OB Plus Shafts...

So what are the differences from old too new in how there made? Also how much lower is the deflection? Can't wait too try.
 
RBC said:
Hey Kerry!

I didn't realize that was you. lol

Our first joints used a .625" tenon, so the OD of say a 3/8-10 shaft is .850" and the maple starts at the tenon, .625".
When we started to thread on all the collars, which was quite a while ago, we still used a .625" tenon. But, the threads are cut into that tenon, and have a smaller diameter at the base of the threads. Basically, we don't thread all the way to the end of the tenon. We keep the collar solid at the very end, but the inside diameter is basically the bottom of the threads. This is from memory, but I'm thinking it's .535". You're right that the total amount of wood showing is less, but it's really more about surface area, than just being wood.
As to the + shafts, they are exactly the same joint work as in our current production. Believe me, it's a ton of work to change them.

Hope to see you the next event. Maybe the BCAPL?

Royce
Click to expand...


Royce,

Thanks for clarifying. Makes sense. So there are basically 2 versions of the joint...old and new haha. I get what you mean about surface area. I am using an older OB Classic Pro demo at the moment. It has the thinner collar style. I LOVE THAT SHAFT. There is no changing for me...I'm hooked. Just got 5th in the APA 8 Ball Nationals with it, which is a BIG improvement.

Ok I lied...I'll change to the new ones!!

I wish so bad I was going to the BCA but alas the budget does not allow it this year.

I'll definitely be at APA though, as we do a Masters team every year no matter what.

See you soon, thanks for the info!

KMRUNOUT
 
Question for Shane or Royce --

What were your reasons originally for using strips of flat-laminated maple rather than just solid maple to make the 6 segments that are then glued together to make the shaft blanks? And what are your reasons now for changing that approach?
 
Busboy said:
So what are the differences from old too new in how there made? Also how much lower is the deflection? Can't wait too try.
Click to expand...

Old OB cues are made like this:
hIsIKIx.jpg


New ones start with a solid piece of maple, instead of a plywood style setup.

Regarding the deflection, the front of the cue is 13% lighter*, so not exactly sure what sort of difference in deflection that equates to. But apparently they will be releasing that information in the future.

* https://www.facebook.com/obcues?fref=photo
 
9Ballr said:
This is close to being the biggest bs I've read on AZ.
I for one, and I know I'm not the only one, can't stand those shafts.
Of the two I much prefer the 314's BUT prefer a well made traditional shaft above any of the LD's.
Click to expand...

Glad the reading comprehension is up there... I said they are arguably the best shafts on the market... Thanks for arguing.. I'll argue the other way and you can't hand me a wooden shaft over any of the well made LD shafts. With the OB pro being my favorite.

SO just as you can call BS on my opinion I'll call double BS on yours.....

Chris
 
AtLarge said:
Question for Shane or Royce --

What were your reasons originally for using strips of flat-laminated maple rather than just solid maple to make the 6 segments that are then glued together to make the shaft blanks? And what are your reasons now for changing that approach?
Click to expand...

AtLarge

That's really a great question!

First a little background.
If you take a good look at our SR6, and now SR6+ construction process, you'll see something that just doesn't happen in any other style of blank or shaft construction. That something is stress relieving. The SR in SR6 stands for Stress Relieving.
When you turn parts round, between centers, you are stress relieving. The wood gets to settle in to whatever shape or configuration it wants to be in, and then the high sides get cut away leaving a straight piece. Then, the piece rests and finds a new shape. It gets cut again, and rested. Shafts have been made this way for as long as they've been made. They get a small cut to take off the high spots, and then they get a rest. After they have settled in to whatever spot they want to be in, the high spots get cut off again. And so on until the shaft is at final size and pretty much stable.
With our SR6 and SR6+ we get to stress relieve the individual pieces that go into the blank itself, and then do it again by stress relieving the whole shaft as we turn it down.

Ok, now about the wood.
Way back many years ago, when we started, laminated was by far the best choice for a number of reasons. Availability and consistency were big factors.
Now, after about a year of research and creating some new methods for cutting and drying, we are able to change from the laminated pieces to solid maple pieces. This was not an easy transition. You can't just use 6 shaft blanks to make each shaft as it would cost way too much. This new process leads all the way back to which trees are chosen for our cue shafts. The milling process is different. The drying process is different, and the sorting process is different.

Moving to solid maple improves the hit or feel of our cue shafts as well as the visual appearance and the smoothness.

I hope that helps!

Royce
 
Banikane said:
How about a black ferrule?
Click to expand...

Good idea. Using different woods for the ferrule would expand the line (minimal production addition since it is at the end of the process) and might yield different types of hit. Deflection might suffer though with denser woods, but at least African Mahogony is similar in density, as well as shearing and compression ratings.
 
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smashmouth said:
another little irony, if I'm not mistaken, the best deflection ratings on the Platnum site were awarded to Predator, lol:eek:
Click to expand...

You are correct. In 2005 when we (Platinum) tested and compared the first gen Predator shafts to the original model OB shafts, Predator came out a hair better (but not much). Since then, Predator has made changes to their shafts and we have made changes to our shafts. Our current OB shafts perform better than the 2005 models and the new plus shafts perform better than the current OB shafts. If the Platinum tests were done again using the latest and greatest products from each manufacturer the order of merit would be different for sure.
 
Will you be sending out any demo shafts kinda like what Tate on here did with the Tiger Pro X shafts?
 
RBC said:
AtLarge

That's really a great question!

First a little background.
If you take a good look at our SR6, and now SR6+ construction process, you'll see something that just doesn't happen in any other style of blank or shaft construction. That something is stress relieving. The SR in SR6 stands for Stress Relieving.
When you turn parts round, between centers, you are stress relieving. The wood gets to settle in to whatever shape or configuration it wants to be in, and then the high sides get cut away leaving a straight piece. Then, the piece rests and finds a new shape. It gets cut again, and rested. Shafts have been made this way for as long as they've been made. They get a small cut to take off the high spots, and then they get a rest. After they have settled in to whatever spot they want to be in, the high spots get cut off again. And so on until the shaft is at final size and pretty much stable.
With our SR6 and SR6+ we get to stress relieve the individual pieces that go into the blank itself, and then do it again by stress relieving the whole shaft as we turn it down.

Ok, now about the wood.
Way back many years ago, when we started, laminated was by far the best choice for a number of reasons. Availability and consistency were big factors.
Now, after about a year of research and creating some new methods for cutting and drying, we are able to change from the laminated pieces to solid maple pieces. This was not an easy transition. You can't just use 6 shaft blanks to make each shaft as it would cost way too much. This new process leads all the way back to which trees are chosen for our cue shafts. The milling process is different. The drying process is different, and the sorting process is different.

Moving to solid maple improves the hit or feel of our cue shafts as well as the visual appearance and the smoothness.

I hope that helps!

Royce
Click to expand...

So in a nut shell, you've picked higher quality would to work with from start to finish. Is there anyway you could or would start making a solid maple shaft with LD tech in it?

The reason I ask is, this is something that I play with now, and would be inclined to purchase.

P.S. I know you and I have had a discussion about laminated shafts before, and I don't mean to insult your decision. I'm personally just not a fan of laminated shafts.

All the best, can't wait to try the new stuff Royce!
 
RBC said:
AtLarge

That's really a great question!

First a little background.
If you take a good look at our SR6, and now SR6+ construction process, you'll see something that just doesn't happen in any other style of blank or shaft construction. That something is stress relieving. The SR in SR6 stands for Stress Relieving.
When you turn parts round, between centers, you are stress relieving. The wood gets to settle in to whatever shape or configuration it wants to be in, and then the high sides get cut away leaving a straight piece. Then, the piece rests and finds a new shape. It gets cut again, and rested. Shafts have been made this way for as long as they've been made. They get a small cut to take off the high spots, and then they get a rest. After they have settled in to whatever spot they want to be in, the high spots get cut off again. And so on until the shaft is at final size and pretty much stable.
With our SR6 and SR6+ we get to stress relieve the individual pieces that go into the blank itself, and then do it again by stress relieving the whole shaft as we turn it down.

Ok, now about the wood.
Way back many years ago, when we started, laminated was by far the best choice for a number of reasons. Availability and consistency were big factors.
Now, after about a year of research and creating some new methods for cutting and drying, we are able to change from the laminated pieces to solid maple pieces. This was not an easy transition. You can't just use 6 shaft blanks to make each shaft as it would cost way too much. This new process leads all the way back to which trees are chosen for our cue shafts. The milling process is different. The drying process is different, and the sorting process is different.

Moving to solid maple improves the hit or feel of our cue shafts as well as the visual appearance and the smoothness.

I hope that helps!

Royce
Click to expand...

Thank you for the response, Royce. I'm eager to try one of the new ones!
 
Hi Shane, thanks for posting the shaft info. Is the 13.25 a good break shaft, we are about to make another series of Break Cues.... just wondering. Maybe you can post some data about the stats too.
 
Will the OBclassic+ be available in a piloted 5/16x18? Trying to buy an OB classic in this configuration for two of my older cues, and can't find one. Only for the OB1.
 
zpele said:
From OB:

'$199.75 is what you can usually buy our shafts online for as we allow our dealers to advertise a price that is 15% off the MSRP ($235-15%=$199.75). So the new shafts will be listed online for $219.30 which is 15% off the new $258 MSRP.'
Click to expand...

Seems to me the original construction took a lot more time than the simplified spliced construction being used on the new shafts. Why is there a price increase Royce?
 
TWOFORPOOL said:
Seems to me the original construction took a lot more time than the simplified spliced construction being used on the new shafts. Why is there a price increase Royce?
Click to expand...

What?

They are still using the SR6 method of construction using a high grade select maple instead of laminate.... How do you see that the construction has been simplified?
 
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