Pool cue question
 

Mostly for Paul, but anyone in the know...

Bought a new cue a coupe months ago (Griffin/Action) to use at my local bar. Been enjoying the game again immensely.

The question.. Being a woodworker I'm aware of how water raises the grain of wood. Since in a bar and often have a beer next to me, I do get moisture on my hands. I try to wipe them off before picking up the cue, but life happens.

What's the best way to smooth the top of the shaft. At the moment, I grip the cue tightly around the shaft and let friction and my skin try and "finish sand" the spots where water touched the shaft.in my wood shop, I do have sand paper that goes up to 2000 grit. Just don't want to ruin this cue. It's only a couple hundred bucks, but still...

What's the best way to deal with this?

TIA!

P.S. At this point, I'm playing pretty much every night and get a few games in each time.

P.P.S.... I did play a few money games against a friend the other week. I really can't stand playing for money. Playing for beer is okay, playing for fun is best.

Assuming you're right handed, use your left hand for a bridge...use your right hand to drink with. I actually have a terry golf towel I clip to my case. I also see more and more players wearing a "panty" (pool glove) on their left hand.

For the shaft...2000 grit works. Another good fine sandpaper to use is the stuff they sell in hobby shops for modelers. The ultra fine grit placed on a thin plastic sheeting. I don't sand often because I keep my hands dry. I also wash & dry my hands often when playing. I also wax the shaft with a pure carnauba...NOT a cleaner wax. This helps protect the wood from moisture.

A grocery shopping paper bag is a good source for a burnishing material...

All of the online billiard supply houses sell a ton of shaft & tip care products...so, some internet browsing is in order. Here's the offerings of one supply place I've used: https://www.seyberts.com/pool-cue-shaft-care

Oh, steam works to raise the wood to remove minor dings. Place a damp paper towel over the ding, touch with a hot chunk of metal, like a bolt head, SSSteam.
The steamed area may actually swell higher than you like, so then the 2000 grit comes into play.

Nearly any large population area has people who are good at cue repair...replacing tips, smoothing shafts, etc. It's good to know one of these guys.

Money games only create bad vibes for me. To some people money games are life itself. I'd advise being careful there.

Thank's Paul. I see some leather pads that are sold to burnish, also watch YT videos of what is in player's bags.

I am right handed, but grab my beer with either hand, depending on where I set it down. Lot's of table space around me, so I set the beer in various locations.

Since typing that.... If I have my cue in hand and grab my beer, I'm usually holding my cue in my right hand.... Tend to grab my beer with my left hand....

This is minor "tune up". Don't see a reason to bring it to a professional, since I am a woodworker and do know about sanding... Just don't want to eff things up.

And again, yeah, not a fan of playing for money - those games ended up zeroing each other out, so not a big deal and it was against a good friend. Didn't luneur just the same. Adds a whole new level of stress - and the rules suddenly became strictly enforced. :D

We played again tonight for..... A six pack... I won..., though he lost the game by sinking the 8 ball prematurely. 8 ball was crowding a corner pocket. Kept on saying out loud thatvthe game became a cue ball control game, due to the 8 ball/corner. He let loose with a **** and sure enough, bounced off several rails and hit the 8 in.

Dave, there is that school of thought that "You'll never improve unless you play for money." But I've noticed that this is usually said by those with the skill to lift my money. I'm content to be a mere recreational banger.

Damn diabetes has ended my drinking days. Too many carbs. I guess this makes it easier for me to keep my hands clean when playing pool. You'll also note in the many match up videos that the pro players don't drink during matches. They don't drink on the job. Make no mistake, when they're playing for thousands, they are on the job.

You'll note on the Seyberts link I gave there is a McDermott "McMagic" burnisher. This is the hobby shop ultra fine sandpaper I mentioned, only relabeled. The stuff works. Also the cue wax sold there? Straight carnauba. I just use wax from an old can of "Harley wax" I have in the garage. Many of the cue care products actually come from other sources, just relabeled. Pool players are every bit as gadget oriented as golfers, if not more so.

Many cue makers and cue repair guys came from wood working backgrounds. Gene Balner, maker of the now collectable Palmer cues was a Hungarian furniture maker before coming to the USA. Something you might look into? I'm not familiar with the lathes they use, but having one assures that the shafts stay round. Too much hand sanding can result in not round shafts. If you already have a lathe, maybe look into the attachments used? Like I said, an area I'm not familiar with.

Your poor friend...scratching on the 8. I know that feeling all to well. I must have picked up some fleas yesterday, because I was a scratching fool.

Aren't those "What's in the case" videos fun? Samm being kind to the eyes doesn't hurt either.

Mainly..have fun! Sounds like the game is getting you hooked. There are so many levels of the game...and no two shots are exactly the same.

The innuendos in this thread are priceless :D

"tightly around the shaft and let friction and my skin try and "finish sand" the spots where water touched the shaft.in my wood shop"

Ya missed the one that I mistyped and was censored. :D

"He let loose with a ****...." Should have been "shot".

0000 steel wool.

I think at the moment I'll let it go. Doesn't bother me while playing, only while I'm standing/sitting around and I feel for the rough spots.

For a couple of years played pool recreationally every Friday after work until close. Don't remember beer or drink sweat being a noticeable problem let alone affecting the varnish/stain or whatever finish is on my cue. Usually drank beers served in and ice bucket so they were obviously wet.

Chalked my hands but not excessively or very often. Except for that one night I left white hand prints on the butt of all the waitresses black skirts.

Didn't carry or have any towels around that I remember either.

We played at a pool hall that served drinks as opposed to a bar with pool tables. People were mostly interested in playing pool rather than playing for drinks or money.

When in college I practically lived at a bar with a couple of pool tables and played pool a LOT there, but never serious enough to have my own cue. The owner of the bar took me aside once and told me he noticed I could beat the best and also could be beat by the worst and that it was obvious I was just having fun not out to make a name for myself. Said I was good for business and told me to buy my beer a pitcher of draft at a time, pay with a ten, and ask for change for the pool table. They always gave me back not only the change, but my ten with it. Free beer and pool (including for playing for money) was pretty cool for a college kid.

Once after college went to play some pool at a local bar while visiting my parents. Guy tried to shark me. Played for free and let me win. Played for beers and let me win. Then wanted to play for money. The money game he immediately got 5 balls on the break, but it was a lucky break for me. Mine were pretty ducked up off the break and after the first ball was able to knock three in with one shot. He said he was afraid I would see that, then I ran the table. He laughed and admitted he had been sandbagging to get me to play for money. Said I had played a lot in college and liked playing just for fun. We played for fun after that.

IF one plays for money, it is good if you know your opponent. There's a tale of a guy who paid the entry for the US Open 9 ball event. Walked up to the table for his first opponenet and said; "I gotta warn you, I'm an APA (pool league) seven." His opponent? Efren Reyes.

Here's a short video of Efren's shooting ability...They call him "The magician". When he first arrived on the USA pool scene, he used an alias of "Caesar Morales"...and used a beat up old cue he picked up in a pawn shop for $13.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IocXrswOU1o

I'll bring this thread back up..

Paul, if you remember, I mentioned my old Canadian Dufferin Sneaky Pete with the stripped threads. I decided to try and fix it my self. Figured it would probably have cost me more to have it professionally repaired. Since I am a professional woodworker...

First, I needed to bore a larger hole to get rid of the worn out threads and allow for me to tap for new threads without running into any "dead air" from the old threads.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1471949638.jpg
Mark the drill bit for depth.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1471949677.jpg
Turn a maple plug and glue into place.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1471949721.jpg
Now to the lathe to bore a new hole, smaller then the threads.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1471949755.jpg
I don't have the proper lathe for this, but I was lucky and I have been doing this for many years. Time to clean it up and put it back into service.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1471949799.jpg

Needs a new tip and a couple of tweaks, but I did break a rack with it and it's solid. Looking forward to putting it back in service.

Bump for Paul...

Glad you bumped this, Dave. Looks great! 3/8" X 10 joint thread? Still a popular joint, flat faced wood to wood giving the feel and feedback of a one piece cue. Compare the grain in the shafts of this dufferin and your action cue. I'd guess you'll find the dufferin to have the tighter grain. Depending on what you like for feel, this may turn out to be a better playing cue than the Action.

Tip? I play with a kamui black medium...layered pigskin. Layered tips are more expensive, but seem to hold up better with less mushrooming. For break cues, harder tips are favored with some makers even using pheonolic tips. I break with a specific "break" cue ( https://www.seyberts.com/break-cues/pechauer-break-cue-natural-stained/ ) that has a very hard tip, a stiff shaft, and a stronger steel joint. This keeps the tip of my playing cue in better shape.

With your wood skills, I can see another cottage industry looming? "Slodave's shift knobs and cue repair".

I dunno why, but cue terminology is weird...tips are measured in metric, while joints use SAE sizes.

Paul,

I had a "shark" tip installed. Didn't want to spend a lot of money at first, until I knew it was playable.

I've been sick with the flu for the past week, so once again tried to research this cue. What I found is that Dufferin around the time of this cue used two logos - one was a red maple leaf, the other green. Some say the color doesn't really mean anything, just happened to be what they had on the shelf. Others say it was cue length. The green logo was an inch taller than the red. This cue was called either the Hustler or Phantom (Sneaky Pete). The ferrule is ivory and 1" long on these models. They used a brass pin that screwed directly into the wood - some say the pin was in the top shaft, some say in the bottom butt. They were cheap when new, but now go for about $150-$200. I have no recollection if I bought mine used or new or what the cost was at the time.

Now, my cue... The ferrule is ivory, but 5/8" long (Could this be a snooker cue?). Not sure the overall length or tip diameter, will have to measure those later today and report back. It is a tad shorter than my Action cue. You'd be surprised, but cues are not perfectly cylindrical (forgetting about the taper). Due to wood grain, getting wood turned or sanded perfectly round is near impossible. That was evidenced in my cue. In order for the shaft and butt to line up and feel smooth at the joint as when new, I had to make a maple shim (thin). This did change the tap tone of the cue when fitted together, but does not seem to make a difference that I have noticed when shooting with it. I am happy I was able to resurrect the Dufferin! Here's to another 20+ years of use. (Yeah, it sat for most of the last 20 years :/ ).

The Dufferin weighs about 20.5 oz., the Action is 19 oz. Right now, I am using the Dufferin to break and the action to play. I will switch out during play on occasion, mostly to get a feel for the difference in the two, but there have been a couple of shots recently, where I preferred the feel and weight of the old Dufferin.

You mentioned grain. I have resanded both shafts down to 2000 grit. You can see in the Action shaft (because of the cue chalk) that I tend not to rotate that cue and shot from the same side. I seem to rotate the Dufferin. <shrug> While both do have a dimple here and there from contact with the table, they are silky smooth. I also use a chalk bag on my bridge hand. Both cues are now basically "Dave Mason Customs". :D

As for a new extension for my woodworking biz, I doubt refurbishing cues will be a top priority, I do not have the specialized equipment to do this, nor the space to put any new equipment. I also suspect that there are a few established businesses that already do this, from my wanderings on the Internet. If I did pursue this, I'd have to do hundreds of hours of research on every aspect of the pool cue, learn the old school ways that they were made and repaired. That said, At least I know I can fix my own cues. :D

As of '05, Dufferin was purchased by an Amwrican company and the cues are made in China. That said, it does look like you can buy new 2 piece cues with wood to wood joints.

Dave, I doubt your Dufferin was a snooker cue. Snooker cues are usually ash shafts, smaller diameter than a pool cue, and often have brass ferrules. Do a youtube search on "Ronnie O'Sullivan"...to see snooker cues in action. He's generally recognized as the top snooker player.

You're in California, right? If so, I'd suggest being low key about your Ivory content.
Oregon & California have recently passed some strict laws on Ivory. The maker of highly prized "Gina" cues was recently busted by the feds for selling cues containing Ivory to some Asian guys who got caught by customs with them in their luggage. Ferrules made of Ivory may not be as strong as those made of other materials, so I'd suggest going easy when you break. 5/8"? The ferrules on my Josey are 7/8" long. Very generally speaking, the longer ferrules are used with maple shafts, while "low deflection" shafts use short ferrules. Many versions of "low deflection" shafts made by various manufacturers. The theory being when a shaft is laminated and light in the front there is less cue ball deflection when using English. Some players love the low deflection shafts, some don't. I tried one some years back and I couldn't see any real advantage and I didn't like the feel. Probably because I'm a terrible pool player, nowhere near a high skill level....and I hope to remain a bad pool player for years to come. ;)

Really, it's all a personal taste thing with cues. Cruise the various forums at AZBilliards.com, and you can read debates on joint styles, brands of cues, tips, shaft materials, you name it. Then keep in mind that Shane Van Boening, generally recognized as the best player in the USA, shoots with a Cuetec R360...one of the least expensive production cues. Yes, he gets paid to do so. To a huge extent, it's the indian, not the arrow when it comes to pool skill. That said, there are some awfully well made arrows out there. I'm pretty old school when it comes to what I like in a cue.

IF you can find an old Canadian 1 piece Dufferin that you like, there are cue makers and cue repair guys who can easily make it a 2 piece cue for you. China made cues are getting better, but they won't be the same as the old Dufferins made with hard rock Canadian maple. What you're thinking of does come up for sale on AZ Billiards for sale section from time to time. As Dave said, the Canadian Dufferins are no longer made.

A fun old ESPN video I lifted from AZB for you guys...and a warning. The woman player is Lori Shampo...she's gone now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDjOPnjEeOc

Paul,

You are right about the snooker cues, forgot they had brass ferrules. Just had a picture in my mind when typing that reminded me that they are usually shorter. I had to read up on deflection and you may have a point there... I will have to try both my cues and a bar cue, with a series of the same test and see if this is true. Might explain why I have been missing certain English shots with my Action cue. :D

I played a full game with my Dufferin tonight, but did not think to play with English, nor did I have a chance. The guy I was playing against was back. When I said above he is very good, I forgot to mention that he is a very good, technical player. Talked with him a little tonight about where he learned to play. He mentioned being taught by a hustler in New York who has passed on. Even though I lose, I really enjoy playing against him, makes me think and play better. He's a very nice guy. I will beat him! (beat him once) :D All in all, having fun, which is most important.

Thank's for the vid!