The history of predator low defection.. interesting video

[a1phase3]

A nine-minute video with too much fluff and too little substance. Predator has remarkable engineering but the only interesting thing here is Predator's explanation for the popularity of the pre-cat-logo 314 shaft.

Why no mention that the 314 shaft was cored out? They show ten slices of wood from the 314 as a cure for inconsistency but not that it was cored out and this helped lower deflection. This could have answered the video title question, “How Predator changed billiards forever”.

The video explains why pre-Cat-logo 314 shafts are still popular: they were made of old-growth maple and they produced a thud when hit. Say what? Is that good? From the transcript:

Many of those early blanks were produced in Canada with dense old growth maple that's difficult to source today. Players describe the hit as a thud. No hollow feedback, no excessive vibration, just solid energy transfer. That sound, that feel, that's the moment Predator quietly changed the sport forever. ​

Again, no mention on how the sticks made low deflection. There are two patents put on screen without comment.

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Here is most of the transcript from the video:
Hey guys, Paulo here from Spoton Billiards. If you've played pool seriously for any amount of time, there's one word you've definitely heard: Deflection.

For over a hundred years, players accepted it as part of the game. You wanted spin. You aimed away from the pocket and hoped your compensation was right.

Then in the mid '90s, everything changed. A new Q company stopped treating cues like artwork and started engineering them as performance instruments. That company is Predator. And the shaft that changed everything was called the 314.

Today we're going all the way back from the original pre-Cat 314 to how the Predator evolved into Z, Vantage, Revo, and Centro, and why this technology still matters.

But before we dive in, Spot On Billiards Predator Giveaway you're going to want to stick around until the very end of this video. We are giving away two massive prizes from Predator, including a full carbon fiber Revo setup and a limited edition 30th anniversary case. I'll give you the full details on how to enter at the end, so stay tuned. You don't want to miss this one.

The Problem and How Predator Discovered It
Before Predator, Pool was a game of feel and compensation. When you hit the Q ball off center to apply English, the Q ball doesn't go where you aim. It squirts, deflects away from your target. Every Q did it differently. Every shot rotated differently. humidity, grain, speed, all changed the outcome. So, players weren't just mastering their stroke, they were learning to guess their equipment's error.

Predators founders didn't accept that. They asked a simple question. What if the Q didn't fight the player at all?

The Birth Of 314 Predator was founded in 1994 by Alan Mccardi and Steve Titus. Their breakthrough didn't come from tradition. It came from testing. They built a robotic stroking machine nicknamed Iron Willie. Same stroke, same speed, same contact point over and over again. That's when they discovered the real enemy, end mass. The heavier the fronted the shaft, the more it pushes the Q ball offline during an offc center hit.

So, Predator did something no one else was doing. They created the low deflection shaft that is now famous worldwide. But the real genius came next. The name 314 isn't marketing fluff. It comes from pi, the mathematics of a circle. Traditional shafts are made from one piece of maple that creates a natural spine, a stiff side, and a soft side. Rotate the queue, and the queue plays differently. Predator eliminated that by cutting maple into 10 equal wedges, each at 36°, and laminating them into a perfectly radially consistent cylinder. No spine, no preferred direction, same hit. 30 360° around the shaft. This is why the shaft feels the same no matter how you rotate it in your hand. This wasn't a craftsmanship. This was calculus applied to pool.

The Pre-Cat Era
Those early shafts made before the Predator Cat logo are now legendary. Many of those early blanks were produced in Canada with dense old growth maple that's difficult to source today. Players describe the hit as a thud. No hollow feedback, no excessive vibration, just solid energy transfer. That sound, that feel, that's the moment Predator quietly changed the sport forever.

Less Mass = Less Resistance
Here's a simple version. Predator removes the mass from the front of the shaft. Less mass means less resistance. So, when the Q ball is struck off center, the shaft moves out of the way. Instead of pushing the Q ball offline, that means less compensation, more natural aiming, and more confidence using spin. You don't fight physics. You let physics work for you. Now, Predator didn't stop at the 314. They refined it. The 314 was the all-around benchmark. forgiving, familiar, and precise.

Then the Z shaft, which is a thinner, lower deflection surgical precision shaft. Then you've got the Vantage, which offers a thicker, stiffer for power players who still want tech. Each one provides different performance benefits, but they all trace their DNA back to the 314.

Then came Revo & Centro - The Modern Predator Revo carbon fiber. Zero warping, ultra- low deflection, maximum consistency. Some loved it, some missed the soul of wood.

So Predator did something very Predator-like. They hybridized it. Centro wood feel in the hand, carbon strength at the front, foam damped feedback. It's modern performance without losing the emotion of the hit.

The Spot On Billiards Angle Here at SpotOn, we understand the value of performance engineering. We offer products that work better, not just look better. Our Predator shaft isn't about marketing. It's about removing variables to increase performance. And at Spoton Billiard, we're not just selling Predator, we're supporting it. That means proper key repairs and maintenance backed with factory level care to keep your equipment performing at the highest level. You wouldn't buy a Ferrari without a certified shop. You shouldn't settle for less with your pool equipment In Conclusion either.

So the 314 didn't just introduce low deflection. It introduced performance to a sport built on guesswork which is now being standardized by most manufacturers as well. From the pre-cat shaft to the Revo Carbon to the hybrid perfection of Centro, Predator didn't change pool by accident. They engineered it. And if you want to experience that difference, you know where to

I I have a ICF – 19 predator Q model 14. I have the original six slice prototype shaft and I also have a 314 shaft.

 

[a1phase3]

I I have a ICF – 19 predator Q model 14. I have the original six slice prototype shaft and I also have a 314 shaft.

The ICF stands for income cash flow, and it was built at 95 and it was number 14 of 30.
I read about them in a billiards magazine in the early 90s and I was living in Michigan and they were in Clawson, which was only 30 minutes from my house. I called arrange the meeting went to the garage where they were making it and they showed me iron, Willy and how he operated. A pile of wooden pieces of wood that had been cut to remove all the inferior grain and how they glued it back together and made the stick. When I bought the stick, I think it was Steve. I’m not sure. I asked him if the Pharrell would break because I like to break with his dick and he assured me that the pharaoh ever broke he would personally replace it and it never has broken.

 

[garczar]

The ICF stands for income cash flow, and it was built at 95 and it was number 14 of 30.
I read about them in a billiards magazine in the early 90s and I was living in Michigan and they were in Clawson, which was only 30 minutes from my house. I called arrange the meeting went to the garage where they were making it and they showed me iron, Willy and how he operated. A pile of wooden pieces of wood that had been cut to remove all the inferior grain and how they glued it back together and made the stick. When I bought the stick, I think it was Steve. I’m not sure. I asked him if the Pharrell would break because I like to break with his dick and he assured me that the pharaoh ever broke he would personally replace it and it never has broken.

Dude, wtf??? That thing you call the 'Pharrell' and the 'pharoah' ('bout spit coffee here) is called the FERRULE. Pharoah, now that's some funny shit. Cool story, just jackin' with ya.

 

[a1phase3]

Dude, wtf??? That thing you call the 'Pharrell' and the 'pharoah' ('bout spit coffee here) is called the FERRULE. Pharoah, now that's some funny shit. Cool story, just jackin' with ya.

Talk and text
Only 30 made, rarity scale non existent to myth!

 

[Cord]

I asked him if the Pharrell would break because I like to break with his dick

Poor Pharrell.

 

[a1phase3]

Poor Pharrell.

talk text sucks

 

[greyghost]

There is an on-going argument around here about what is needed to reduce cue ball deflection and a lot of people here says that only front end mass matters, yest in this video as well, it is explained that a lower mass shaft will be the thing that moves away from the path instead of the cue ball, yet neglecting to explain that in order for it to move, it needs to be flexible.
two shafts with same mass but different flexibility will perform differently.

False.

 

[Paul Bell]

There is an on-going argument around here about what is needed to reduce cue ball deflection and a lot of people here says that only front end mass matters, yest in this video as well, it is explained that a lower mass shaft will be the thing that moves away from the path instead of the cue ball, yet neglecting to explain that in order for it to move, it needs to be flexible.
two shafts with same mass but different flexibility will perform differently.

False.

From Dr Dave at https://drdavepoolinfo.com/faq/squirt/endmass/ and Shaft Endmass and Stiffness Effects,

Dr Dave explains how its easy to change the amount of deflection by adding front-end mass (to increase deflection) or removing front-end mass (to decrease deflection) while not changing shaft stiffness. His example is fine for decreasing deflection by replacing a heavier ferrule with a lighter one with presumably no effect on shaft stiffness. His other example for that --- cored-out wood shafts decrease weight and deflection while having no significant effect on shaft-end stiffness. Does coring a wood shaft have no significant effect on shaft-end stiffness?

 

[skor]

From Dr Dave at https://drdavepoolinfo.com/faq/squirt/endmass/ and Shaft Endmass and Stiffness Effects,

Dr Dave explains how its easy to change the amount of deflection by adding front-end mass (to increase deflection) or removing front-end mass (to decrease deflection) while not changing shaft stiffness. His example is fine for decreasing deflection by replacing a heavier ferrule with a lighter one with presumably no effect on shaft stiffness. His other example for that --- cored-out wood shafts decrease weight and deflection while having no significant effect on shaft-end stiffness. Does coring a wood shaft have no significant effect on shaft-end stiffness?

View attachment 917788

But has he tested two shafts with same front end mass but different stiffness?
There is no argument that lower end mass reduces deflection, a flexible front end will help to reduce it even more.

 

[Paul Bell]

But has he tested two shafts with same front end mass but different stiffness?
There is no argument that lower end mass reduces deflection, a flexible front end will help to reduce it even more.

I can't find where Dr Dave tested the deflection of stiff versus whippy shafts.

The way I understand the Wheat State cuemaker, if all other conditions are the same, a whippier shaft has less deflection than a stiffer shaft. This isn't just about stiffness; it's also about weight. Whippiness affects deflection in that the amount of deflection depends on the whippier shaft's weight in about the first six inches of the front end versus the weight of about the first nine inches of the stiff shaft.

It follows, therefore,that for whippy and stiff shafts with the same weight and same weight distribution along shaft length, there is less deflection from the whippier shaft.

I found no comparison of deflection from Wheat State's Facebook pages regarding whippy and stiff shafts.

See Wheat State's FAQ page:

 

[garczar]

Worrying about shaft stiffness in terms of deflection is nothing but mental masturbation. Stiffness is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY down the list when talking about shaft/cue deflection, mass reduction is the main deal here. As for coring and stiffness Predators Vantage shaft at 12.9mm is lower defl. than a 314 and not much higher than a Z shaft and its a stiff hitting shaft. Best wood shaft they've ever made imo. The larger diameter allowed them to remove more wood/mass and not lose shaft integrity/stiffness. Again, not anything to lose sleep over. EVERY low-def. cf shaft i've hit has been both stiffer and lower def. than any wood shaft i've hit except for 'maybe' the Z shaft. Why would you want a soft/flexible shaft anyway?