Which Cuemaker makes the best overall shafts?

JoeyA

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
Which Cuemaker makes the best shafts overall?

Please don't name your favorite cuemaker. We've all got our personal favorite cuemaker.

Tell me which cuemaker do you think that makes the best solid-maple playing shafts in the industry.

Which cuemaker do you think the top players go to first to have make them a playing shaft for rotational games?

What properties do you think should go into making a solid-maple shaft for rotational games?

I'm really trying to figure out what properties I want in a cue and am having trouble finding the words. Should the cuemaker be a top player in his own right? Just a lot of thoughts passing through my head.

Thanks for your input.

It seems that shafts can be made to do different things with better consistencies but with each thing that they do well, there are some things you have to give up in return.

JoeyA
 
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The Shaft

Let me show you the 'irony' of your ways. Most players have probably only dealt with 2, maybe 3 cuemakers in their life, if that. Their choice for a shaft would probably be one of those 3 cuemakers, since they really don't have knowledge of other cuemakers' work other than what other players have said.

And, if you have a local cuemaker, why pay for shipping charges if you do not have to, especially if you had to have additional work done?

But, if you wanted to go with someone who you heard does good work, but don't really know for sure, go ahead - it's just a gamble.
 
getting the shaft

lambros makes shafts that do everything well:grin-square:
 
Best shafts Ive ever had were Bluegrass. Solid, stiff, stayed straight as an arrow. Nice hard hit.
Chuck
 
Snapshot9 said:
Let me show you the 'irony' of your ways. Most players have probably only dealt with 2, maybe 3 cuemakers in their life, if that. Their choice for a shaft would probably be one of those 3 cuemakers, since they really don't have knowledge of other cuemakers' work other than what other players have said.

And, if you have a local cuemaker, why pay for shipping charges if you do not have to, especially if you had to have additional work done?

But, if you wanted to go with someone who you heard does good work, but don't really know for sure, go ahead - it's just a gamble.
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I hear ya! I realize that some people have limited experience with multiple cuemakers and especially with multiple shafts and even limited playing ability.

I'm just hoping to find one of those individuals that play rather well and who has tried MULTIPLE shaft makers and get their input. I certainly hope I don't get input from those guys that can play with a broomstick or mop handle :wink:. I guess I'm looking for people who have purchased MULTIPLE shafts with different tapers, different ferrules, different weights, and wood from different places. It would be great if that person played like burning hell but I'll take what I can get.

JoeyA
 
IMNHO, I think I make the best shafts period. With my shafts, I definitely use the PIITH aiming system....! That video was great! ;)
 
I'll probably never practice it again, but my with my JW shaft I aced
"JoeyA's power stroke drill"!! :wink: Nuff said.

td
 
JoeyInCali said:
Tad Kohara.
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I definitely agree. Ovedrall, a consistenly excellent playing shaft - and a great chance they will be straight 30 years later too. They are carefully made from premium maple, seasoned, and cut slowly during the dry months. Tad doesn't let the stinkers out the door.
 
I love my sugartree shaft like a fat guy loves tacobell. Don't get it twisted, I also love tacobell.
 
TATE said:
I definitely agree. Ovedrall, a consistenly excellent playing shaft - and a great chance they will be straight 30 years later too. They are carefully made from premium maple, seasoned, and cut slowly during the dry months. Tad doesn't let the stinkers out the door.
Click to expand...

On top of that, he cuts them in the secret room.
He has Bonzais there who talk to the woods . :grin:
 
A couple top players that have been sponsored by a cue maker would use the butt of their sponsors cue and have Dennis Searing make them shafts.
 
I spoke with Dennis Searing and he told me out side of his shaft's South West makes the best shaft's,the Andy Gilbert that I had had great shafts also.
 
Here are a few of my favorite hitters.

Tad, Tascarella, Black Boar, Lambros, Toeboy, Chuck Starkey wood pin, and last but not least Mike Cockran, RIP.

My next shaft will be a Chuck Starkey with a wood pin and no ferrule.

Some that I want to try are Gus and Barry Szamboti, Joel Hercek, Eric Crisp, Dennis Searing, Ca$h, Jerry -R-, Mason H., Bluegrass.

The best playing shafts I have hit with are usually thicker in the area around 10-12 inches from the joint. This seems to give the shaft a stiffer hit with good feed back. Of course some like more whip, have at it.

If you were to get ten shafts from the same cuemaker, I think its very likely that they will not all play exactly the same because no two pieces of wood are the same.

Some say the type of joint pin does not matter. I say BS, everything matters.
Pin type, pin material, pin length, depth of pin bore, pin and joint fit, joint material, joint construction, rings, taper, wood quality (growth rings per inch, uniformity of grain density, tone, grain run out, which side of the mountain the tree grew on, minerals in the soil where the tree grew, length of growing season, when the tree was cut, how the wood was dried,(kiln or air) resolute or nelsonite), final cutting schedule, climate control, ferrule material, capped or uncapped or no ferrule, tenon size, tenon thread, adhesive used, and of course the most important tip. I'm sure there is more, way more.

I have a ton of respect for any cue maker, but the ones that manage all of the options and consistently turn out high quality, great hitting shafts are true craftsmen and deserve every penny they charge.

Having said all that, I have played with a few one piece cues that hit fantastic, a purple hart Valley Supreme and a Lucasi!, and just last night watched a guy with a five piece cue with a tip that was flat as a board shoot lights out. He had no stroke either, just lined 'er up and pow! He was out from everywhere. Go figure.
 
Best Shafts

I saw a video about Ernie Gutierrez and his cue making process and I found out something that amazed me. Ernie takes 10 years to complete a shaft from start to finish. He said he could build a shaft in 30 minutes with his machines already set up, but that wouldn't give the wood time to settle after each cut. I've never heard of another cue maker even coming close to this kind of attention to detail and striving for perfection. Imagine buying a new Gina cue and the 2 shafts that come with your cue were carefully handled and put together over a 10 year period to be sure that they were as perfect as possible and would remain straight!

My vote goes to Ernie Gutierrez for building the best shaft.

James
 
JossWest

Bill Stroud, AKA JossWest, has been making the most consistent playing cues and shafts for over 30 years. I especially like his taper. Just chalk it up and start running the balls.
 
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