Shaft length vs stability

[BigE]

It seems that there is a link between a longer shaft and a dart that corrects it's path sooner and flies straighter -- flies more in the direction of your stroke....

I mean, wobbles whould not have such a large effect on the path of the dart, because the flight of the dart is further from the centre of mass. That ought to provide a greater "restoring" force to more quickly stop fishtailing and straighten out the dart.

It would also mean that a shorter dart may land sideways, due to lower restoring or straightening force.

If this is true does this mean the longer shaft is "better" in the sense that the throw will be more accurate, as the point of the dart moves less from side to side or up/down?

[USMC80]

Not sure to be honest. I've only used one size the whole time I have been playing. Never really messed with my setup

[Dmott]

Yeah a longer stem would have more leverage and more "restoring or straightening force," but the longer stem takes longer to do so because the "lever" is longer.

In my opinion the dart doesn't need this much force to correct it's path. So with a shorter stem there is still enough "restoring or straightening force" to straighten the dart, but the shorter "lever" allows it to do that faster than a longer lever (stem).

Taking this to the extreme, I noticed with a short stem and a large flight the dart actually overcorrects and wobbles it's way to the dart board, with my throw at least.

[Ancient Darter]

Someone once said ... the majority of pros ... what do they use? There must be a reason for that.

Some thoughts:

https://www.dartsnutz.net/showthread.php?tid=492

https://www.dartsnutz.net/showthread.php?tid=12866

[Banned]

Hmmm. I'm having these issue's in my head right now. Stem length. I'm not sure what length to use. I usually use a #3 Cosmo but played last night with a #5 and shot great. I could swear the longer stem went more straight. CY is confused :s

[Adams]

I used to use short “durable nylon” (i.e: cheap) shafts, but I changed over to medium length. It seems I have better overall accuracy, better overall consistency, tighter groups and better consistency of the angle my darts end up in the board at with the mediums. I haven’t kept detailed records so I can't claim statistically proven results here, but the mediums make my throwing feel better and less erratic. I think the mediums are more forgiving and they seem to stabilize my throwing better than the shorts did.

[BigE]

That is exactly how I feel in going from tweener pro grip to medium Harrows speedline. The dart lands flatter, it flies straighter, and is somewhat less erratic ( the rest is all me).

[Dmott]

I never knew they were lighter, but Harrows speedline says its 30% lighter than standard nylon. So you are using a longer stem with approximately the same weight. Just saying you made two changes, not just one change to your stem length.

[BigE]

If the shafts are near the same weight, doesn't that make just one change? The medium speedlines are 1.6 gm each. I cannot find any info on the weight of the clear target pro grips.

[guest2]

I'm not actually after the stem length alone but the whole dart length.

I have observed that I am consistently comfortable with a set of darts that is 4 inches in length (for me) from the tip of the barrel (minus points) to tip of flights. That's why in setting up or tuning a new dart, I start with this "4 inch rule"

Thus with my Bullets are longer stems and the opposite with my long barrels.

Try to check if you observe the same type of consistency with all your darts with their set up... so line up your darts and see if there's a pattern going on with the set up.

[BigE]

Perhaps the 4" rule is suggestive of a balance point on the dart? There are darts with dual density construction.... the heavy bits being at the point.

Do these darts obey the 4" rule too?

[Dorian]

Yeah a longer stem would have more leverage and more "restoring or straightening force," but the longer stem takes longer to do so because the "lever" is longer.

In my opinion the dart doesn't need this much force to correct it's path. So with a shorter stem there is still enough "restoring or straightening force" to straighten the dart, but the shorter "lever" allows it to do that faster than a longer lever (stem).

Taking this to the extreme, I noticed with a short stem and a large flight the dart actually overcorrects and wobbles it's way to the dart board, with my throw at least.

What you've said is very true but to add some of my views I'd say it's the whole dart in combination with the other components that needs to be considered.
The length of the barrel and its "loading" needs to be matched with a suitably sized shaft and flight match etc. The flight provide more of the stabilising effect, the other components need to compliment each other for some balance.

Cheers

[Regulatori]

If the shafts are near the same weight, doesn't that make just one change? The medium speedlines are 1.6 gm each. I cannot find any info on the weight of the clear target pro grips.

https://www.darts-ya.com/shopdetail/0020...recommend/


Short：35.0mm、0.9g
（INTERMEDIATE）：42.0mm、1.1g
Medium ：48.0mm、1.35g

That seems correct. All I use is medium and I've weighed all of my stems from various companies (all nylon/plastic...various Laro, A-Z generic, Pure Darts generic, DC generic, etc..) and they all weight between 1.05g-1.40g. I think it's the percentage of nylon vs plastic that changes the weight.

[guest2]

Perhaps the 4" rule is suggestive of a balance point on the dart? There are darts with dual density construction.... the heavy bits being at the point.

Do these darts obey the 4" rule too?

Yes - balance point with reference to how and where you hold the barrels. I just want to clarify that the 4" Rule may be a 4'25 or 3.75 Rule to others,

[conanthewarrior]

I find the longer the shaft, the more my dart wobbles.
This may go completely against what should be, but happens. I usually use either tweenies or shorts, but my darts are all the same length when set up(Ultra long barrel I would use ultra short, bullets I use longer stems) as this seems to works best for me.