low deflecting cues

[minidon]

Mark Williams is playing in the welsh open with a low defecting cue .Anyone know what make ? Anyone tried these cues and there experiance of them. What manufacturers make these cues and which is the best?

[Neil Taperell]

http://www.acuerate.co.uk/index.php/...erate-147.html

Is it this make ?

[bradwight]

Mike Wooldridge's blackspin ferrule reduced deflection considerably for me. Great bit of kit, took a few hours to get the hang of it though but well worth it if that's what you like.

[fatnew]

It's an Acuerate cue, same model as Stephen Hendry's cue, but ash shaft.

[jim evans]

i think if you use a small pigeon ring type with thin walls you dont get much throw.

[sharkster63]

I think Peradon as a spliced shaft claim it to be low deflection.

[mrbluejay]

I think Peradon as a spliced shaft claim it to be low deflection.

Laminated shaft I think you mean mate, if it's anything like the Ton Praram cue I had its true. Why did I sell it !

[neuronic]

I would love someone to explain me how low deflection should be achieved physically, when constructing a cue, 'cause I just don't get it...

Chris Henry claims that he "invented the Acuerate Technology of low/ultra-low deflecting cues", but he never explains how it actually works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfBkRmwaZLc

An Acuerate cue with "ultra-low deflection" has 8.75mm ferrule, it's tapered differently than your regular british or thai cues, just a bit though, and is overall a tad slimer. Nothing fancy. So where does the ultra-low deflection come from?

I'm playing an "ultra-low deflection" Acuerate, seven years now and counting and I'm happy with (bought it because of its tapering which I loved instantly). But it deflects like any other cue - because I'm not striking straight, that's what I think.

So I'm pretty sure this is all just marketing.

In my thinking and experience it's obvious that the stiffer a shaft is, the less it will bend when striking the cue ball, but that's all.
If stiffness and bending prevents and causes deflection, a carbon shaft would be the ultimate non-deflective cue.

And I also don't get how a ferrule or the material it's made of should affect a ball to deflect or not to deflect.
Marketing again, I assume.

It's pretty much all in your mind and subsequently in your fine motor skills, I fear...

[vmax4steve]

I agree, if the cue ball is struck off centre it will deflect. This was Hendry's problem and in the end he quit because of it. His Accuerate cue did nothing to stop it, pure marketing bollocks.
All the greatest players have used ash or maple cues with brass ferrules with Elkmaster or Blue diamond tips and Tweetens chalk and thousands of hours of practise to hone their natural ability.

There are no quick fixes apart from a possible placebo effect, and that is all in the mind, which is where this game of ours is played.

[cyberheater]

I wonder if anyone has glued a tip onto a solid metal bar and applied side on the white to see how far the white deflects and how different the deflection would be compared to a normal wooden cue.

[Terry Davidson]

You can design a lower deflection cue by doing 3 things. First of all take all the weight you can out of the ferrule so make it short in height (maybe 6mm or so) and thin-walled but strong enough to take the pressure from a bad mis-cue. Secondly the shaft flex should be medium and thirdly the weight of the cue should be lighter, say 17.5oz or less.

Now all of this will mean the cueball will deflect less when side is applied, however a lower deflection cue ONLY helps those players who put on UNINTENTIONAL side.

As for the Acuerates...I bought a PRO model from Nic Barrow which is 17.2oz, 9mm ferrule and seemed to have a normal ferrule when I bought it although thin-walled. I reduced the height of the ferrule and it did reduce the deflection. But all of that said, I use a MW cue which I asked Mike to make with a medium flex shaft, his blackspin ferrule at 9.25mm and with weight at 18.3oz and I've found this cue has less deflection than the Acuerate. The Acuerate I have has a straight taper for the first 18" or so but after that it gets thicker than my MW and I believe the important part of shaft flex is actually from the ferrule and down 36" at least not just 18". To me my MW cue has proven that.

Again, as with any cue a player still has to learn the throw of a particular cue when INTENTIONALLY using side there is just no way to get around that as every piece of wood will throw differently. If a player delivers his cue consistently straight then there is no need to get a low deflection cue, but for the vast majority of players out there who don't cue consistently straight there may be some advantage to getting a lower deflection cue.

I would also have to say I doubt Mark Williams is getting any advantage out of his Acuerate as I figure he was already delivering the cue pretty straight and I doubt he get unintentional side (although I did see him miss a ball completely a couple of times yesterday when he was playing a thin safety shot, so maybe he does?)

Terry

[itsnoteasy]

Terry does a low deflection cue apply less spin to the white?, or does it impart the same amount of spin only less throw.

[jay686]

I just painted mine black.Works a treat ,honest..

[luke-h]

Another marketing ploy to drain people of their hard earned money.

A little tip, practice more, spend the money your wasting on a decent tip and table time and you will see a marked improvement.

Its the same as changing cue's to find "The one" stay with any cue long enough and it will fit.

[cyberheater]

Stephen Hendry's parents bought him a cheap cue for his birthday. Four years later he was using it at the Crucible.