermott taper on a number one quality shaft. Currently, I shoot with OB-1 shafts in my bag and I love them for several reasons. I'm detail oriented and a bit paranoid about radial uniformity. I want my shaft as predictable as possible, and I think the OB-1 gives me that. I like the hit, the laminate lines in the shaft to help aim, the feel of the hit, the apparent ease of applying spin, and the bonus of having their headquarters in my area. In my focus on playing better, this is one less thing for me to worry about. I love the product. It is truly an awesome addition to my Jerico custom cue.

I'm having a rare day Monday, playing 3-cushion. It will be the first time doing that with the OB-1 screwed on, so I'm curious to see how that goes.

Oz
 
Hey Caedos, good post. Thanks for your input. I am in a bit of a slump right now, and am looking for something I can depend on as consistent. I am worrying about so many other things about my game right now, if I can eliminate or reduce any aspects or variables, I am all for it.

I am about a hair away from putting in my order for a OB shaft, let me know how it works for you on the billiard table, I am curious. Thanks.
 
Hey, Anyone selling a radial pin cue ? or just the butt only?

Hey as long as I am changing things up a bit, I was considering just changing up the cue entirely. I have always liked a phenolic ( or wood) joint with a radail pin anyway, so as long as I am changing up shafts, I would like to get a different cue as well. I do not have a ton of money to put out at the moment, say around $500-600. I really do not want a production cue, I would like to have one by a good maker, even if it is fairly plain ( though I do love fancy cues, just not the price right now).
I love ebony cues. I would also be willing to sell or trade my current cue. I have a one of a kind Jacoby- ebony with ten points hi and low ( with spear tips). Two shafts - 1 original , 1 first gen 314. A beautiful leather wrap done by Dennis Searing. Will entertain any good offers. I can send pics if interested. I am planning on putting this on here in the for sale section, I just thought I would throw it out here as well. Let me know of any interest, thanks.
 
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