shaft and butt questions

K

kennny

Registered
The title sounds bad.
From what I understand from the physical aspect of cue sticks is that all the magic happens with the tip and the shaft. The butt is there for weight, balance and looks. Someone please correct me if im wrong.

I have been thinking about getting a new shaft for my mcdermot. I really like the looks of the ob-1 and a lot of people have good things to say about them. It sounds kinda like the predator 2nd gen and the ob-1 could be comparable. Im thinking about getting the ob-1 because the ferell looks cool and it has to be better than my mcdermot shaft and its cheaper than buying a schon. Which leads me to my questions.

1. Why do people put low deflection shafts on higher end cues like schon's?
That cue would no longer play like a schon. You could just buy a viking or hell even a walmart stick and put a low deflection shaft on it and it would be just as good if the weight and balance was correct.

2. Are all the cue joints the same diameter. I realize there are different thread pitches. Im talking about the plastic on the shaft versus the plastic on the butt. If I buy a ob-1 shaft for my mcdermot is it going to match up nicely or is there going to be a step at the joint?

Thanks, Ken
 
people put low deflection shaft on higher end cues just for that....lower deflection. yes, they could buy a lower cost cue with the low deflection shaft on it but some like to have a nice butt. kind of like why you like the ob1 shaft...you like the way the ferule looks. will a expensive butt play better than a cheap one? maybe, maybe not, but its more the shooter than the stick.
if you buy a shaft, it should line up nicely with your butt.
 
kennny said:
The title sounds bad.
From what I understand from the physical aspect of cue sticks is that all the magic happens with the tip and the shaft. The butt is there for weight, balance and looks. Someone please correct me if im wrong.

I have been thinking about getting a new shaft for my McDermott. I really like the looks of the ob-1 and a lot of people have good things to say about them. It sounds kinda like the predator 2nd gen and the ob-1 could be comparable. Im thinking about getting the ob-1 because the ferell looks cool and it has to be better than my McDermott shaft and its cheaper than buying a schon. Which leads me to my questions.

1. Why do people put low deflection shafts on higher end cues like schon's?
That cue would no longer play like a schon. You could just buy a viking or hell even a walmart stick and put a low deflection shaft on it and it would be just as good if the weight and balance was correct.

2. Are all the cue joints the same diameter. I realize there are different thread pitches. Im talking about the plastic on the shaft versus the plastic on the butt. If I buy a ob-1 shaft for my McDermott is it going to match up nicely or is there going to be a step at the joint?

Thanks, Ken
Click to expand...

You can have OB-1 shaft sent to McDermott, and have them match up a joint ring/pin to your specific model cue. I did the same for my Viking and Samsara and was not really any more expensive.
 
The hit changes with different butts. At least just a little. also balance and weight might affect how you shoot with it. Getting a 314-2 with a crappy butt might be a bad investment. But some cheap butts can go along way. Look at Parica. a good hitting stick for me was a lucasi sneaky. An A player also shot his best pool with that stick. All I can say is most of the time you get what you pay for. Why do you think Tim Scruggs sneakies fetch 400+ and zylr sneakies fetch 500+. Because they are well constructed and they hit well. Simplicity can be beautiful.

Secondly, some of the best hitting schon butts have been with predator shafts. It does change the hit a little but it can be for the good. You can't just put a shaft on a butt and expect it to hit good. You may get lucky too. Read my review on ob1 and 314-2 shafts recently and it may help you on what you want. The predator 314, 314-2, and ob-1 hit differently as a whole. Some people like some others like others. Preferences for everything in life.

If you are going to buy it get it custom fitted to make sure balance and weight are good. Ratcues and Varney are good for those repairs. If you are just going to wing it I suggest you weight your shaft and butt seperately see how much each weigh and try to order a shaft closest to that weight. Measure the diameter. Most of the ob1 comes at around .842 in diameter at the joint. I was lucky that my shaft had the perfect balance and perfect balance when I got it used from Petreecues. My joint is .843. most shafts I've seen come in at 3.5-4.3 ounces. Mines is 3 and 3/8s ounces which is lighter then the standard.

Ray
 
Last edited:
kennny said:
The title sounds bad.
From what I understand from the physical aspect of cue sticks is that all the magic happens with the tip and the shaft. The butt is there for weight, balance and looks. Someone please correct me if im wrong.

Thanks, Ken
Click to expand...

Weight and balance is a HUGE part of a good cue, cues with weight bolts in the back are ass heavy and play funny, the balance point on a cue will have a direct impact on what happens when the shaft and tip hit the ball. The guys selling "miracle" shafts will tell you that everything happens with the shaft and down play the butt because that isnt their business, the cue as a whole is important the length, weight etc etc.

you can try one of those secondary market "miracle" shafts and if you play better then great, but dont buy into the sales pitch that the shaft is "90%" of a cues performance. in the end what really makes the biggest difference is you and how use what you have, practice, practice , practice. Equipment will take only so far.
 
OK, you're corrected...

kennny said:
The title sounds bad.
From what I understand from the physical aspect of cue sticks is that all the magic happens with the tip and the shaft. The butt is there for weight, balance and looks. Someone please correct me if im wrong.


Thanks, Ken
Click to expand...

I'll let others fight the low deflection battle.
Where did you come up with this notion about the butt of a cue?

Perhaps this is a case of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing.
It is true that a bad tip or an inferior shaft can ruin the hit of
the best of cues, but your comment is ludicrous.

All butts are NOT equal, far from it.

Dale Pierce
 
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