dr_dave said:

Which ones on the list do you think should be (or not be) allowed? Many of them seem like "ball fouls" to me.

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I think SJM stated it well. The other rules don’t strike people the same way. You are in the minority on that point. Most see a big difference between inadvertently touching a ball and those other rules. I know I do. I don’t think it is a great argument for your point, which has things in its favor.

I'll be the first to say that all of you can do whatever you want with your cues. After all, they're yours. But it kind of cracks me up when people freak out about using water on a shaft. I've been doing the method I described in my previous post for the better part of 30 years and have yet to have a shaft warp. It's not like I'm soaking the shaft in hot dish water. I'm literally wiping it off with a barely damp towel then immediately wiping that off with a dry one. Getting the towels, soaking, and wringing them takes longer than the wiping and drying part. Is 9000% IPA better? Of course. But, call me crazy, I don't really like carrying around a bottle of fuel that could potentially leak in my cue case or truck. The original poster asked about day to day cleaning, not deep cleaning. And that's how I clean my shafts when I'm at the pool room. If I'm at home and want to get the chalk dust out, I'll bust out the IPA, a magic eraser, some super high grit sandpaper, and a swatch of leather. Then I'll go to town on it until I'm satisfied or my arm gets tired.

Here's a fun one... I'm going to keep this pretty vague because I don't like naming names and this person's process might have changed since then. But maybe ten or fifteen years ago I was at a big pro tournament and decided to have my shafts cleaned by a very well known and respected cue repair guy and his working partner who is also very well known and respected. I watched as the working partner took my shaft, put it in the lathe, then pulled a rag out of a decent sized tub of soapy water. That rag was dripping wet. He proceeded to wrap the rag around the shaft and work it back and forth while occasionally dipping and wringing the rag in the soapy water. After that, he got out a magic eraser and some alcohol and proceeded with a deep clean. Both shafts turned out great and they're still straight.

Beautifully restored Brunswick , well worth your asking price. Shame I don't need another table.

Good luck with your sale.

straightline said:

Have no data on this but I gotta say wiping toward the joint will distribute chalk on the shaft.

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It might. The original poster asked about day to day cleaning and this type of cleaning isn't really about getting the all chalk dust and off. It's about getting any stickiness or gunk off to keep the shaft smooth and slick.

And I'll be the first to admit that my shafts are stained blue. It doesn't really bother me that much. Although, it does kind of bug me on the ferrules. Anyway, every once in a while I'll bust out the alcohol and magic eraser and get the chalk dust out of it as best I can.

A couple of McDermott vendors sell new, stripped-down H-Series cues for $550 (H517, last year anyway) $620 (H323 with G-Core not the i-2 shaft) and $680 (H554). I agree the eBay sale was a good deal. My guesses are that it is harder to get a fair value for H-Series cues that are practically new with the fancier work done on the "never-been-hit" $1400 models than it is for stripped-down H-series cues. Also, McDermott does not have the resale value anywhere near that of some custom cue builders.