2006 PRODIGY SHAFT PRICES LISTED NOW ON DOWN THIS PAGE
QP™ Prodigy™ Shafts' Pricing
My shafts have the least deflection between 12.65mm and 12.75mm. Keep this in mind when you make your decision or order tip sizes outside these parameters. If you order a 12.5mm tip, then test it against a 12.5mm tip, not a 12.75mm tip.
Tip when striking the cue ball on straight-in shots: The cue ball never lies. It always inform you of the spin you placed on it. The spin and/or the check-up or throw of the object ball always tell you the truth. No cue or shaft will ever "slide-out" right or left with bottom english by itself. It always takes the english you placed on it. If you claim to hit middle bottom then the cue ball will come straight back on a straight in shot. If it "slides-out" right or left then you did not hit the object ball straight or if you did hit straight in line then you hit right or left on the cue ball. So improve your stroke.
The prices for normal deflection shafts will be as follows. Add $75 to the below prices if you want Genuine "Old Growth". Add another $25 if you want super-low deflection. So an old-growth shaft with super-low deflection is $100 more than what is listed below.
8 to 14 gpi: $200 each for old wood. $275 for old-growth
wood, plus $25 more if you want this shaft to be super-low
deflection. For example: super-low deflection old-growth
shaft costs $300
Remember add $100 to the below pricing if you want the
old-growth super-low deflection shafts. These Hard Rock
Maple shafts are made from logs that were cut
from Northern United States old growth forests
in the early to mid 1800s.
.
15 to 16 gpi: $220 for example if this were an old
growth super-low
deflection shaft the price is $320.
17 to 20 gpi: $260 each
21 to 25 gpi: $270 each
26 to 28 gpi: $300 each
29 to 32 gpi: $315 a few regular shafts and a few genuine "Old
Growth" are left, but the wait is between 4 to 8 months
depending on which wood you want.
33 to 36 gpi: $325 a few left but the waiting time as of
January 2007 is 5 to 7 months
37 to 38 gpi: $345 a few left, but the waiting time as
of January 2007 is 5 months
39 to 40 gpi $390 a few left
41 to 45 gpi $420 Sold out May 2006 Last two sold to a
fine man in Canada.
46 to 50 gpi $480
52 gpi $520 July 15, 2008 Old-growth cost is $620. Have
discovered two, but both already sold.
For normal deflection, genuine "Old-Growth" shafts
add $75 to the above pricing.
For super-low deflection, genuine "Old
Growth" QP
Prodigy Shafts add $100 to the above pricing. And
the genuine "Old Growth" is lighter wood. And
some of you know what this means.
Wood harvested from trees that have been replanted or regrown is known as second-growth lumber.
Genuine old-growth trees were cut between 120 and 200
years ago, and the trees were between 500 and 1,000 years
old when cut. The "Old-growth" maple that was
recovered from the bottom of lakes, mostly the great
lakes, has the lowest deflection. I like to use this
wood. I expect by the end of 2006 that other cuemakers
will be copying my and Mr. Dayton's lead using this formerly
submerged Michigan hard-rock maple wood.
May 3, 2008: Since the above paragraph was written almost
3 years ago I have been proven correct. Now the dash
of cue makers to acquire these woods has started. More
and more buyers are demanding genuine old-growth hard-rock
maple for their cue shafts. Another first by QP Cues.
The Real McCoy: Genuine "Old Growth" Hard-rock Maple Shafts Over 160 Years Old
There has been some confusion about my pricing for my old
maple shafts and the Genuine "Old Growth" maple
shafts. I tried to set this straight on January 6, 2007.
Old maple wood is not the same as "Old
Growth"
The pricing for both is different by $100. The genuine "Old
Growth" shafts cost exactly $100 more per shaft over
the old maple shafts.
These shafts are the original virgin forest maple "Old
Growth" woods that grew for centuries before being
cut in the 1820s to 1840s in Northern Michigan.
They were floated along the original highways of America
(streams, lakes and rivers) down to saw mills where some
became water-logged and sank. These suffered minimal
decay and were recovered starting in 1992. They were
kiln-dried, cut, and put back into use. Most of the buyers
of these woods are 3 of we cuemakers and many violin
makers!
After conducting scientific tests on the finish that Stradivarius
put on his famous violins many researchers now believe
the fine and unequaled sound was because of his strange
practice of placing his woods under water for decades
before re-drying to make violins.
These true "Old Growth" shafts are more stiff,
they finish smoother, are harder to ding, and they are
definitely hard to warp on purpose. For those out there
looking for white noodle-wood, then these are not for you.
The growth ring count and grain straightness of grain in
these old woods does not seem to matter. The water has
certainly changed them for the good. With the typical
junk cue shafts you have bad grain run-out and some shaft
breakage in these run-out areas. But even the non-straight-grained
of these play well, are strong, and hit just as good
as the straight-grained woods. It is like the 140 plus
years being in the water has fused the wood grains into
something like one huge super-grain.
The prices for these shafts start at $350 for shafts of
growth ring counts between 8 and 14 and go up from there
depending on growth-rings per inch of wood thickness.
See pricing below.
For QP Prodigy super-low deflection shafts from these "Old
Growth" woods with growth rings from 14 to 16 annual
growth rings per inch of wood thickness (gpi) the prices
will be $370.
Or, what the hey, there is one Filipino cue manufacturer,
a man that sits and works all the gossip forums daily,
while Filipino cuemakers make everyone of his cues, who
in 2004 was selling his special laminated shaft, from
already laminated wood he buys in America, for over $700
per shaft, but if you were a Filipino the price was $125!
I used to shoot with a 12.6mm 42 growth ring per inch of
wood thickness old shaft, but not "old-growth" (Submerged
wood and on the gossip forums called "water wood"),
the formerly submerged wood cut from America's original
virgin forests.
I cut an "Old Growth" virgin forest shaft down
to 12.3mm. It was only 16 growth rings per inch. Both had
the same taper and it was obvious from the first shot that
the lowly 12.3 was much stiffer and more crisp when shot
than the 42 gpi 12.6mm shaft! Being submerged for such
a long time had changed the wood and made it so much better.
Let me be clear, the submerged "old growth" shafts
that have 8 gpi or 16 gpi hit the same. There is a very,
very slight change between 8gpi and 20gpi, but only Pros
or shooters with very sensitive feeling can tell the difference.
With a 16 gpi "Old Growth", playing better in
all areas than a regular shaft of 42 gpi, these shafts
definitely have great potential for improving your game,
while taking lots more punishment and abuse.
I should have almost enough to get me by until more become
available in 2008, maybe.
These genuine "Old Growth" shafts do not weigh
as much as normal wood shafts.
Deflection rankings and terms
Normal deflection is a shaft with no low-deflection technology
applied. Before Mr. McCarty, who founded Predator, all
shafts shot like these shaft. They shot with high deflection,
the cue ball veered off-line when side spin was applied
making the shooter have to re-adjust his alignment and
aim the cue ball sometimes a whole ball to the left or
right of the ball he intended to hit!
Low-deflection is the revolution and attainment of real
measurable lower deflection in a shaft that Mr. McCarty
started.
He revolutionized pool by coming up with a new technology
when applied to cue shafts. His original 314 shaft did
have much lower deflection than a normal shaft. His shafts
would shoot the cue-ball in a straighter line toward the
object ball when side spin was applied.
In my opinion his development (discovery) of how to build
low deflection cue shafts was the greatest thing since
the leather tip was invented. He was bad-mouthed, attacked
on gossip forums, and many cue makers talked bad about
him behind his back. His answer was nothing. He did not
reply, but continued making his revolutionary new cue shafts,
sponsoring tournaments, while giving free cues to struggling
new Pro players (Both men and women). I think a lot of
the man for what he has done for himself, others and for
pool.
This one single man has made it possible for a new player
to buy a cue with a low-deflection shaft and learn faster
than this same beginner would have learned before his revolutionary
low-deflection 314 shafts. Many beginners quit because
of the much higher deflection of cues before Mr. McCarty
developed his shafts. His technology has kept more beginners
shooting pool that would have quit before 1994. He has
helped us all.
Very-low deflection has less (here less is better) deflection
than low-deflection. This very-low deflection is what independent
tests conducted between April and July of 2005 confirmed
for shafts made by three cuemakers in the world. This very-low
deflection is lower (means the cue ball goes in a much
straighter line to the object ball) than the low-deflection
started by Predator cue company.
These tests were independently performed on shafts and
cues consider as the top hitting cues currently being made
in the pool world. Jerico cues, my QP Custom Cues, Tiger
X-shafts and Predator shafts and one other cuemaker whose
name I have forgotten.
Jerico cues, the one whose name I have forgotten and my
cues came in tied for first place with very-low deflection.
Tiger's X-shafts came in a close second and Predator came
in last out of we five. My first place shafts were not
from old-growth wood and did not have super-low deflection
technology applied and were the heaviest of the shafts
and cues tested.
Super-low deflection is a shaft or cue that has reached
the limit of super-low deflection technology. These shafts,
which I currently make, have super-low deflection and are
even better than the ones in the 2005 tests when I and
two others tied for first place having the lowest deflection
cues in the cue making world. In-other-words super-low
deflection shafts shoot straighter with side spin than
both low deflection and very-low deflection shafts.
My super-low deflection shaft design is from genuine old-growth
wood and comes with a 3/16 inch ferrule.
This super-low deflection has reached the limit of super-low
deflection and no one in the world, even me, can make a
shaft that has lower deflection. In-other-words for "super-low
deflection technology" the limit has been reached
with these QP Custom Cues' Prodigy super-low deflection
shafts.
Very-low deflection Prodigy™ Shafts.
If you want a shaft that is real as nature made it, non-laminated
wood that has been well taken care of for years, while
being cut properly, and with almost zero deflection, and
a shaft that will not be crooked in 1 year while hanging
up (Like a certain famous shaft does. I do know for I bought
$5,000 worth of the things that later warped and they would
not guarantee), then these are for you. These are not the
genuine "Old Growth" wrongly-labeled as "water
wood" shafts.
These shafts are just as they were found in nature. They
are not-laminated and not pied and glued together. They
are just super tight (high annual growth rings) maple shafts.
Do not confuse these shafts with the above mentioned "Old
Growth" shafts. These shafts were cut many years ago,
but not cut from the original virgin forests. These are
old, but not "Old Growth"
These are standard on my cues, while the supply lasts.
These were the shafts that tied for best in low-deflection
with two other cuemakers in 2005. These are not the better
super-low deflection shafts from old-growth wood.
Not knocking laminated shafts as a whole. There is one
brand I do not think much of because of the rapidity of
them cutting the wood, which causes the shafts to warp
a year or so later (which makes the warping of their shafts
their fault!). Their idea of design and tests they conducted
that discovered low deflection technology is the greatest
thing since the leather tip.
Their shafts tested with a moisture meter the same day
they flew in to give them to me was tested and kept the
same in a cabinet of mine and many warped just hanging
up with gravity pulling on them!
I got stuck with over $5,000 of their junk which they will
not make good on, even though they leave the impression
in their magazine advertising that they do guarantee their
product. The idea of lamination for shafting is a good
idea, but the glue does remove a little of the feel. And
if cut properly the shafts should stand a better chance
of not warping. But presently I do not sell laminated shafts.
I sell shafts as God programmed the wood to grow. However,
I do a little programming of the wood on my own. Most cuemakers
will understand this. And I am not against laminated shaft.
Tests with my cues against four other cues.
In
three separate independent tests in 2005, conducted by
Larry Rothberg, a dealer of fine cues for many, many,
years who knows the trade inside-and-out - two other
custom cuemakers' and myself (QP Custom Cues) actually
had the shafts with the lowest deflection in the world
of cue making. We custom cue makers are still ahead of
the big guys. But we do not have the big advertising
dollars to get the word out.
The man (Larry) who commissioned the tests did not tell
me he was doing them and only told me when the first test
was over. A few weeks later he commissioned another test
and again did not inform me until he had finished. these
tests were done by him, not me. ;-)
Both tests came up with the same result: My cue and two
other custom cuemakers' cues had the least deflection.
We all three tied for first place. Predator finished 3rd
with the Tiger X shaft finishing second. When the spin
test was conducted my cue put more spin to the cue ball.
My cue that was tested had a old shaft (But not genuine
old growth) of 30 plus gpi and had a 13mm tip. If it had
a 12.6 to 12.75 it would have faired even better.
The main reason my cues sell for so much is the great amount
of controllable spin and the great hit my cues give. Not
only can your shooting hand feel the tip grip the cue ball,
but you can feel it grip the ball and even feel the chalk
being crushed as the cue ball is contacted!
I sold a cue in 2004 to a fine Turkish gentleman living
in Germany and shooting on a team of good German shooters.
Ralph Souquet's shooting and training partner was there
the night they all tried out the cue with the two Prodigy™ Shafts that
came with it.
So impressed were they of the almost NO DEFLECTION in the
shafts that Ralph's friend offered to buy the cue from
the Turkish gentleman. He refused and gradually he offered
the Turkish Gentleman double what he paid for the cue.
He still refused. The man (the shooting partner of Ralph
Souquet) finally thought he would have to order from me
and wait. The shafts on this cue were very-low deflection,
not my better super-low deflection with old-growth wood
salvaged from the bottom of lake Michigan.
Three months later, the Turkish gentleman ordered another
cue and three more QP Prodigy™ Shafts, one
to replace a cue made by .........( which is known as one
of the best five hitting cues in the world.)
Later Ralph and his friend were the tournament in Las Vegas
in May (Or was April or May of 2004). While there, the
QP (The man that offered the Turkish gentleman double)
owner asked Efren Reyes about my cues. Efren's reply was
that I make cues that "get more spin than the others.".
Also at this same tournament-cue-show this same German
that offered more than $4,500 for one of my cues without
ivory inlays (See above story) found one of my cues for
sale by the custom cue case maker named Jack Justis.
The German (Who who was dying to have one of my cues after
trying one a few weeks before) later told a German friend
of mine that he would have paid more than $5,000 for that
QP Cue with the ivory inlays that Jack Justis had for sale
at the Vegas show, and got it cheaper than that. He did
not want to wait 9 months on one, but had decided when
he got back to Germany he would order and wait. He said
he could not believe that he found one for sale and so
he immediately bought it.
Note added in January 2007: Now in January 2007 my shafts
are not very-low deflection, but super-low deflection and
two steps lower in deflection than when the three tests
were conducted in 2005. They are three steps lower in deflection
than Predator's best.
White shafts: The noodle craze and its beginning
The white shaft craze was started in the early 80s by a
famous production cue maker in America when he got stuck
with thousands of low growth-ringed white shafts. But he
was a smart marketer and sold them as "white" was
somehow better.
These white colored shafts are usually noodles compared
next to the steel-like heavy growth ringed darker hard
rock maple shafts. Many super-low deflection Prodigy™ Shaft owners
with darker shafts, and 24 plus growth rings, can now knowingly
look at white shafts and know they are wimpy. Balabushka
was right when he wanted the dark, even brown, colored
hard-rock maple shafts for his cues.
Many times it is impossible to get white shafts when the
growth rings go over 18 to 25 per inch, thus many cues
are wimpy (when compared to much tighter growth rings.
Some Asian cue makers use only 4 to 6 grains per inch!)
Some may sometimes go as high at 8 to 10 grains per inch
shafts, and they look good because they are white. Some
less scrupulous makers use bleach, which breaks down the
wood fibers. One cue Southeast Asian manufacturer admitted
on a forum in 2004 that he used "diluted bleach".
Does it matter if you put full strength bleach on the shaft
three times or "diluted" bleach on 7 times to
get the same effect? I mean any human can figure out that
if the wood is bleached white it had to take lots of bleach
or in "diluted" form even more! That sure is
a lot of water being place on the unprotected wood.
A 14 grain per inch shaft is naturally much stiffer than
the usual 4 to 8 gpi (growth rings per inch) shafts that
are to be found on most junk-cues (one-week cues) . However
14 growth rings per inch cannot begin to compare to a shaft
that has 24 growth rings per inch. I have only found one
white piece of maple that had over 20 growth rings per
inch. So getting white in a superior shaft is about impossible.
Yes, possible, but VERY hard to find without bleaching.
I do not bleach my wood and any reputable custom
cue maker would not either.
What does it matter if the shaft is somewhat darker if
it hits better? A snow white shaft will show every small
bit of dirt and we all know that after 30 hours of play
it will be dark anyhow from all of the chalk and sweaty
hands. Now you know why Balabushka said he preferred the
brown wood for his shafts. He knew they were stronger and
hit better. Many cue makers call this "Tight grained",
meaning more annual growth rings per inch (more grains
per inch, hence me using and adding "gpi" to
the cue making world newest terms in 2004.).
When Predator was marketing ferrules of 3/4 inch I was
making and selling shafts with lower deflection and an
even shorter ferrule length of .475 (slightly less than
1/2 inch long).
This note placed here in October of 2006: I have experimented
with Ferrule length down to only .125 (1/8th inch). I felt
at the time that the cue buying public would not accept
such a short ferrule and thus did not advertise to sell
any, although I made a few for the serious shooters (and
one famous one from Germany)
If you want to order a cue from me with an even shorter
ferrule, then I can make the shafts for you. The deflection
is even less with these shorter ferrules.
If you are interested then just let me know.
You should read the article on the genuine "Old Growth" hard-rock
maple that was submerged under water for more than 130
years.
If you want to run a test on my shafts, then place the
same tip on your shaft that my shafts have and do not test
a 12.5mm shaft of mine against a 12.75mm Predator. My shafts
have the lowest deflection between 12.62 and 12.75mm. Anything
lower than 12.62 will have more deflection. Be fair in
your home tests.
An announcement to clarify stupidity on a "gossip forum" concerning genuine "old growth" maple shafts or how "Joeyincali" made himself to the fool he is
You need to read this to understand more about shafts and
deflection. Wade through the justified slams and get
the meat of the article and you will learn.
The situation is this:
Some people spend so much time on forums gossiping, that
if they spent as much time practicing pool as they do
trying to sound important when talking about pool, they
would be fantastic players. Joey Bautista is a classic
example. I'll show you what I mean.
This is my first and only response to a Filipino Sycophant
("Joey in Cali" Real name: Joey Bautista -who
has knowingly smuggled ivory harvested illegally and
undercut American quality cuemakers) that I and a few
others, feel actually may be a few bricks shy of a load.
This man has called me names, slandered me, and been very rude for over two years without me replying. I have never met or talked to this man that has tried to pick a fight for more than 2 years. To show you how honest at heart he is, he has never tried to contact me or any of my friends at all. So how can he be honest and truthfully judge me? He has never played with one of my cues, but he and his friends slams them. If he ever did shoot with one of my cues he would not give an honest review because he hates anyone that is white and will not submit to his God in Quezon City. If he loved his country (Philippines) so much then why did he immigrate to America? They all wave their flag, but once they are snug in someone else's' country.
The two main Philippine cuemakers started a fight with
me back in 2001 and it continues today. They keep on
mouthing off because they cannot beat me down with their
gang tactics. It's that simple. The jealously monster
got them. their sales went south even selling cues with
ivory splices for only $700, then welching on a bet.
The other one finally got down to selling his for $40
and still failed. One of his two websites is down and
the other one makes money by the number of hits he gets
on it daily. My cues are still selling for good prices
and have a good business now with regular customers.
This person said, and a few others might actually believe
that "Old Growth" shafts have more deflection.
Even without "messing" with the shaft the "Old
Growth" actually has less deflection, not more.
One day there will be many cuemakers scrambling to find
these old growth shafts, but Paul Dayton and I started
everyone else using them.
Losers like "Joey in Cali", start to believe
the stuff that people, many whom are as dumb as they are,
place on gossip forums. Some begin to think they know about
cues, but actually show how dumb they are almost every
time they open their mouth. Most of the posters are young
men who just want to be "accepted" and they usually
cannot run three balls in a row in any pool game! I had
a run of 11 balls in 2006. But they were all playing bank-pool
and two of those eleven straight were three cushions. Usually
when I open my mouth I know what I am talking about.
This small group of attention-hogs keep mentioning the
old growth wood that Efren used to use. You can always
tell who the "ball hogs" are by the huge amount
of time they spend online. When do they ever have time
to work or shoot pool?
The truth is Efren played with the only cues available
to him until he finally shot with an American-made cue.
He has never shot with old growth shafts and he cannot
because as late as the end of 2005 he does not want to
spend the time to get used to any type of low-deflection
shafts and the old growth definitely has less deflection
than other normal shafts. And all of the maple I have
ever bought comes out of Michigan (U.S.A.), not Canada.
And the shooting shaft that Efren got with his cue from
me was not old-growth and was not low deflection. It
was a normal shaft made from birdseye maple. That is
what he ordered and what he got.
Some people just open their mouths in vain attempts to
sound important and put their whole leg in! Joey is just
one example of about 20 such persons, who want to sound
important, especially when he talks about genuine "Old
Growth" maple wood or Efren, whom I personally have
played well over 100 hours of bank-pool with! Who in
the world do you think Efren suddenly got so good in
bank the last 3 years playing with? In January of 2007
he finished second in the world! In 2005 he was around
10 or 12 depending on which stat you were to read. He
was playing bank with me a few hours here-and-there for
more than 5 years!
Here is something to help teach gossip-forum addicts, who
like to talk more about cues than they like to actually
play with cues.
Many of you are going to read material now that you have
never heard before and I do not mean that all of you
are dummies. It is okay not to be informed on some subject
that you have never studied. That's why we continue to
learn until death. \
Here are the facts:
1. A 30 annual growth ring shaft that is made with today's
NORMAL maple has more deflection than a Genuine "Old
Growth" shaft that is also NORMAL.
Provable truth: Old Growth maple shaft wood has less deflection
than normal maple.
2. A 15 growth ringed shaft has less deflection than a
30 growth ringed shaft. Okay?
Provable truth: The more growth rings means more deflection
(because of weight), not less. But . . . . see below.
3. But the shaft with 30 annual growth rings is usually
more stable and usually has slightly better feel imparted
back to the shooting hand. In-other-words a real pro
player, all things being equal except the growth rings,
will most of the time take the shaft that has more annual
growth rings! He can feel better what is happening where
the leather meets the cue ball and he knows the shaft
stays straighter longer due to more fibers having to
break down to eventually make the shaft wimpy and make
it start moving some. But sometimes some shafts not tight-grained
do shoot and feel better, but they are the exceptions.
A very famous Pro player and many time world champion asked
me to stroke his cue and tell me what I thought. I stroked
it and said that it was straight. He said yes, now look
at it. I looked at it and it was crooked. Joey, know
the answer to this one? Of course you don't and the Pro
was Efren Reyes. Efren told me he never heard of you.
What happened to that very famous cue was not the fault
of the man that made it, but years of shooting with the
cue was the problem.
Provable truth : The fibers in the wood are slowly broken
down making the shaft weaker. After years of play the
wood fibers in the shaft (It was a 16 gpi, which is good
wood) had slowly broken down on one side more than the
other. The shaft thus became slightly warped, but it
was due to use. The cuemaker had made a good cue. Why
is it that on gossip forums there are some jealous cue
makers who cannot resist slamming another cue maker they
do not like?
Why is it that the owners of these gossip forums allow this uncivil behavior and continue to provide the forum for these gang-bangers? Mike Howeton is a good example of a gossip forum owner who allows people to slam others. One day someone is going to sue him, which will teach him to run a civil forum. Can you imagine the kind of slamming that he allows being allowed on a golf forum? Golf forums act with civility because they appeal to a higher class people who are well-bred and taught manners.
In tests against my cue with the same famous Pro doing
a long power back spin shot, complete table length, my
cue got more than 4 1/2 feet more spin than the cue the
Pro had used for years. Everyone, but me and my friends,
were shocked! And the tip on the cue he was used to,
and had used for years, easily got spin because it was
12mm. The real shocker was the tip on my winning cues
was 12.8mm and the cue was 65 inches long! Yet it beat
the other cue by so much.
4. The making of a low deflection, very-low deflection,
or super-low deflection shafts has everything to do with
what the cuemaker does to the shaft.
Provable truth: The cuemaker messes with the wood. What
the cuemaker does to the wood (and also to the cue-butt)
is what allows the cue to have its natural deflection,
or adds more deflection, or makes the shaft have less
deflection. Also more or less spin imparted to the cue
ball and even to the object ball.
5. Thus a cuemaker, that understands what is happening,
can take a 32 annual growth rings per inch shaft (32
gpi) (Which I have done) and make it shoot with less
deflection (very-low deflection) than a "low-deflection" with
16 gpi. Like the tests conducted by sneaky pete (Three
different times) where my cue and two other fine customs
makers beat the shafts of the big boys. But my present "Super-low
deflection" shafts are two whole steps lower than
my winning shafts were during those independent tests!
I personally feel with these newest super-low deflection
QP Prodigy shafts that the "super-low-deflection" technology
first started by Predator have reached the limit. And
I thank Predator for their innovation in this area. Mr.
McCarty, the owner of Predator, is a smart man. However,
I and at least two other custom cuemakers have his best
shafts beaten.
My cue used in the tests weighed 20.10 ounces, had two
very-low deflection QP Prodigy shafts. These shafts had,
I believe, 32 or 33 growth rings per inch. The tips were
not small at 13mm (If my memory is correct). My cue would
have gotten more spin at 12.6 to 12.75 or even more at
the 12mm tip Efren likes to use.
I did not know the tests were conducted, or even were going
to be conducted. I was told afterwards that I and two
other custom makers tied for first place (All three of
us beating Predator and Tiger shafts) all 3 being equal
in low deflection and mine got the most spin.
6. So how in the world can my shaft on my EW
05-28 get less deflection than the glued-together shafts
(from two well-known larger companies) weighing a whole
ounce less than my shafts of 2005?
Already proven truth: My cue weighed more, my shafts weighed
more, my tip was larger, yet I tied for first place with
two other fine American Custom Cuemakers for least deflection
in the world. So much for the heavy weight, huh? It's
what I did to the shafts and to the cue-butt. And Tiger
did finish ahead of Predator.
The cue-butt construction has some to do with feel and
deflection also. This has been proven by tests conducted
with Meucci's robot, in that, a low deflection shaft
shoots with lower deflection on some branded cue butts
than it does when attached to other brands. This proves
that the cue-butt construction makes some difference
in how low the deflection the shaft has.
Of course I and other fine cuemakers are good enough to
know we have a winner without a robot. I already knew
that you can take a low-deflection shaft and place it
on different cue-butt brands and the butt did make a
difference in slightly higher or lower deflection. All
this robot stuff is unnecessary. Anyone half-way decent
when shooting pool does not need a robot to tell him
he got a deal or got cheated, does he? The ones using
robots also know this, but due to the robots being used
by one, the others must follow to prove they tested on
equal ground.
A house-pro in Chicago was watching a man (With a new QP
Cue he had just bought from me) do power back spin shots
with the object ball a full table-length away from the
cue ball and jacking up the the cue when bridging on
the other end cushion. The man was testing by backing
up 9 foot to the rail and coming off again another 9
foot! People were saying "Who can get that much
spin in Chicago?" They were amazed at the spin
the cue got. The house Pro had recently bought a A....
cue and after shooting the QP he said, "I got
the cue a month ago, my game is just coming back, and
then this cue has even less deflection." It
doesn't take a robot for you to know that you bought
the wrong cue, does it?
My shafts are not low-deflection, and Predator shafts are
low-deflection. My shafts "very very-low deflection" if
an "Old Growth" shaft with a .740 inch ferrule.
If non-old growth, they are very-low deflection. If "Old
Growth and a 3/16 ferrule then my shafts since December
2006 (tests started in August of 2006 and I was satisfied
by December of 2006 that the new shafts with 3/16 inch
ferrules would hold up) are super-low deflection! No
one can ever beat my super-low deflection old-growth
wood shafts.
Here is the cue: EW
06-0014 shot in Chicago getting all of the spin. All
of my cues do this. (Also see the top of the page here 3/16
ferruled old growth maple shafts, for what a man sent
to me about his third QP Cue and the first one to have "Old
Growth" shafts with 3/16 of an inch ferrules. He bought
his third QP Cue, the EW 06-0015 and sent me a note on
February 17, 2007.
My old shafts (Not Old Growth) of 30 gpi and a .475 ferrule
are "very-low deflection". My shafts with a
.475 ferrule on an "Old Growth" shaft are "very,
very-low deflection". My shafts with a 3/16 inch
(.1875) on an "OLD-GROWTH" shaft are "super-low
deflection".
My very-low deflection shafts are one step lower in deflection
than Predator's best low deflection. (Normal shaft wood
or my old shaft wood with .475 ferrule)
My very, very-low deflection are two steps lower than Predator's
best. (Old Growth with .475 ferrule)
My super-low deflection (Old Growth with 3/16 ferrule)
are three steps lower in deflection than Predator's best.
7. Deflection high or low, also depends on the humidity,
barometric pressure, and whether the cloth is new or
used. Some low-defection shafts get low deflection on
brand new cloth like the Pros play their tournaments
on. But some of those same shafts (or complete cues)
have even less deflection on cloths that are not new,
like the more used cloth found in most pool-rooms.
Provable truth : I can shoot with my super super-low deflection
shaft on a sunny day with a humidity outside of 95%,
but be inside on a table with used cloth and get say,
3% deflection.
I can be on the same table the next day with the humidity
outside the same 95%, same temperature inside with the
air conditioning as the day before, but there is a storm
coming in and the barometer is dropping. Did you know
that same shaft that shot with 3% deflection now shoots
with about 4.5% to 6% deflection?
One day I and others, with scoped 14 inch barrel, sand
bagged, pistols, were shooting at 15 meters in competition.
The guns used in the competition were .22 caliber long
rifle and the bulls eye was twice the size of size of
the bullet, with an "X" ring inside the exact
size of the .22 caliber bullet. Thus if everyone shot
10 bulls, then the one with the most "X" ring
bulls eyes would win. We top shooters put ten shots right
into one hole, dead-center.
But a week later a storm was coming in and the barometric
pressure was dropping fast. We were inside the same building
with the same air conditioning, same temperature inside
as the week before. No wind at all, of course. No one
had adjusted their scopes (sights). We all shot the same "National
Match" Winchester ammunition.
I told them to adjust their scopes some because of a slight
left hit. They did not. I did.
They (All 6 of them) were the "best of the very best" in
the State, but were "Newbies" in competition.
They were the best in their State, but since they thought
I was only their equal and not better they thought they
were the ones that God had in mind when He invented the
word "great". Under ideal conditions they would
never miss, they were so far from what they thought they
were. But what can you tell kids or young men, right?
What do these great shooters know about laying in mud,
in a driving rain, waiting with your spotter for 32 hours
straight, hearing all the jungle sounds, loosing count
at 1 a.m. of over 1,000 pairs of black tennis-shoed feet
that you could reach out and touch, while waiting on
a NVA tax collector that is a day late, when they were
always dead-on on time? Waiting, not able to swat the
mosquitoes, laying in your own poop and urine, all kinds
of bugs and ants eating and crawling all over you, and
then thousands of enemy walking past you in the darkness
was high pressure and those young shooters had so, so,
much to learn even before they were tested in a high-pressure
situation.
With that storm coming in I proved to those young shooters
that, although they were as good as me under ideal conditions,
yet they were not as good as me overall. There is a difference,
you see. They had not yet reached the point of having
to spot the leaves and limbs moving from the left at
300 meters, but moving from the right slightly at 1,000
meters where the target lay. Not only spotting the leaves
moving but how much they were moving to gauge the meters
per second of the wind. Okay, got that down? Okay how
much you you adjust your scope-sight and which way to
allow for the bullet being affected (deflected - deflection)
by those two different winds? See?
Want to split hairs? Then I can, I have, and have many years before you were even born, Joey in Cali (A Filipino who wanted to leave his country and go live in America).
And what about those young men? They listened to me after
that, especially after we started training outdoors and
the light clicked on in their super-gigantic brains that
they had so much more to learn. "Joey in Cali",
is this sinking in some? Best thing you can to to sound
intellectual is to just not post for a few months. Hoot!
Hoot! Or read what a real Pro had to say of the Old Growth
shafts here so you can learn: Old
Growth has lower deflection I placed on this site
months ago about 1/8th and 3/16 ferrules and already
my experimentation and work is being copied, and by you "Joey
in Cali". Some people's religion must not be too
good if it cannot keep them from counterfeiting. That
means stealing. That is plagiarism.
A perfectionist (and I definitely am) looks at these things
and so does a top sniper. If he does not he could die,
when only 2 1/2 millimeters could have saved his life!
A wind in you back means the bullet hits higher at 1,000
meters than it would on a windless day. Do you know how
many inches higher it hits for each meter per second
of wind speed? Getting complicated now, right? You have
lots to learn and I apply my perfectionist attitude into
my cue making also.
Provable truth: Newbie, you might be as good as the local
house pro there, but he has been through some high-pressure
matches you have not yet faced. Do not brag as one who
has, after many years, putting hi guns off, when you
are just putting your guns on! You might run 5 racks
in practice, but get in national competition and lets
see if you can run two racks! There is a difference!
These State top shooters thought they were the cat's meow.
I move my sight some, they did not! Who can teach a young
good shooter anything?
Know what happened? They all shot a hole (All ten shots
into the same hole) at 9 o'clock on the bulls eye slightly
missing dead center. They all still cut the bulls eye
line by half a bullet and thus all shot bulls eyes, but
I won, because I knew the bullets were going to hit left
due to the barometric pressure dropping so much the last
two hours. I placed ten in one hole dead center, but
their bullets had moved left by 2.5mm (.0985)! The lower
barometric pressure had changed the path of a very fast
moving bullet by 2 1/2 (as in almost 3mm) whole millimeters
at 15 meters! Amazing huh?
Two and one half millimeters made the difference. I had
ten "X" bulls and the best of them had, at
best 6 "X" bulls! They paid attention to me
afterwards and two later went on to become world class
1,000 meter top shooters, and the same two became snipers,
one in the Marine Corp and one in the Army.
After I finished with them months later they still had
tons more to learn (actually they were just beginning
and they still did not know even that), yet they were
newbies and thought they had arrived! You new guys do
not need to feast from the lies and gossip on many forums.
Most gossip former posters are just dummies or young
teenagers who want to sound important and be "one
of the men".
A shaft can have higher deflection (or lower) on new cloth,
but on the cloth used by 99% of the world this same shaft
have lower (or higher). Confusing, huh?
Provable truth: I can shoot on brand new cloth with all
things being equal and get say 5% deflection, but step
over to a table with used cloth and the deflection will
be lower, down about to 3%! You heard it first here!
If you want to split hairs, like some of the gossip-forum
addicts want to do, you should know if the low-deflection
shaft you are about to buy will be lower on used cloth
or brand new cloth. You heard it first here, remember
that. And you guys have never even thought of that, have
you? Why are you wasting your time devouring gossip then?
Garbage in, garbage out, simple huh? Usually, but not
always, but most of the time, most brands of low-deflection
shafts will have more deflection on a brand new cloth
than it on a used cloth.
Provable truth: Your local pool room where 99% of people
shoot pool has cloth that has dirt and dust and chalk
in the cloth fibers. It is not new. Usually this cloth
will shoot with lower deflection than brand new cloth
that the Pros play their tournaments on. Did you know
this? There are lots of things you have learned from
this article, isn't there?
That brings up another problem for you hair splitters:
The pros practice mostly on pool-room used cloth, but
when they go to a tournament they play on a brand new
cloth....then their cue is shooting a little different
than it was at their home pool rooms. You guys never
even thought of that, did you? And how much is that little?
Ever thought of that? Of course you haven't because you
never knew there was a difference, much less able to
measure the difference. The difference is enough to loose
the edge! That means this difference can literally make
you lose a match and the tournament!
8. I can make a 64 inch long, 22 ounce cue shoot with lower
deflection than both of the world's best selling low-deflection
shafts. (And did so for about 3 years, but now I have
them beat by three levels less in deflection.) So the
cue length up-to-being-reasonable, has nothing to do
with deflection....................well....mostly. The "....well
....mostly" means weight figures in some, but I
can overcome that and then again I am really splitting
the hairs some of you gossip-forum addicts seem to want
to split. You heard it here on my web site first.
9. I have went beyond Predator's low deflection, like the
cue that that was tested years ago in 2005, where my
shaft had very-low deflection and tied for first in the
world with two others' custom cues. From 2006 onward
my super-low deflection Prodigy "Old Growth" shafts
are 3 steps lower than Predator.
Now, in January 2007 I personally know that with these
genuine "Old Growth" shafts and a ferrule of
1/8 or 3/16 inch that I have taken the "super-low
deflection technology" as far as it can go........well...........sorta.......I
can experiment more with shaft tapers and might can get
deflection a little bit lower, but it would take a very
good, good player to notice and thus not worth the effort
of your game being off for a whole month (some of you
that have been in pool for years have no idea what I
just said, do you?) I now have more than 1,000 different
shaft tapers and I feel that the technology in my shafts
can be tied, but not beaten. Soon others will be copying
me.
10. I do not claim my shafts do not have any deflection.
Some of the gossip forum addicts have said I make the
claim (old "Joey in Cali" again, he will say
anything to slam me and I have never met, talked to or
had a single business deal with him. Is it racism? He
had made other racist comments about how stupid Americans
where in not knowing where Canada was. And that Americans
all used Canadian maple -no, we use Michigan maple, not
Canadian maple! The Americans are mostly afraid to challenge
this tribe of bullies and never said a word to him for
his comment.) that my shafts do not have any deflection.
That is absurd. Joey in Cali is a Filipino who knows
where most countries in the world are because he, like
millions before him, looked at them before he left his
own country in a desperate attempt to get away from his
own.
As long as spheres are struck on the sides there will be
deflection of some sort. There are some users of my cues
who say my shafts have no deflection because they have
been using the Predator shafts for years and then they
shoot with mine they see it has even less deflection,
thus some of them make that claim, but I do not. Anyone
who claims his shafts do not have squirt (deflection)
is only lying to con people into buying his shafts. During
the last 20 years no one has been so stupid as to make
that claim. But I am sure someone will.
Can others equal mine? Sure can. Can others beat me? No,
but they can tie me if they try, but they will have to
copy my shafts, because I am definitely the world-leader
in "low-deflection technology". The limit has
been reached in my cues if what is used is the genuine "Old
Growth" maple and a 1/8 or 3/16 inch ferrule.
11. Did you take into consideration the tips on cues influencing
deflection? Of course most of you have not.
If you want to know which leather tips produce the most
deflection then send me an e-mail and I will tell you.
Tips most definitely add deflection, some more than others.
You heard it first here. :-)
In January 27, 2007 I have the cues that shoot with, not
only the least deflection, but super-low deflection .
. . if on my cues is Genuine "Old Growth" wood
and a 1/8 or 3/16 ferrule.
If the wood is not "old growth" and a .475 ferrule,
the I and two other custom cuemakers are tied for the least
deflection in the cue making world.
If the ferrule is .475 inches long and on genuine "Old
Growth" maple wood, then I still have the lowest deflection,
but the 1/8 and 3/16 ferrules are even less!
My shafts, if on my cue-butts are 3 steps lower than Predator
and might not be that low on other cue-butts, but still
will be at least 2 steps lower than Predator.
This article was originally placed on this page about January
20th. As of January 27 at 6:30 p.m. this article had
received 4,614 hits! In the last 7 days my site has received
5,267 hits.
From February 9 through February 12, this whole site received
more than 12,000 hits and more than 8,600 on this page
alone! So, Joey Bautista, the word is out on you. You
should not allow your hatred of someone you have never
talked to make you look stupid on technical details concerning
old-growth shaft wood.
To the vast majority of you players and cuemakers I want
to say that my sharply pointed words were not directed
at or toward you, you already know this, I think. But
to just a few imbeciles who insist they know everything
and who cannot wait to daily go online by hitting the
keys of their girlfriends so they can sound important
to the online newbies!
And if you want to see what the real Pros say about the
old growth then look on my Accolades page because the
only Pros that shoot with Old Growth shafts are the ones
who have my cues and/or shafts.
Shaft prices one-third on down on this page
My QP Cues, and the cues of two other custom cue
makers, have the least deflection of any cues presently
being made in the world.
You want to go down half way on this page and read this
article "An announcement to clarify stupidity
on a "gossip forum" concerning genuine "old
growth" maple shafts"
I assure you that you will learn more about deflection
in this article than you will ever learn on some gossip
forum.