Wow!
There's a lot going on here! I should have chimed in sooner, but missed it.
Ok, to clear up a few things.
First, to 9ballr. I think there is something on your cue shaft. All our cue shafts get sealed up with an oil based sealer that penetrates into the surface of the cue shaft and allowed to dry. Then, we polish it out and apply waxes and such to give the "slick" feel. It seems to me that either your cue shaft didn't get sealed properly, or has gotten something on it. If you'd like to pm me your information, we can get it back here to get it all fixed back up for you. Let me know.
Ok, now for a little talk about how to keep our cue shafts smooth and clean. First, the shafts are sealed to help keep them clean and smooth. If the sealer gets sanded off, which will eventually happen even if just from wear, then the cue shaft will need to be resealed. There are many types of sealers out there that will work. Wax will work, but will need to be cleaned and reapplied often because it's soft and actually attracts dirt. We recommend you take it to a competent cuesmith and just have them clean and seal it. There are even some helpful tips on our website,
www.obcues.com.
One really good tip to keep any shaft clean is this. When you play, wash your hands often, and with hot water. If your cue shaft is sticky, it's usually the build up of oils on your hands. Washing them will strip the clammy oils off your skin and the cue shaft will be magically slick again. Also, when you dry your hands, take the slightly damp towel that you dried your hands will and wipe the cue shaft down with it. Just take one swipe from the joint to the tip, and throw away the towel. Then rub it down with a clean dry paper towel. This little trick, especially if done at the end of your night of play, will help keep your cue shaft clean and smooth. You'd be surprised at how much will stick to your cue shaft!
Ok, now about shaft construction and low cue ball squirt, (LD).
It is true that the laminations don't have much direct impact on cue ball squirt. Tip end Mass, or the lack of really, is the primary factor in cue ball squirt or deflection. The reasons we laminate our cue shafts are many. Lamination gives a much more consistent cue shaft because maple can vary tremendously from piece to piece. Both in strength and in weight. Also, we can engineer strength in the areas needed to further reduce that Tip End Mass that makes a cue shaft LD in the first place.
For those that haven't seen how an OB shaft goes together, here's a link to our graphic video on our website:
http://www.obcues.com/pages/Video.html
As you can see, a lot of work goes into just making the shaft blank. Much more than selecting and turning down one piece of maple. If we could get the same thing with solid maple, we certainly wouldn't do all the work we do now.
I hope that helps!
Let me know 9ballr. We can get you fixed up!
