Production Shaft v Custom Shaft

G

GB Basher

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am new to AZ so I apologise if this has been asked before.
I am working on the assumption that a custom cue butt made by any of 'you lot' will always be better than a mass-produced production cue butt.
But this does not seem to apply as much to shafts (I am counting the Predators, OB's, Etc as mass-produced)
Is it that they are better with less deflection?
Or do you have your own low squirt shafts that perform just as well or better, but these large companies just have big marketing budgets?
 
I concur with Paul 110%. Low deflection doesn't mean better. There are grades of wood and actually you can have lower quality wood in laminated shafts and still get away with it. If you can play pool, you can use anything. What defines a good shaft is the qualities and characteristics that you like to have in that product. Taper, ferrule material, tip, weight, growth rings, age, how it was dried, cut, treated, all play a role in what kind of shaft you get. On the surface, most won't be able to tell the difference. Most people, lump shafts into either LD, or non LD. That isn't all there is to it and to an experienced buyer, like a collector, or experienced player, those significant differences mean everything.

GB Basher said:
I am new to AZ so I apologise if this has been asked before.
I am working on the assumption that a custom cue butt made by any of 'you lot' will always be better than a mass-produced production cue butt.
But this does not seem to apply as much to shafts (I am counting the Predators, OB's, Etc as mass-produced)
Is it that they are better with less deflection?
Or do you have your own low squirt shafts that perform just as well or better, but these large companies just have big marketing budgets?
Click to expand...
 
I agree with everything you say!
But like you say "Most people, lump shafts into either LD, or non LD".
So if 1 of these 'most people' asks to have a cue made and then requests you fit it with a pred 314 shaft, is it better to just go along with their request?
Or have your own LD custom shaft you could offer them?
I think your profit margins would be higher because you don't need to buy pricey blanks.
I know you guys have the knowledge to made shafts do just about anything you want them to do.
Am I missing something?
 
Everything I've read about low deflection shafts says it's not so much about quality as it is density, or mass at the end of the shaft. As in the cueball bouncing less of the shaft as it hits the tip. Quality is important of course, any reputable cue maker, aka here in this forum should do a fine job.
 
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