smart shaft
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Shorty
Atlas is suppose to be carrying them.
Atlas is suppose to be carrying them.
Is this the Bill Stroud invention? Is special tooling required for initial set-up (adapter), or can it be done by anyone?Michael Webb said:
Tracy
Hey, I thought of another question. If it is set-up for a Schön, can the adapter be switched later for say a 3/8-10 flat faced?Michael Webb said:
Tracy
RSB-Refugee said:
If it is the Bill Stroud innovation, and I assume it is, from what I've read all the actual shafts are made the same (2 versions: regular & low squirt), and when it is purchased the desired thread "adapter" is actually glued in place. I would guess this is a permanant attachment that cannot be changed (at least not easily) later.
To me this sounded like it would be a "weak link" in the shaft, but Mr Stroud addressed that point and said that it would not be. He also said that the shaft would have adapters available to fit even the most obscure threads, which is something not readily available in any aftermarket shaft at this time (or at least not to my knowledge).
Presumably, this is the reason for the adapter in the first place, so sellers don't need to worry about tying up inventory $ in a product that won't move nearly as much as more common threaded shafts. The other shaft properties aside, that alone is actually a pretty smart idea.
I'm not sure where they are available, but I checked Atlas as per Mr Webb and if they have them they are doing a pretty poor job of selling them, lol. Nothing under shafts, new products or when running a search for "smart shaft." I haven't tried one yet, but am interested to.
~Chris
From what I understand it can be done by mostly anyone. I have hit with his regular squrt piezo what! I haven't hit with the low deflection one yet.RSB-Refugee said:
The info on Atlas as a supplier came from Bill himself.
Their ads push the low vibration angle what with the embedded high tech cloth to reduce vibration.
My question is.... what's so bad about vibration?
I like vibration! I want to feel every nuance of the shot in my grip hand. I want to feel the sweet center hit (kinda like hitting a baseball or golf ball in the sweet spot where you can hardly feel anything but the ball just zips off the bat/club) from that sweet hit all the way to the miscue. Each cm off center has it's own feel and I like that. It's just one more sense that's used and provides information to the central computer regarding the degree of correctness with which I stroked the shot.
Is vibration generally considered bad?
My question is.... what's so bad about vibration?
I like vibration! I want to feel every nuance of the shot in my grip hand. I want to feel the sweet center hit (kinda like hitting a baseball or golf ball in the sweet spot where you can hardly feel anything but the ball just zips off the bat/club) from that sweet hit all the way to the miscue. Each cm off center has it's own feel and I like that. It's just one more sense that's used and provides information to the central computer regarding the degree of correctness with which I stroked the shot.
Is vibration generally considered bad?
Michael Webb said:
I don't doubt the info, but they don't seem to be available there yet.
I'm anxious to give one a try, but have been unable to find them available anywhere. I missed a golden opportunity at Valley Forge, but was busy shooting in the team event literally all weekend until Sun afternoon.
After being at the tables 7:30am Sat until 1am Sun, then driving an hour home, sleeping 3, then an hour back for an 8am Sun match, by the time we finished all I was interested in finding was a pillow.
2006 = hotel
Qnut said:I don't doubt the info, but they don't seem to be available there yet.
I'm anxious to give one a try, but have been unable to find them available anywhere. I missed a golden opportunity at Valley Forge, but was busy shooting in the team event literally all weekend until Sun afternoon.
After being at the tables 7:30am Sat until 1am Sun, then driving an hour home, sleeping 3, then an hour back for an 8am Sun match, by the time we finished all I was interested in finding was a pillow.
2006 = hotel
I don't believe they are for sale yet and they are called Universal shaft, not smart shaft. I also don't believe they were for sale at VF although I know he did sell or give away at least 4 of them for testing, I got one of the 2 normal shafts, Mr. Hopkins was sposed to get the other, I am not a big low squirt guy. From what I have tested so far they have some pro's and cons, but more good then bad IMO. But as any good cue maker will tell you good shaft wood is not getting easier to find so there may be a future in a product like this.
Jim
I have the brochure I picked at VF and it's called "Universal Smart Shaft". They will be distributed by Cue & Case Sales (Lucasi, Players, etc) in Florida. Bill told me they are actually built in China.
The adapter screwed into the joint end of the shaft without using any glue. You can switch any adapter out with a different adpater in a matter of seconds. They had several major joint pin adapters available for testing. I tried the LS & RS (low & regular squirt) shafts and found I preferred the RS of the two. I also tried an ivory ferruled shaft which I liked but those will not be made in production runs.
The size at the joint is .841 according to Bill. He said that oversized adapters will be made available to cuemakers so ringwork matching can be attempted. The adapters were only black plastic so I'm not sure how much can really be matched.
Availability was claimed to be 45 days out from VF so I would assume any day now.
The adapter screwed into the joint end of the shaft without using any glue. You can switch any adapter out with a different adpater in a matter of seconds. They had several major joint pin adapters available for testing. I tried the LS & RS (low & regular squirt) shafts and found I preferred the RS of the two. I also tried an ivory ferruled shaft which I liked but those will not be made in production runs.
The size at the joint is .841 according to Bill. He said that oversized adapters will be made available to cuemakers so ringwork matching can be attempted. The adapters were only black plastic so I'm not sure how much can really be matched.
Availability was claimed to be 45 days out from VF so I would assume any day now.
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I asked Mike Massey what he thought about the Universal Smart Shaft yesterday. He said he had tried one at a trade show. He told me they don't reduce deflection as good as a Predator but they hit very solid and have a good feel to them. He also said that you can change the adaptor for any joint any time (they are not glued down). I am just repeating what he told me but I have yet try one myself.
Duane Tuula said:
If this is the case, I stand corrected. I did a search to see if I could find where I was reading about the shaft, and this is the spot:LINK
Bill actually started the thread, and answers a lot of questions that are brought up. After a quick scan, I found this post (by Bill) which is what I was going by:
"The Universal adapter is firmly glued in place as soon as the proper
adapter is selected. The resulting construction is stronger than
conventional designs."
I guess the plan changed Feb to March.
If the construction is still solid though, I think this makes the shaft all the more desireable. Being able to use one shaft on all your cues with the simple switch of an adapter is a pretty great idea--assuming it works.~Chris