Snooker Cue Maintenance
Gerry Armstrong
maintenance like changing the ferrule, stripping resealing and finishing the
shaft etc? I'm looking for something that as well as looking at the various
techniques required would also look at the tools and materials required.
Any help or info on where I might be able to find out about this sort of
thing would be much appreciated.
Let me stress that I am looking for info about snooker cues.
Gerry Armstrong
Sandy
Dufferin has a web site www.dufferin.ca so you may want to try there..
Good luck.
Sandy
Jason Batley
I have re-ferruled around 20 snooker cues and the only one I botched was my
own typically!
There are two different ferrule types - plain and threaded. You may have
difficulty buying them, I certainly did and ended up getting a load made at
my local engineering firm for a small fee.
The plain ones are easier to fit and remove, but I recommend the threaded
type as they will not come loose. They are hard to remove though and if not
done carefully you can damage the wood running through them.
I manage to ferrule cues with out any special equipment apart from a sharp
blade, sand paper a small triangular file and a pair of pliers and some
super-glue. I have always had excellent results apart from once. I recommend
that you get an old cue and practice on it - you can ferrule the same cue
from scratch a few times if you cut away what you have already done. The
small triangular file is used for getting a good angle at the base of the
cut into the wood, so the bottom of the ferrule sits flush with the cue
where they meet.
As for removing ferrules - plain ones tend to come loose with a little
gentle persuasion without damaging the cue. Threaded ones are different and
the technique I use is to completely sand away one side of the ferrule using
an electric drill with a rotary sander on it (not the disc type, but it may
work.)
Once one side is gone you should be able to work it loose.
As for stripping the shaft, when I get a new cue I immediately take off the
varnish as I don't like the feel and play of a varnished cue - they tend to
stick to your hands. I don't use a stripper - just very fine sandpaper and
finishing off with P1000. I then use beeswax to seal the cue. After a few
weeks the cue tends to aquire its own coating of a mixture of sweat, dirt
and chalk - which I tend to find to be the ideal finish for me. (This is a
personal preference of course - but one that is shared by many players I
know.)
I have actually witnessed Quinten Hann doing this. We were at the World
8-ball championships in Blackpool and he broke his cue. He got a new one and
before he used it he sanded off all the varnish (causing my game to be
stopped due to the amount of dust!) He then rubbed something into it
(similar to beeswax I guess) and used it like that.
Good Luck.....
Jason
Gerry Armstrong
The cue I play with isn't finished with a varnish but is oil finished but I
wanted to check how to deal with a varnished finish as a few people have
asked me about small scratches and the odd dodd of super glue that has
become attached to their shafts. I figured the best way to deal with it
would be to strip and re-finish the shaft but I didn't know how. I will be
rushing out to Argos as soon as possible to buy a new £10 quid cue and start
practicing!!
What is P1000? And can you get beeswax and raw linseed oil at places like
B&Q?
I suppose the same principles would apply to oil finished cues as well
although it'll take a lot of time, practice and courage before I can take a
dodd of sand paper to my own cue!!
"Jason Batley" <ja...@generix.ltd.uk> wrote in message
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Jason Batley
A very very fine sandpaper.
When I said to sand the varnish off - I didn't want you to get the
impression that I used some course sandpaper and took a load of my shaft
away with the varnish! It is quite easy to sand away the varnish without
hardly touching the wood. I use a fine paper to start of with then switch to
P1000 when I am nearly there. You'll find that most cues will have lots of
little dents and things in them - bairly noticable when varnished, but
because the dents remain varnished due to then being below the level of the
wood they stand out quite a bit when you have stripped it.
I have never tried taking varnish off with a chemical, as didn't know what
long term effect it would have on the cue, but I guess it could be an
option.
>And can you get beeswax and raw linseed oil at places like
> B&Q?
Never used Linseed, but Beeswax is available at most hardware stores. I have
a friend who used linseed but I am not sure that it provides as good a
barrier - although I may be mistaken.
>
> I suppose the same principles would apply to oil finished cues as well
> although it'll take a lot of time, practice and courage before I can take
a
> dodd of sand paper to my own cue!!
Well - oil finished cues have the advantage that you ain't going to get a
scratch in the coating. Although there is less protection for the wood. I
have never had need to alter the coating of mine and I beeswaxed it 7 years
ago. (I have waxed it once more since.)
I am not saying this is the ideal way, but I have an aluminium case and
never let my cue out of my sight so I am fortunate enough never to have to
repair any surface damage.
Let me know what success you have with other methods.
Jason
Gerry Armstrong
what that was. Could that perhaps be beeswax?
"Jason Batley" <ja...@generix.ltd.uk> wrote in message
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Jason Batley
know
> what that was. Could that perhaps be beeswax?
I don't know Gerry. It would seem an unusual procedure to seal a shaft and
THEN apply oil, because the oil would not get into the wood correctly. I
don't think it would be necessary to use both anyway as beeswax polish
contains linseed. As beeswax is intended for quality woods in furniture it
has excellent sealing and preserving qualities. In fact - when I say
'beeswax' I am beeing a little misleading - pure beeswax is like the name
suggests - a wax. I meant Beeswax polish - which is a combination of beeswax
and oils including Linseed. It is used for french polishing.
As I said - this is only from personal experience, but it has worked fine
for me over the years.
Jason
Gerry Armstrong
well be right.
"Jason Batley" <ja...@generix.ltd.uk> wrote in message
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Gerry Armstrong
shaft after sanding. Don't know where the shaft sealer comment came from.
Must be going mad!!
"Gerry Armstrong" <gerard.a...@NOSPAMHEREvirgin.net> wrote in message
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Karl Goddard
close the grain of the shaft after finishing. I'm not 100% sure but I think
that this helps stabilise the wood.
Parris cues, have a linseed oil finish so if you feel the need to play with
the finish of your cue use raw linseed oil -the same stuff you put on
cricket bats- which is available from B&Q and other such diy stores. All you
need to do is wipe some on liberally, let the wood absorb it, then buff off
the excess with a clean rag.
I wouldn't recommend using any kind of wax polish on it at all on an ash
shaft.
There's a great wood store in Yorkshire called John Boddy's, they do mail
order on all types of wood finishing tools, oils and abrasives and they're
pretty cheap too - I'll mail you their details.
If you are unsure, have the shaft refinished for you. Try Bob Akers who
advertises in Pot Black / Snooker Scene. He doctored my old Cue Craft -
taking an inch of the shaft when the wood under the ferrule spilt. He did a
top job and he's very reasonably priced.
Cheers
Karl
"Gerry Armstrong" <gerard.a...@NOSPAMHEREvirgin.net> wrote in message
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Tony Mathews
Karl Goddard wrote:
> Parris cues, have a linseed oil finish so if you feel the need to play with
> the finish of your cue use raw linseed oil -the same stuff you put on
> cricket bats- which is available from B&Q and other such diy stores. All you
> need to do is wipe some on liberally, let the wood absorb it, then buff off
> the excess with a clean rag.
Be careful here. Not all Linseed oil is created equal! Pure Linseed oil will
remain sticky for a long time. In fact it may never dry! Double boiled Linseed
oil is better. The polymerization process has begun and it will dry much
quicker. I prefer Tung oil for my Snooker cues as it dries faster and leaves a
tougher finish than Linseed oil.
>
>
> I wouldn't recommend using any kind of wax polish on it at all on an ash
> shaft.
As Jason said, the Beeswax he mentioned is actually a mixture containing Linseed
oil and should be o.k. I wonder why you british are so hung up on oil finishes?
Almost no American cues are oil finished. The butts get a laquer or urethane
coating, and the shaft usually get a light laquer coating that gets sanded off.
The dhafts are allowed to acquire a natural patina that stays quite consistent.
Why mess with the oil at all on a shaft? It doesn't protect the wood, picks up
dirt, and is hard to get off.
The only reason that I use oil at all on my Snooker cues is that the customers
request it as "traditional".
Tony
Gerry Armstrong
> As Jason said, the Beeswax he mentioned is actually a mixture containing
Linseed
> oil and should be o.k. I wonder why you british are so hung up on oil
finishes?
> Almost no American cues are oil finished. The butts get a laquer or
urethane
> coating, and the shaft usually get a light laquer coating that gets sanded
off.
> The dhafts are allowed to acquire a natural patina that stays quite
consistent.
> Why mess with the oil at all on a shaft? It doesn't protect the wood,
picks up
> dirt, and is hard to get off.
>
> The only reason that I use oil at all on my Snooker cues is that the
customers
> request it as "traditional".
If that's the way John Parris does it, who makes the finest snooker cues in
the world, then that's good enough for me.