Pia Filler hates wood shafts

[lfigueroa]

Right, but it's not as though experienced players frequently ding their wood shafts. But when it does happen, it's quick, easy, and painless to completely remove those dings from wood shafts, nondestructively returning the shaft to pristine condition. Such damage cannot be completely avoided with CF shafts, and when it inevitably happens, the repair process, assuming the shaft is not damaged beyond repair, is much more complicated. Many players won't even be able to DIY the repair, let alone complete the repair before the next day's session (or sooner). In a pinch, a wood shaft ding can even be properly removed during a playing session if a spare shaft can be used for a few racks.

With respect to maintenance, when choosing between wood or CF shafts, people choose between occasional simple and easy repairs with wood, or even less frequent, albeit more complicated and expensive, repairs with CF.

You can take a ding out of a wood shaft in about 60 seconds.

If it's a really brutal ding, 3 minutes.

Lou Figueroa

 

[Black-Balled]

You're kidding yourself if you really believe that.

Just coz you put the words together like that doesn't make the statement true.

 

[Frosty]

All I know is my experience with KW shafts and how better they play than maple.

You do understand that what many call Kielwood is Maple? It’s just been torrified, with all the moisture baked out of it.

As far as it “playing better”, perhaps that’s just in your head. I’d keep my regular shafts if I were you. Baked maple has a tendency to shatter over time in the right situation due to its lack of moisture. I’ve seen one explode when breaking with it on pool cue. I’ve also seen a neck on a a Gibson guitar made of it break just being set on a guitar stand with a slight bump.

 

[Lowell]

You do understand that what many call Kielwood is Maple? It’s just been torrified, with all the moisture baked out of it.

As far as it “playing better”, perhaps that’s just in your head. I’d keep my regular shafts if I were you. Baked maple has a tendency to shatter over time in the right situation due to its lack of moisture. I’ve seen one explode when breaking with it on pool cue. I’ve also seen a neck on a a Gibson guitar made of it break just being set on a guitar stand with a slight bump.

I know it likely makes no performance difference, but I do think it's one of those things that looks cool even if it has no other benefit (like a tip with a clear pad).

 

[Frosty]

I know it likely makes no performance difference, but I do think it's one of those things that looks cool even if it has no other benefit (like a tip with a clear pad).

If that moves you then that’s ok I guess. I’m not one that considers what my cues “look like”, only how they perform. To me they’re tools, it’s not about aesthetics like it is for many.

 

[Bavafongoul]

You do understand that what many call Kielwood is Maple? It’s just been torrified, with all the moisture baked out of it.

As far as it “playing better”, perhaps that’s just in your head. I’d keep my regular shafts if I were you. Baked maple has a tendency to shatter over time in the right situation due to its lack of moisture. I’ve seen one explode when breaking with it on pool cue. I’ve also seen a neck on a a Gibson guitar made of it break just being set on a guitar stand with a slight bump.

Frosty, actually all the water is not removed and one of the final steps in torrefication is to reintroduce a small amount
of moisture (approx. 3-5%) so that brittleness is not a issue. Folks tend to pass along stories about pool cue & shafts that aren’t always accurately portrayed because it’s a pass along story or else happens so rarely it’s a freakish problem.

There are a lot of KW shafts made and used and whatever folks tell you about KW shafts shattering is basically passing along stories that either are exaggerated, just not true or occurs so rarely that it just isn’t worth worrying about because it’s so rare. Talented cue makers know that moisture must be reintroduced as a final step but maybe some builders don’t know this.

I’ll defer to others that have witnessed this or how common it is for KW shafts to shatter from being so dry and brittle. I am not saying it has never happened but alleging that KW shafts are so brittle the shafts will shatter is a fairy tale, IMO.

I don’t want to sound cocky or a know it all person. But if you research my prior posts about KW shafts, I stood alone about having heavier flat faced KW shafts built (4 ozs) without any insert or weight being added and lots of cue makers told me it can’t be done because torrefication lightens the shaft……Duh? Of course it does so just be more fussy and use a heavier blank if you take time to find them. Along the way, I learned about what’s involved building a KW shaft.

I took me months to locate cue makers who could build Kielwood shafts like I wanted built but it can be done and the KW shafts are sitting in my cue case. I learned some cue makers aren’t as knowledgeable as others and I proved them wrong. So just like cue makers can be incorrect in their suppositions, so can pool players when relying on misleading information.

 

[Chris]

Just coz you put the words together like that doesn't make the statement true.

Right. It isn't true because I said it's true. I said it's true because it is true.