Opinions wanted: How wrong is it to put an LD shaft on a high end cue?

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Impact Blue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Honest to god, I had a dream where I was playing with a TAD-1 with a 30" OB2 shaft on it. Got me thinking....

(Also, I have no idea where or what I was playing for. I might just be a product whore.)

Open forum; flame away!
 
To me it defies logic. I mean, spend $5000 on a cue, and then put $200 mass produced shaft on it. It's like an insult to cuemaker saying that his shafts are no good. I doubt any of them sell just the butt. Why not rather buy either high end custom cue with stock shaft or regular production cue + $200 shaft?
 
Well, I have a 1988 Richard Black cue that is absolutely gorgeous and I have both OB-1 and Predator 314 shafts that I use on it. I love the cue and want to play with it because of the pride of ownership involved. The inlay work is among the best I have ever seen and the weight is forward, where i like it. So I see no problem in this arrangement. I like the segmented LD shafts better than I do the solid maple ones and I love the job that Richard did on the cue butt, so combining the two presents no problem to me.
 
Impact Blue said:
Honest to god, I had a dream where I was playing with a TAD-1 with a 30" OB2 shaft on it. Got me thinking....

(Also, I have no idea where or what I was playing for. I might just be a product whore.)

Open forum; flame away!
Click to expand...


Your cue. I think an OB2 is a perfect choice if that makes you play better.....SPF=randyg
 
I have a Paul Mottey with a Predator Z2. At first it bothered me that the Z2 played better (less deflection) than Mottey's original shafts. Now I have rationalized that it is like putting a 357 engine in an 51 Ford. Class and power.

It has never bothered me to soup up my computers with newer stuff and Now I think that I have the best of both worlds - A beautiful cue with a high performance shaft. The shafts with the ivory ferrules I will save for my grandchildren. They can make some money selling the whole rig later.
 
predator said:
To me it defies logic. I mean, spend $5000 on a cue, and then put $200 mass produced shaft on it. It's like an insult to cuemaker saying that his shafts are no good. I doubt any of them sell just the butt. Why not rather buy either high end custom cue with stock shaft or regular production cue + $200 shaft?
Click to expand...

Apparently, you have answered your own question. I've got a ton of cues, but no one can tell me that any of them play any better than a cheap lucasi with a 314 on the joint.

Of course, there is always the issue of balance point, butt circumference and overall weight, but if you have all of them in your corner, why have an ivory ferruled shaft that whacks you with an unexpected result in the middle of a run ?

tim
 
How wrong is it to put an LD shaft on a high end cue?

...TAD-1 with a 30" OB2 shaft on it.
Click to expand...

It's probably the smart thing to do - you'll get better play out of the cue while preserving its original "virgin" shaft(s) for resale.

Lots of cue collectors buy extra shafts for this very reason. Might as well be a high-tech extra shaft. Best of both worlds!

pj
chgo
 
One can only imagine where the golf industry would be today if they had not invested in shaft technology. We would still be playing with hickory shafts...
Dan
 
It's perfectly fine. When you buy a high-end custom cue, you're mostly paying for the butt -- *not* the shaft. I mean, say in a year or two something horrible happens and that original shaft breaks. If you went back to your fancy cuemaker and asked for a replacement shaft, it's not going to cost much more than a couple hundred dollars.

All those crying blasphemy are just crying over nothing.
 
Impact Blue said:
Honest to god, I had a dream where I was playing with a TAD-1 with a 30" OB2 shaft on it. Got me thinking....

(Also, I have no idea where or what I was playing for. I might just be a product whore.)

Open forum; flame away!
Click to expand...
Your money. Your choice. Whatever floats your boat.

Fred <~~~ needs some money to float a boat
 
You bought it. Use it however you wish.

From a builder's point of view, I feel my shafts are better & are a perfect match for the butts I build. If I honestly felt that aftermarket shafts were better, i'd save myself the grief of driving a trailer to Michigan twice a year for maple & then the years of cutting to complete a shaft. I'd instead just install aftermarket shafts. But as of now, IMO, there's nothing yet that can compare to a well made high grade maple shaft. I'm no idiot. If there really was something better, i'd be using it. I could build more cues faster if I could just install pre-made shafts.

That's all said as my own opinion. Everybody has their own. Don't be afraid to try things. And be fair to yourself & give everything a solid chance with no bias. This will be the only way to really find what you like, whether it be a solid shaft or a laminated low deflection shaft. Choose what works best for you. It's your game, why should it be hendered by somebody else's opinion?
 
Many cuemakers offer to make matching rings for the production shafts if that is what you want. So if the cuemakers dont mind, why is it wrong?
 
LD shafts or Original shafts?

I own 4 custom cues and I play better with LD shafts than I do with the original shafts.

Each of my cues came with nice solid maple shafts with ivory ferrules, but each shaft deflects slightly different. I bought predator and OB-1 shafts to use on my cues to help eliminate the guessing game of how much do I need to allow for deflection when I use english. I play better with LD shafts and I enjoy my cues more when I play better with them. My original shafts will remain like new and the wear and tear will be on the LD shafts.

James
 
Patrick Johnson said:
It's probably the smart thing to do - you'll get better play out of the cue while preserving its original "virgin" shaft(s) for resale.

Lots of cue collectors buy extra shafts for this very reason. Might as well be a high-tech extra shaft. Best of both worlds!

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

Exactly the way I am going. Right now I use a Pred on my Varney player.

My new Carmeli will have two shafts, plus 1" with ivory ferrules, which will stay in the case and a Pred shaft, plus 1" for use.

If I ever sell the cue, I will have 2 brand new shafts for it.
 
I play with 2 Mike Webb cues and use Universal shafts on both of them. Nothing wrong with Mike's shafts, I just prefer the Universal shafts over hard rock maple. Nothing wrong with that IMO.
 
I have a high-end KLEIN cue...with his standard shaft...and a Pred 314-2, and an OB1...both of which Steve happily matched rings and fit to my cue. Why? I'm the customer and I like the way those play. I like his beautiful shaft as well...but from a playing perspective I like the LD shafts better. Most players do.

If I just bought cues for a collection...well..no need for an LD shaft.
 
I find that if you turn one of the original shafts down to the dimensions of about 12.1mm and shorten the ferrule to about 1/4" it loses a whole lot of that "deflection" :p It also loses some value, but if I buy a cue I'm buying it to play with, not to look at or re-sell.
 
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