Whats the point in having more than one shaft?

Bobalicious

Bobalicious

The one and only.....
Silver Member
"Why have more than one shaft for your playing cue?"

I know this might be a dumb question but its one thats been on my mind for a while now. I know the most obvious reasons would be that if something happens to one shaft then you have a spare or its to increase the "value" of the cue for resale. But what I really want to know is being an intermediate to beginner player, why would someone spend the extra $200 for a spare shaft when they CAN vary in the feel/hit so drastically?

This being said I have a Schon STL5 with 3 shafts. One is 13mm, one is 12.5 mm, and the third is just under 12mm. I know that the different MM shafts will play incredibly different but I've noticed with previous cues that even with the same MM shaft, same tip, and same overall taper, I still feel that there is a big difference in the way it plays and I end up only shooting with one shaft therefore making the investment in the other shafts a huge waste of money!

What are everyones thoughts on this concept?
 
I suppose you could have multiple shaft with different tips for the game you are playing. I don't know if it's true but harder for 9-ball and a little softer for the other games. At the end of the day whichever gives you the most confidence is the way to go. With my sugartree I actually have 3 shafts (4 if you include the OB1). I'm still trying to get used to the OB1. One of the sugartree shafts I use to try out different tips.

Finally I do believe you should have at least 2 shafts. At least if you lose a tip during play you have a spare shaft as a minimum.
 
I have

2 shafts for my break cue since it sustains the most abuse. Think about it, say your playing in a tournament, and pop a tip on your break shaft. If your break goes away, so might the match, so I keep a spare break shaft.
 
Snapshot9 said:
2 shafts for my break cue since it sustains the most abuse. Think about it, say your playing in a tournament, and pop a tip on your break shaft. If your break goes away, so might the match, so I keep a spare break shaft.
Click to expand...

goodpost.gif
Makes perfect CENTS to me.:p
 
Coincidently, right now on ESPN Classic is the 1999 Challenge of Champions Final between Oliver Ortman and Francisco Bustamante. A winner take all match for $50,000. Apparently during the practice before the match, something went wrong with Oliver Ortman's tip and they said he had to spend 15 minutes looking for the materials to fix it, whatever that meant. He was still filing the tip down seconds before the match.

Hello? :confused: No back up shaft?

Bustamante $50,000 - Oliver Ortman $0
 
Tip breaks?

So perhaps you are playing and your tip fails in some way - falls off or something. It is always good to have a backup that is very similar to the one you normally play with. Better than playing with a house cue!
 
like you said all shafts hit differently, so if you have more then one shaft with your playing cue you can really choose one that suits you best. once you have the shaft that plays best for you you can sell the others or keep one just incase there is a tip or construction malfunction. i think its important to have 2 shafts or even 3.
 
To be WAY cooler than the guy with only one shaft. Didn't Eddie say, "They guy with the most wins."

1. Tip pops off in an ahead set.
2. Bartable with the big ball might use a little different taper than the big table and Simonis.
3. To be WAY cooler.
4. If you ever want to sell your cue, the guy buying it might want to be WAY cooler.
5. 3 shafts, 4? Hell yeah, you're the coolest guy ever.
 
Extra Shafts

Whether to have a second shaft might depend on the level (cost) of cue and cheap insurance should a cue ever get resold.

I have a high end cue with two (2) shafts.
The cue was refinished including shaft by ther seller I bought it from.
One of the shafts I have has never been used by me since I have owned the cue.
I would expect selling a cue with a "like new" shaft would help it sell versus one with two (2) beat up shafts.

Some people consider that two (2) shafts should be used equally, where either can be used should a tip come off, etc.

Currently, many cues have solid wood shafts.
Many are buying additional low deflection shafts (OB-1, Predator, etc.).
 
To me it only matters on a higher end cue.

I've never had a tip fall off but I'm sure it does happen.

To me it's more about the ability to replace a shaft if need be. On a cue where a matching shaft can just be bought then I'm not really worried about it.

On a custom cue that either has specific ring work or if it's a cue that I plan to have a long time then 2-3 shafts make much better sense. Shafts will warp , pretty much all of them and pretty much eventually. Might just be a tiny amount but you never know when or how much. (This is where someone chimes in a says they have a lathe perfect 30 years old shaft that they keep stored in the shower rack but I'm not one of those people)

Coolness factor is just a plus. :)
 
crawfish said:
To be WAY cooler than the guy with only one shaft. Didn't Eddie say, "They guy with the most wins."

1. Tip pops off in an ahead set.
2. Bartable with the big ball might use a little different taper than the big table and Simonis.
3. To be WAY cooler.
4. If you ever want to sell your cue, the guy buying it might want to be WAY cooler.
5. 3 shafts, 4? Hell yeah, you're the coolest guy ever.
Click to expand...

Someone was selling a cue with 5 shafts! (yes he was WAY cool)
I was thinking they would make a heck of a bonfire.:grin-square:
Who makes a 1x5 case?
 
For me two shafts are just a "given". I like to experiment with tips, and the second shaft allows me to try different ones while still having a point of reference. I also carry two shafts for my breaker. One is tipped with a White Diamond for head-ball breaks, one with a hard leather tip for 2nd ball breaks in 8 ball. Whoever first fabricated a 2X4 case was a genius IMO.
Bill
 
One point: Many customs have custom ringwork in their shafts as well. Getting this done again might be costly and time-consuming, as it might even require to send the cue back for the reconstruction.

So, having a second shaft is kind of an assurance that the cue will last longer :-)

Regards,

Detlev
 
Bobalicious said:
"Why have more than one shaft for your playing cue?"

I know this might be a dumb question but its one thats been on my mind for a while now. I know the most obvious reasons would be that if something happens to one shaft then you have a spare or its to increase the "value" of the cue for resale. But what I really want to know is being an intermediate to beginner player, why would someone spend the extra $200 for a spare shaft when they CAN vary in the feel/hit so drastically?

This being said I have a Schon STL5 with 3 shafts. One is 13mm, one is 12.5 mm, and the third is just under 12mm. I know that the different MM shafts will play incredibly different but I've noticed with previous cues that even with the same MM shaft, same tip, and same overall taper, I still feel that there is a big difference in the way it plays and I end up only shooting with one shaft therefore making the investment in the other shafts a huge waste of money!

What are everyones thoughts on this concept?
Click to expand...


I think that if one shaft is out of commission and you have a spare, you will play with it. Then just as often as not after being forced to use it for a while, it will become your new favorite shaft. Ive seen it happen more than once.
 
if you break them both in than you'd still be more used to it than something off the rack.

it's just like car insurance. it's good to have just incase
 
I'm one of those who have had two shafts for every custom cue I've owned and some production cues have had as many as four. My playing cue has four shafts, but I use the two newer ones most of the time. I alternate shafts playing one on even days and the other on odd days. That way, the tips and the shafts both wear equally.
I've never understood keeping one shaft unplayed as a selling point. If one shaft is unplayed, it sure as hell will not play like the other one and that to me, is a reason to not buy said cue.
If both shafts are played with and not completely beat, they can be refinished by a cue smith if necessary. I guess you want to know why...when I started playing in the early '70s, it was common practice to order a cue with two shafts. To be honest, I've had only a few cues with just one shaft. A lot of people got one shaft smaller to play 9 ball with, the idea being it was easier to apply English with a smaller diameter shaft. They would have one a bit larger to be used for Straight pool. Today, for me at least, it's not so much about having a tip fall off, doesn't happen a lot these days. It's more about getting a nick at an inopportune time, such as a money game or a tournament. I'm not comfortable with one shaft for any cue except my break cue, which to me isn't as important.
 
Last edited:
Of course the obvious reason is the tip coming off at the wrong time, but I always order one shaft at 12.75 mm with a pro taper as I prefer, and then let the cuemaker put his own taper on the other at about 13.15mm so a future buyer can retaper it to his specs if he doesn't like mine. I think it's a good selling point...Tom
 
My wife has 50 pars of shoes

My wife has 50 pairs of shoes (at least). I on the other hand only have 15 and I think she is crazy. I have 6 cues and probably 15 shafts (one cue has 5)...she doesn't play and thinks I'm crazy.

You really must have been bored when you started this thread.

Nick
"I wish I had 6 wifes and two shafts":eek:
 
Since I started Shooting American Pool here in the UK, (and that was a good few years sooner than anyone in the UK started playing it) I had been aware the pros would have 2 shafts for their player, incase a tip came off during a match, so that they would have at least 1 back up shaft, which is a perfectly sensible thing to do, and so from then on, I always made a point of buying a pool cue and having an extra shaft for it, even if it meant having to buy 2x cues that were the same, which is a habit that I'm glad that I got into :)

There are quite alot of production cues out there nowadays that an extra shaft comes with the cue and/or can be ordered as extra for the cue :)

I had a Meucci Gambler 2, with 3x shafts (2x RD & 1x BD) and I had that cue stick for a good 6/7 years, untill I sold it because I had simply lost the feel for the cue's hit with having shot with it so often, and so, now I am more looking to the custom option, at least that way I know that I can get 2 shafts and stick to a good habit :)

I haven't considered the thought of a secondary break shaft, but then again it depends on the tip/ferrule compbination on the shaft of the break cue :)

I hope that this is of some help at least :)

Willie
 
Mr. 400 has 3 shafts, 1 for playing (as it is trimmed down and broken in just like he wants it to be) and the rest of the 2 shafts for practicing. I guess the 2 other shafts needs to be broken in and will replace the main playing shaft when it needs a new tip.

I also have the same idea as above, but I play way way below 400, more like 4. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top