Why does everyone ( well almost ) love maple shafts?

crawfish said:
I want a solid steel shaft with no feedback. I want it to weigh around four pounds. That way, when I miscue, I can tear not only the felt, but chip away at the slate also. I would also like a ceramic tip so I can hear the KLINK! Then, with my steel shaft, I won't get airbarrelled either.
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Ditto except I like my tip to be spring loaded so I get that last little bit of power. :ok:
 
The bluing adds character! :D

I don't think maple was picked because it's maple, but because it had the right properties in the eyes of cuemakers back then, and the tradition just carried on. I'd use a purpleheart shaft, but I'd end up jumping the ball if I jack up a little bit. I'd use a snakewood shaft but I'd probably snap it when drawing too hard. Get the idea? :\
 
softshot said:
feedback, tonality, feel, .. the same reasons musicians and musical instrument makers choose it.. maple has personality:grin-square:
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I use a Sitka Spruce shaft, which is used in making of guitars, violins, harps and pianos. It's much lighter than maple or ash. It's also used to make the nosecones of Trident missiles.
 
Tradition - plus - good performance.

What are the odds that maple wood is the BEST material, natural or synthetic, EVER made or that EVER could be made?

Considering that it is a natural material subject to radial inconsistancy and warpage, I am expecting a better engineered product to eventually come along. Each piece of wood is unique, which also makes it difficult to trust the cue you buy online, dispite the reputation of the maker.

Keep an open mind to innovation. That's how we got leather tips (used to be non-existant), round phenolic balls (used to be unstable ivory), lively rubber cushions (used to be rolls of rags), and nice, flat slate tables (used to be warpy wood).

For all the ragging about how some people don't like the "feel" of Cuetec cues, the Cuetec Thunderbolt produced less squirt in the Platinum robot tests than did the Schon, Lucasi, Joss, Pechauer, Mezz, McDermott, Fury and Viking cues that were tested. (Take that with a grain of salt, each cue is different.)
 
i went and visited steve lomax at his shop (extremely nice set up) and he has a couple of shafts made out of ebony. if you can get used to looking down a darker wood shaft, they really have a great hit to them.
 
JoeyInCali said:
They get dinged up, turn blue , warp when stored inside the car , get sticky when powder dries with sweat , etc.
For sure we can just use graphite shafts. Or carbon fiber, or titanium or aluminum.
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I believe that if you could build a better performing, more consistent, more durable shaft that is competitively priced and feels as good as maple, maple shafts would eventually disappear.

The same debate existed with golf equipment with "metal woods". Try to find someone good using a persimmon headed driver now.

Chris
 
TATE said:
I believe that if you could build a better performing, more consistent, more durable shaft that is competitively priced and feels as good as maple, maple shafts would eventually disappear.

The same debate existed with golf equipment with "metal woods". Try to find someone good using a persimmon headed driver now.

Chris
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right, or way back to wood shafts like "hickory"!

.....not that I want to shoot with a stepped steel cue! :)

to me the shaft is secondary....I want to install a lifetime tip!

G.
 
IA8baller said:
I want to play with a shaft that needs to be taken care of! If I bang my shaft around, I have to fix the dents/dings. If I never keep it clean it looks dirty. I guess what I'm saying is I like to take pride in my equipment and I want to take care of it.

Does that make any sense to anyone else? :confused: I don't know. But it makes sense to me.:)

That and I hate the feel of other materials used in shafts probably because a maple shaft is what I started with 20-some years ago and that feel is what is imbedded in me as the "right" feel. :thumbup:
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I agree I have tried them all and love the hit and feel of wood though I have to admit my shaft of choice is a I-2 low deflection
 
I played with a graphite for quite a while and nearly hated every second of it.

Practice with the graphite, then switch to wood and it's like cheating.
 
JoeyInCali said:
They get dinged up, turn blue , warp when stored inside the car , get sticky when powder dries with sweat , etc.
For sure we can just use graphite shafts. Or carbon fiber, or titanium or aluminum.
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Two words: Tad Kohara

Ray
 
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