Recipes for Crow....Anyone?

[TATE]

It's time for me to eat a little crow.

For years I have poo-poo'd laminated LD shafts over that of traditional maple shafts. I had tried them once or twice and was less than impressed. Almost all my cues have been custom-made for me, to my specs...and I felt that the makers know what they're trying to achieve with their various tapers.

So...recently, after being handed a bonus check after only 6 months on the new job, and getting a wee bit bored with my game, I got a wild hair up, and picked up a Predator SP8RW w/Z2 shaft. It was a rocky start at first, feeling very different to me. Within an hour or so, I began to get it dialed in...and while still a work in progress, I am having too much fun with this cue! I haven't played 9-Ball in probably 6 years or better, but had to play last night in league. Swept my opponent.

Now, I am still not ready to run out and start buying LD shafts for all my cues, but I am very happy with my current pick-up!!

Just felt like I should come clean and admit that there might be a little something to the LD shaft thing.

Carry on!

Glad to see things going your way my dear!

 

[DAVE_M]

While I do play with a low deflection shaft, my new cue is being made with a traditional maple shaft with a mason micarta ferrule. I hit with a few custom cues over the weekend and I'm glad I'm going back with a maple shaft. I may hang onto my LD shaft, but I have a feeling I'll be going back to my original ways.

One of the cues that were mixed in, with the customs I hit with, was a Predator Roadline Sneaky with a Z2 shaft. I wasn't very impressed, but it was great for a production cue. I think the uniloc joint and small diameter shaft gave me negative feelings. I'm not sure what tip he had either, but it was like playing with phenolic.

 

[Pushout]

I've been converted to thinking LD shafts are ok, just NOT laminated ones! I've yet to play with a laminated shaft that I liked, and I tried one daily for about three months. Also tried others for shorter periods and was not happy. Kevin Varney made me LD shafts and I like them a lot but they are not laminated. Kevin believed you could have low deflection without lamination, based more on taper and ferrule size and material.

 

[peteypooldude]

It's time for me to eat a little crow.

For years I have poo-poo'd laminated LD shafts over that of traditional maple shafts. I had tried them once or twice and was less than impressed. Almost all my cues have been custom-made for me, to my specs...and I felt that the makers know what they're trying to achieve with their various tapers.

So...recently, after being handed a bonus check after only 6 months on the new job, and getting a wee bit bored with my game, I got a wild hair up, and picked up a Predator SP8RW w/Z2 shaft. It was a rocky start at first, feeling very different to me. Within an hour or so, I began to get it dialed in...and while still a work in progress, I am having too much fun with this cue! I haven't played 9-Ball in probably 6 years or better, but had to play last night in league. Swept my opponent.

Now, I am still not ready to run out and start buying LD shafts for all my cues, but I am very happy with my current pick-up!!

Just felt like I should come clean and admit that there might be a little something to the LD shaft thing.

Carry on!

It sounds crazy but I did the exact opposite. I played with a Predator that I swore by for years but what bothered me was that when I "cramped" the CB like trying to jump the edge of a ball or masse the CB more than a fraction I would miscue. The way it worked for me was the LD spin was closer to the center of the CB, anything closer to the edge I would miscue every time. It seems that's what they are suppose to do.... Jump off the CB so to speak instead of pushing the CB over. I think it's in what you want from your cue. If you try to jump the CB off an OB and over another or even try and make it jump a little you'll see what I mean. There's nothing wrong with either LD or standard shafts. Theres more of a limit to what the LD shafts will let you do.... Not that we need to be doing them