Shafts

Jodacus

Jodacus

Shoot...don't talk
Silver Member
I have been using predator ld shafts for several years now
but have grown tired of the relatively stiff (hard) hit they have.
I know tips and ferruls have a lot to do with how the shaft hits
but I was wondering about anybody's experiences with the
shafts themselves. I was looking for an ld shaft with a relatively
softer hit when compared to the predators. Please don't tell
me about tips and ferruls. I understand that. I was wondering
about the shafts themselves.

Thanks
Joe
 
maybe this will help you

Jodacus said:
I have been using predator ld shafts for several years now
but have grown tired of the relatively stiff (hard) hit they have.
I know tips and ferruls have a lot to do with how the shaft hits
but I was wondering about anybody's experiences with the
shafts themselves. I was looking for an ld shaft with a relatively
softer hit when compared to the predators. Please don't tell
me about tips and ferruls. I understand that. I was wondering
about the shafts themselves.

Thanks
Joe
Click to expand...

http://www.doubledavecues.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=231_306&products_id=3137
 
Check out CDX Shafts on facebook. They hit very well and no extra charge for longer shaft, taper etc. They are priced reasonable. He also stands behind his product. I let a buddy trim the edge of my tip, it was mushrooming, he cut a gouge in the ferrule. Chilli had me bring the shaft to him, he put new ferrule and tip on at no charge.
 
Last edited:
Hard to beat an OB. I like the OB2 for the softer hit, it is 11.75 mm. I believe it is the Classic Pro that is also a softer hit and comes in 12.75 mm.
 
Works for me

I have a Meucci Sneaky with a 30" Meucci Black Dot shaft with the long Meucci taper and it is 12,5 diameter. Compared to the 12.5 Diveney Lake Salvage shafts I have the Meucci is much more flexible and gives a softer hit. They are topped off with Kamui Black Soft tips, I like both styles and both work well for me. I am not one that believes any one has to have a LD shaft to shoot good pool as Strickland, Reyes, Bustamante and all the old time world class players proved that long ago. I also have a 30" OB Classic that is 12.5 diameter and is stiffer then the Meucci but softer then the Diveney. Any way, if you want a softer more flexible hitting LD shaft do this. Have 30" LD shaft of your choice taken down to some where between 12 to 12.5 mm and the same diameter taper for the first 18". I replaced a Kamui Black Medium with a Kamui Black Soft on one of my Diveney shafts and it is easy for me to feel the softer hit now. I will try it for a while and see if I miss the stiff feel I had with the medium tip.
 
Guido Orlandi has a new LD Shaft. His shafts are very good & have a extra good hit. 906-542-7069
 
The sharing of this kind of information is what makes
this forum so valuable.

Thanks again.
Joe
 
ob1+ has very low deflection and definitely much better than original ob1. Buy it from ozone billiards and return it if you don't like the hit. I have used it and it is very soft hit because a silicone core and wood ferrule. It has same deflection as predator 314-2
 
Boy Jod, this is the first time that I have ever heard of anyone complaining about Preds stiff hit. Usually it is because of the whimpy feeling behind a shot.
 
The standard

IMO there should be a standard that all shafts need to meet.

I have noticed allot of production shafts having issues when they are not that old.
Ferrules, Tenon's , warpage cracking, delaminating.

From my little experience it should take me 18 month to turn a maple dowel into a cue shaft.
That is what has been suggested to me by most of the cue makers I know.

My maple dowel were turned round in 2004. And I am starting to turn them every 6 months.
So far so good the dowels that I have turned I have about a 90% success rate they stay straight.

I see no reason to horse or cowboy any straight grained maple dowel after storing them for over a decade.

I don't know for a fact if this next statement is true or not, but I was told by the warranty person of 2 very large production cue brands.
This conversation was 2 weeks ago and he said almost all the production cue makers , make their shafts with in 90 days of receiving the wood.
I also asked about the cue I had sent back to them in 2007 and they had lost and never settled up with me.:D
Well that was a very short topic :eek:

To me a any decent playing cue that is 5 years old or older that cue condition is 100% is worth something.

So my opinion is if you are going to buy a shaft, the first priority is reliability, ( the shaft should be constructed or designed to with stand a normal bar box banger.

second priority is how it shoots ( you must like the hit or the control the shaft gives you ).

I guess cost should be factored in for those who live pay check to pay check like me.

Personally I would go to a custom cue maker and request to try out some of the non laminated LD shafts.
Or even a local cue repairman, the closer to the cue maker or the cue repairman the better because in my experience you will have to take the shaft back a couple times to have it tapered down some more to get the ultra soft hit you are looking for.

I am trying to stress a point. every maple dowel that a custom cue maker has is hand picked, dated, stored for a decade, and turned over a year in a half's time period.
I think every customer has the right to ask how long was the wood cued for before being made into a shaft or even the rest of the cue.

I have some very expensive wood that has moved so much that it you would never guessed that at one time that piece was perfectly square .

Personally I don't think wood ever stops moving, it just doesn't move as much after its been prepared for decades.
 
I've had some experience with the Predator. Actually a lot.
They're the best shaft on the market, bar none. :smile:
 
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