i need some advice. today, while playing, i dropped my cue and made 2 small dings in the shaft.i was told to wrap a wet paper towel around it and then use a hair dryer. that doesnt seem to be working. i hesitate about sanding on it. i cant really afford a repair man. any suggestions?
dings in my shaft
- Thread starter rbgarmon
- Start date
What I do is to lay the shaft over the bathroom sink with the ding facing up. Turn on the hot water as hot as it will go and dampen a folded washcloth. Take the washcloth and lay it over the ding for a couple of minutes. Repeat as needed. It may take 4 or 5 applications, but it will work. Then take a dry cotton towel and vigorously dry the shaft. This is a method that works for me. There are many others, but I prefer this one.
The guy that puts my tips on puts a drop of hot salt water on the ding and lets it sit. After serval minutes the wood swells and its gone. Of course he burnishes it after with leather...
I have lightly dampened a fine cloth, layed the shaft on ironing board, layed the cloth over the ding and put the steam iron on the cloth for a few seconds. Worked every time for me....
I have lightly dampened a fine cloth, layed the shaft on ironing board, layed the cloth over the ding and put the steam iron on the cloth for a few seconds. Worked every time for me....
rbgarmon said:
When you do get a nick, wet a small (BB sized) piece of tissue and apply it to the nick. Let it dry. On a deep nick, you may have to repeat this several times. Then use the side of a heavy glass or the bottom of a tablespoon to gently burnish the swollen portion of the wood until it blends in. You can remove almost any nick eventually with time and patience. Someone will tell you there are faster methods, but this always works and it is completely safe.
www.dzcues.com
This method works very well, and safely.
Good Rolls,
Rasta
Never been a fan of the glass method. In my opinion, it affects the area around the dent in a bad way if you are not careful. I have always had good luck with the balled up paper towel method and most success with the iron method.. I've just seen to many times where people used the glass method and pushed in the wood around the dented area giving them the illusion that the dent has been removed when really you just pushed the shaft in that area down and made it out of round. Take what you will out of this because I am certainly no expert.
Also try doing a search on here for dents or dings. It has been covered in much details in the past.
Also try doing a search on here for dents or dings. It has been covered in much details in the past.
NineBallNut said:Never been a fan of the glass method. In my opinion, it affects the area around the dent in a bad way if you are not careful. I have always had good luck with the balled up paper towel method and most success with the iron method.. I've just seen to many times where people used the glass method and pushed in the wood around the dented area giving them the illusion that the dent has been removed when really you just pushed the shaft in that area down and made it out of round. Take what you will out of this because I am certainly no expert.
Also try doing a search on here for dents or dings. It has been covered in much details in the past.
Using a glass is counter productive, unless the ding has already been removed by other methods, and the glass is being used lower the wood back to its original position relative to the rest of the shaft, which is preferable to sandpaper.
If the glass method is used before the dent is removed, it just makes the ding larger by pushing down the edges of the ding. It doesn't do anything to remove the ding.
Good Rolls,
Rasta
I agree with you, I was just stating that I've seen a lot of people mis-use that method and do more damage to the shaft.Rasta said:
nuke a wash rag
My shaft was looking a tad blue and the new microwave has a setting called "sensor reheat" I wanted to try. I dampened an old face towel and stuck it in the microwave. Just as the front window of the microwave fogged up my rag was done. A hot puppy, needed gloves or another rag to hold it. It cleaned my shaft pretty good, stripped the wax thoroughly, and took out some tiny dings. As expected the shaft did need burnishing afterwards.
Hu
My shaft was looking a tad blue and the new microwave has a setting called "sensor reheat" I wanted to try. I dampened an old face towel and stuck it in the microwave. Just as the front window of the microwave fogged up my rag was done. A hot puppy, needed gloves or another rag to hold it. It cleaned my shaft pretty good, stripped the wax thoroughly, and took out some tiny dings. As expected the shaft did need burnishing afterwards.
Hu
I prefer this method above all else, for anything less than a major ding.
Putting hot/damp towels around any areas beyond the ding will cause the wood to swell and possibly warp. By applying beads of water to only the affected part of the (dinged) shaft, you are able to control the expansion of the shaft wood. It takes a steadier hand and more patience, but it's easy, safe and saves you trouble in the long haul.
Putting hot/damp towels around any areas beyond the ding will cause the wood to swell and possibly warp. By applying beads of water to only the affected part of the (dinged) shaft, you are able to control the expansion of the shaft wood. It takes a steadier hand and more patience, but it's easy, safe and saves you trouble in the long haul.
Rasta said:
hardluckjones
Banned
rbgarmon said:
Step 1.
Take a paper towel and fold it several times until the width is just enough to cover the ding. Then completely saturate the paper towel with water. Wrap the paper towel around the shaft and secure it with a rubber band. Wait two hours.
Step 2.
Remove the paper towel from the shaft and put the shaft in a dry location for 24 hours. Then, using a piece of 600 or 800 grit sand paper, lightly sand the entire shaft.
Step 3.
Take a dollar bill (higher demoninations always seem to work better for me) and fold is twice. Rub the bill up and down the entire shaft until you feel "heat".
Step 4.
Put a small amount of cue wax on a paper towel and rub it up and down the, entire shaft again until you feel "heat". Now you're done.
If you can still feel the dings, start over at step 1 until the desired results are achived.
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Eye Dropper
I take an eye dropper and fill it with water that has just boiled. I then put a drop on the ding (it will spread a little but most of the drop stays on the ding if the shaft is on a relatively level surface) and wait about 5 minutes After 5 mins feel feel the ding and if it feels mushy, the wood has swelled enough. Let it dry and then sand the spot with extremely fine sand paper. Let it dry and then burnish. If the ding doesn't come out repeat the process. This method has worked for me every time.
I take an eye dropper and fill it with water that has just boiled. I then put a drop on the ding (it will spread a little but most of the drop stays on the ding if the shaft is on a relatively level surface) and wait about 5 minutes After 5 mins feel feel the ding and if it feels mushy, the wood has swelled enough. Let it dry and then sand the spot with extremely fine sand paper. Let it dry and then burnish. If the ding doesn't come out repeat the process. This method has worked for me every time.
hardluckjones
Banned
Buzzard said:
When matching up, I've used spit to get small dings out during the match.
Do these methods harm the glue in laminated shafts?
Might depend on the shaft. I'd wager that it's potentially harmful. Predator shafts shouldn't really even be burnished because it will affect the integrity of the glue, so I would try and avoid any water on the shaft unless it's clearly small and between the splices.
I wonder if Corey Harper can address this regarding the X-Shaft? Or if an OB-1 rep can do the same for their shaft? Thorsten, any ideas about the Universal Smart Shaft?
I wonder if Corey Harper can address this regarding the X-Shaft? Or if an OB-1 rep can do the same for their shaft? Thorsten, any ideas about the Universal Smart Shaft?
Tennesseejoe said:
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StevenPWaldon said:
I've done the iron method on a Predator 314 shaft w/o any problems. I'm sure there are some people out there that highly advise against it, but it was either play w/ a dinged shaft or buy a brand new one. Just heed caution and you'll be fine.
-Shane
Yeah, I've applied beads to one of my 314s on numerous accounts. I've got something like 15 shafts, and for whatever reason there is a particular Predator shaft that always manages to get dings... it's amazing. It's like people flock to my table to knock over my cue when that shaft is on!
Anyway, yeah. I've done it to Predators without problem. I figure if I can break with it, play with it, fly with it and cry with it then a little water won't hurt. Hopefully.
Anyway, yeah. I've done it to Predators without problem. I figure if I can break with it, play with it, fly with it and cry with it then a little water won't hurt. Hopefully.
ShaneS said:
dampen a very small piece of tissue with a tiny drop of water, apply pressure with tissure over dent for around 20 min, lightly sand the dent area, and repeat process till you are satisfied. After the 2 tries i could barely see the nick on my shaft and after 4-5 tries it wasnt there already.
ding remover
Put on a tea kettle full of water on the stove and bring it to a rapid boil till the steam shoots out. Hold the affected area of the shaft in the path of the steam about 4"to 6" away from the spout for about 30 seconds. Immediatly dry with clean white paper towel. Inspect area, and repeat if necessary. Finish drying with hair dryer. Set the shaft off to the side after its completely dry and let it return to room tempature. Then burinsh. This will completely remove most play dings in 1/2 the time and will not saturate the shaft with water.
If you want to do the whole shaft, use the magic eraser right after while
the shaft is still warm and moist from the steam.
Like magic, you will be amazed at how much chalk and dirt is released by steam first, especially if you use a magic eraser right after. Do not steam the ferrule,tip or laquered area above the joint. You can do the rest of the shaft like this and you're sure to be amazed., but be careful with steam! you can become severely burned by it.
Put on a tea kettle full of water on the stove and bring it to a rapid boil till the steam shoots out. Hold the affected area of the shaft in the path of the steam about 4"to 6" away from the spout for about 30 seconds. Immediatly dry with clean white paper towel. Inspect area, and repeat if necessary. Finish drying with hair dryer. Set the shaft off to the side after its completely dry and let it return to room tempature. Then burinsh. This will completely remove most play dings in 1/2 the time and will not saturate the shaft with water.
If you want to do the whole shaft, use the magic eraser right after while
the shaft is still warm and moist from the steam.
Like magic, you will be amazed at how much chalk and dirt is released by steam first, especially if you use a magic eraser right after. Do not steam the ferrule,tip or laquered area above the joint. You can do the rest of the shaft like this and you're sure to be amazed.
, but be careful with steam! you can become severely burned by it.