Shaft question!!!
- Thread starter egon
- Start date
Everyone I've talked to who plays with a Madden (myself included, yeah I talk to myself so what) would say his shafts are pretty much the nutz
My, my...this thread will start some discussion. Kinda of like asking who are the best painters or sculptors in the world right now...
I remember asking a few cuebuilders who they thought made the best shaft, and you know what they all said? "They did!"
Part of the question needs to take into account if the cuebuilder will acutally build a shaft no matter how good they are.
I wonder if Barry Szamobti would build me a shaft for my Jensen...??
And yes, Jensen builds a pretty darn amazing shaft!
I remember asking a few cuebuilders who they thought made the best shaft, and you know what they all said? "They did!"
Part of the question needs to take into account if the cuebuilder will acutally build a shaft no matter how good they are.
I wonder if Barry Szamobti would build me a shaft for my Jensen...??
And yes, Jensen builds a pretty darn amazing shaft!
Maybe the questions should be "who have the nicest shaft woods in the world?" and "Who build the best playing shafts in the world?"
Pete Tascarella
To keep things clear, myself & partner Wes Hunter sell raw shaft dowels, which need turned & cut to become shafts. I personally sell finished shafts to "some" people who need a shaft for a cue that I did not build, and if I hve enough spare time. These two types of shafts should not be confused.
To answer the question at hand, the best shaft is the one that works best for you. You need to decide what works well for you in terms of taper & size. If you have a long stroke, a good pro-taper is what you want to find. If you have shorter stroke & like hard hitting, then something closer to a conical taper is best. My point is that you first need to know what you need, what feels best, what is most comfortable for your bridge, etc. and then ask who builds the best shaft to fit those needs. There are several knowledgeable people on this site who can direct you if you can describe your needs. Better yet, find a custom builder near you & visit him. He can size you up, let you try different things and eventually the two of you together will nail down your specific needs & the shaft you get will be good as gold for you. It might be junk for somebody else but perfect for you. Cues are like clothes, they need to fit well & designed for your needs to be comfortable. Otherwise you'll be spitting in the wind playing the guessing game.
To answer the question at hand, the best shaft is the one that works best for you. You need to decide what works well for you in terms of taper & size. If you have a long stroke, a good pro-taper is what you want to find. If you have shorter stroke & like hard hitting, then something closer to a conical taper is best. My point is that you first need to know what you need, what feels best, what is most comfortable for your bridge, etc. and then ask who builds the best shaft to fit those needs. There are several knowledgeable people on this site who can direct you if you can describe your needs. Better yet, find a custom builder near you & visit him. He can size you up, let you try different things and eventually the two of you together will nail down your specific needs & the shaft you get will be good as gold for you. It might be junk for somebody else but perfect for you. Cues are like clothes, they need to fit well & designed for your needs to be comfortable. Otherwise you'll be spitting in the wind playing the guessing game.
Agreed...Pete definitely know his shaft woods and they play powerful with his cues. Eric..welcome back and excellent post! "Playability is definitely in the stroke of the beholder"!
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i guess i should have made myself more clear the shafts are dowells that are about .900-1.00 inces in diameter.there is nothing wrong with them at all.they are dowells and supposed to be that big.i commented b/c the shafts can be bought here at AZ,and they can be turned down to whatever specs you want.i bought 10 of his "B" grade dowels myself and they turned out to be very nice.they were only $10 a piece and most had 15-20 growth rings and the runoff was not too bad.sorry if my post was misleading in any way.
SphinxnihpS
Banned
gmcole said:
Simply spinning the wood on a lathe throws off the water balance in the wood via centrifugal force, plus every time you cut a piece wood you are in essence monkeying with the internal tension of it, which can (and usually does), cause it to bend one way or another, so the best way to cut shafts is to do it intermittantly, allowing the wood to "rest" several months or even years in between turnings, which also allows you to eliminate any shaft blanks that warp too much as they sit. Most good cue makers will have many shaft blanks at all stages of completion, so when you order a custom cue, you don't have to wait two years.
Also, most players prefer snow white Canadian hard rock maple for shafts for obvious asthetic reasons, but people in the know understand that better shaftwood is more often than not older yellower rock maple with high density (growth rings per inch), rather than the genetically modified trees re-grown, which are enhanced to grow fatser. Typically the former type of wood has many color "blemishes" and darker streaks, but it does feel better.
Purpleheart (Amaranth), also makes good hitting shaft wood, but it is a decidedly different look.
As far as tapers go, not may people are going to argue against DPK designing the best taper judging by how in demand those torturously ugly Southwest cues are, and how many makers have copied it to the 10,000th of an inch. You will never get David to make you any though, but many other makers use the same design.
Laminated shafts, such as the Predator and OB-1, are utter garbage IMO. My garden rake has more harmonic feedback. Plywood is for roof decking.
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In no particular order: Tascarella, Showman and Prewitt. But I doubt they would make shafts for any other but their own cues.egon said:
SphinxnihpS
Banned
qbilder said:
I disagree. If you require or prefer a "pro taper", it is your game that needs adjustment.
I was NOT asking because I thought you were saying they were bad. I wanted to know if something should be done different with this wood. If i understand it correctly, I think what you were saying is that all 1" dowels take some time before they are "shafts". Not that, "this particular wood needs more turns than any other wood ". I'm I saying that right?masonh said:
thanks-jeff
SphinxnihpS said:
Dont'ya just hate it when that happens! Water all over the place, all over my shaft machine, the floor, even the ceiling. I had to change shirts 3 times today on counta that.
that is exactly what i was saying.growth ring amout is not an absolute identifier of heavy shafts.i have a fairly light colored shfat with 20 or less growth rings that is 12.75mm and it weighs 4.5oz with a moderarely stiff taper and then i have one with about 40 growth rings that is dark in color but weigh 3.7oz with a stiffer taper.dark is not necessarily better than white nor the other way around.40 growth rings that aren't straight is not better than 20 growth rings with no runoff.4.5oz on a shfat that the taper is incredibly fat from tip to joint is not necessarily better than 4.0oz on a mild pro tapered shaft.everything has to be considered.as far as Ed Prewitt making the best shafts out there,i wouldn't agree.i had one and i though the shafts were so fat from tip to joint they were on playable.his shafts make SW shafts look like Meucci in the stiffness category.they were advertised as weighing 4.5oz,but anyone who made shafts could make theirs that fat and they too would weigh 4.5 oz.
