Replacing LD Shafts Periodically

SirNoobs

SirNoobs

Suspected scammer
Silver Member
Hey guys,

I was watching one of the TAR podcasts (I forget which one) and Darren Appleton mentioned something about replacing his Predator shaft periodically. I was wondering what is the reasoning behind wanting to replace a LD shaft periodically, do they have some sort of lifespan on them and lose quality? Or was Darren tricked into getting a new shaft every few years? :)
 
If I got them for free like he does I would replace mine periodically too.


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LD shaft

I would also post the question that maybe the smaller the diameter of the LD shaft then could it play any differently? Does the smaller the diameter have any more or less deflection? Could this be the reason the pros change shafts so they get the same feel and shaft diameter?
 
I think it has to do with the glue lines and the shaft flexing over a long period. I always felt like after about 2 years the predator would start to lose some crispness in how it moved the ball this was back when I was playing maybe 24 hours or so a week every week... Knowing Darren plays way more day to day than I likely ever did he may be replacing them once a year.....

I also had replaced maple shafts before predator appeared on the scene.. I could tell when I had broken the spine down in a maple shaft from breaking and playing with it... At some point when you keep bending something it's ability to rebound will be reduced and shaft would feel soft and not transfer the hit like it used to......

Could this all be in my head? Yup... But I could always tell a difference when I made the change in my cueball control and quality of english if it was just in my head.....
 
SirNoobs said:
Hey guys,

I was watching one of the TAR podcasts (I forget which one) and Darren Appleton mentioned something about replacing his Predator shaft periodically. I was wondering what is the reasoning behind wanting to replace a LD shaft periodically, do they have some sort of lifespan on them and lose quality? Or was Darren tricked into getting a new shaft every few years? :)
Click to expand...

Depending on weather, balls, type of felt and its conditions, i can see him switching between shafts to get perfect pocketing, and possibly if a shaft got too dry its property might change. If object balls went either way then he would know shaft x is better than y instead of changing his aim. Those guys (pros) fire at close to a 1000 balls in one tournament if not more, let alone their own practice, so they trust their stroke and aim religiously, so of all these variable shaft squirt tends to correct for some of these issues, or they know if this cloth or that..etc. This is my two cents worth..
 
I have noticed laminated shafts don't quite feel like they should after you've had them a while. I can't explain it, and it isn't necessarily a bad thing with the change in feel but it is noticeable.

That being said, I've used my one peice solid ash cue for snooker all my life and not noticed any difference. It must be something to do with the shafts not being solid.
 
Under repeated flexing and impacts (especially breaking) the wood fibers will break down. Also glue may loosen on laminated shafts. How long that actually takes under normal use I have no idea.
 
A club member has a Vollmer cue with a 314 shaft 1st generation. It plays still amazingly well, very solid. Like new. The guy who plays it played over the last 5 years about 10-15 hours per week.
 
AngryTurtle said:
Under repeated flexing and impacts (especially breaking) the wood fibers will break down. Also glue may loosen on laminated shafts. How long that actually takes under normal use I have no idea.
Click to expand...

riedmich said:
A club member has a Vollmer cue with a 314 shaft 1st generation. It plays still amazingly well, very solid. Like new. The guy who plays it played over the last 5 years about 10-15 hours per week.
Click to expand...

Been using my 314-2 since April of 2011. If it were a rifle barrel, it would be shot out by now. See no evidence of any type of degeneration of the wood or glue lines. I expect, barring any catastrophic events, to play with this shaft for a life time. A little unrealistic........... maybe. But a lifetime warranty and the price for replacement, I expect to get 15 or 20 years out of it. I would really like to see an actual count of how many times a cue ball is struck over a cues lifetime. 100000 a year foer someone like Darrel or Shane?
 
SirNoobs said:
Hey guys,
I was watching one of the TAR podcasts (I forget which one) and Darren Appleton mentioned something about replacing his Predator shaft periodically. I was wondering what is the reasoning behind wanting to replace a LD shaft periodically, do they have some sort of lifespan on them and lose quality? Or was Darren tricked into getting a new shaft every few years? :)
Click to expand...
Tricked? ha

80P said:
If I got them for free like he does I would replace mine periodically too.
Sent from my RM-917_nam_usa_100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Me too!!!
But I don't win enough errrrr ANY cash so I'm out. lol
 
SirNoobs said:
Hey guys,

I was watching one of the TAR podcasts (I forget which one) and Darren Appleton mentioned something about replacing his Predator shaft periodically. I was wondering what is the reasoning behind wanting to replace a LD shaft periodically, do they have some sort of lifespan on them and lose quality? Or was Darren tricked into getting a new shaft every few years? :)
Click to expand...

If you get them for free, you don't need much of a reason.
 
Hmm….interesting. You know I think Adrian Peterson once said in an interview that he needs brand new cleats for every game he plays in. After that one game the cleats I guess get broken in. Pretty sure Nike or Adidas or whatever company sponsors him has no problem giving him cleats whenever he wants…..or claims he wants.
 
Been using the same predator pre-cat shaft for 15 years and it still plays great... It's as blue as a smurf and has a slight roll to it, but other than that, I've never had any problems with the shaft.
 
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