Standard Shafts with no or low deflection?

A

Althair

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
My Richard Hsu cue appears to have almost no detectable deflection even though it only has Richard's standard maple shaft. If I shoot the cue down table to the long cushion a few times, I can generally get the cue ball to return right to the tip of my cue. If I aim the identical shot with even fairly generous English (say right) it hits the same spot on the cushion and then returns to the right of my cue as expected. But I didn't expect it to hit the same spot on the cushion. If I aim a long 1/2 ball hit from 5 or 6 feet away, even with English, the cue still hits the object ball with the one half ball hit. I guess I just lucked out with this, but was wondering if other players have non-low deflection shafts that also appear to have low or no deflection?
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Dennis Dieckman once said to build cues you need a river of wood. So, I wouldn't be surprised if Richard Hsu carefully selects his shaftwood.
 
Every cue has deflection (sic., squirt).

Most probably, what is happening here is that the natural pivot point (look it up) of your particular shaft falls (happily) right at your normal bridging distance, which in my opinion, is the ideal amount of squirt for a shaft to have.

A different player (who bridges longer or shorter) would not get the same results.

Treasure that shaft. It is just right for YOU.

Plus, the cue is real sharp looking. Congratulations.
 
I first started using a solid maple low-squirt shaft about 1980. I presently play with a low-squirt shaft that is solid ramin wood, which is not as nice as maple but it is light.
 
Shaft said:
Every cue has deflection (sic., squirt).

Most probably, what is happening here is that the natural pivot point (look it up) of your particular shaft falls (happily) right at your normal bridging distance, which in my opinion, is the ideal amount of squirt for a shaft to have.
Click to expand...
Or those long shots just happened to be just right for squirt and swerve to cancel each other.

pj
chgo
 
I have 3 old McDermott HR Maple shafts with low deflection and 1 new HR Maple shaft with low deflection.
My Jacoby Edge shaft has slightly less deflection but it's harder for me to control swerve and masse shots.
 
Standard shafts, if you aim wrong it doesn't matter what you are using.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Patrick Johnson said:
Or those long shots just happened to be just right for squirt and swerve to cancel each other. ...
Click to expand...
A story related to which....

When I was learning to play, I borrowed a jointed cue from a friend who had gotten it for his birthday but didn't play much. I learned how to use side spin with that cue not knowing about squirt or that the cue had huge amounts of it. That was back when the problem was neither named nor understood nor discussed.

Well, one time I was at the PH without my (borrowed) cue and I had to use a stick off the wall. It had very little squirt and I was convinced that it actually had negative squirt, although I had no word for it. I thought the ball was swerving (which I knew about) across the line of the shot because there was something wrong with the house stick. I was ignorant and confused.

And of course I could not play well with that house cue.
 
Bob Jewett said:
A story related to which....

When I was learning to play, I borrowed a jointed cue from a friend who had gotten it for his birthday but didn't play much. I learned how to use side spin with that cue not knowing about squirt or that the cue had huge amounts of it. That was back when the problem was neither named nor understood nor discussed.

Well, one time I was at the PH without my (borrowed) cue and I had to use a stick off the wall. It had very little squirt and I was convinced that it actually had negative squirt, although I had no word for it. I thought the ball was swerving (which I knew about) across the line of the shot because there was something wrong with the house stick. I was ignorant and confused.

And of course I could not play well with that house cue.
Click to expand...

I played for Many years not knowing or understanding squirt. That's why AZ is such a great tool for learning. I've learned many things on this forum
 
My Woodworth cue has very low deflection... Close behind that, my McDermott D26 has surprisingly low deflection, too.
 
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