Perils of leaving your cue in the car?

justadub

justadub

Rattling corners nightly
Silver Member
Hey gang, looking for real-world advice.

My 1st nice cue is due to arrive in a few days, and I want to make sure that I'm taking care of it as best possible. (Nuthin fancy by forum standards, but a couple-hundred dollar McDermott that I'm pretty excited to get. That's a big deal in my world!) My problem is that I work 35 miles away from home, and often have to go wherever I'm going to play, without the time to go home to pick up my cue. Thus I need to leave it in my car. I'd really rather not have to take it into work with me, and risk forgetting to take it with me when I leave.

Understand, I fully realize that temperature extremes are bad for cues. I get it. What I'd like to ask everyone here is what their real-world experience is with leaving their cues in their cars.

I live in Maine. It gets pretty cold in the winter, and for a couple of months in the summer it can get quite hot and humid as well. I guess I want to know how cold is too cold? 50 degress? freezing? Zero?

Similarly, how hot is too hot? 70 degrees? 80? 90? When it gets hot here, it is usually quite humid, not that fabled "dry heat" I hear about... :D

Have folks wrapped their cue case in a blanket and avoided trouble? Is there a style of case that is designed for these issues? Or perhaps an insulated box to put the case in?

I'm just a newbie in this pool world, hoping to tap the collective brilliance of the forum and maybe learn something, without having to learn it the hard way. :p Thanks in advance.
 
My $.02 -

Take it inside with you when you go to work. Believe me...having a new cue tends to take up some real estate in your brain. If you intend to go use it after work...I STRONGLY doubt you'll forget it in the office.

I've only kept a couple cues in the trunk of my car. Neither was expensive by any stretch. One was a Player's, and one was a Joss sneaky. Even in mid-Spring weather...both came out of the trunk looking more like a boomerang than a cue.

Put it in a decent case, and put that case on your desk / in your locker / close to your workspace. When the time comes to leave, and if you're headed out to play...you won't forget your McDermott. Your excitement about having the cue will prevent you from walking out of work without it in your hands.

Enjoy!!!

Mark <---knows McD has a lifetime warranty...but why risk it?
 
For the past 5 yrs at least, I've left my playing cues in the car 365 days per year. I lived in PA, where the temp goes from the single digits in the winter to over 100 in the summer.

I've never had a butt or shaft warp, never had finish problems. My butts were: custom Scruggs, Predator playing, and Predator breaking. My shafts were various Predator, and also a McDermott I-3 for about a year. I just put everything in my worn fabric case, and literally threw the cues in the backseat or the trunk.

Having your cues with you at all times is the most important thing, in my opinion.
 
Don't you have some place at work you could put it instead of your car?
 
iusedtoberich said:
For the past 5 yrs at least, I've left my playing cues in the car 365 days per year. I lived in PA, where the temp goes from the single digits in the winter to over 100 in the summer.

I've never had a butt or shaft warp, never had finish problems. My butts were: custom Scruggs, Predator playing, and Predator breaking. My shafts were various Predator, and also a McDermott I-3 for about a year. I just put everything in my worn fabric case, and literally threw the cues in the backseat or the trunk.

Having your cues with you at all times is the most important thing, in my opinion.
Click to expand...

ok so your the luckiest guy on the planet....where do i send the $100 for you to buy me some lottery tickets......

dont come on here saying that garbage making it out for someone to believe that leaving their cues in extreme temperatures can do it no harm

to the OP: Listen to the other guy BRING THE CUES INSIDE WITH YOU AT WORK

its better to be safe than sorry.

-Grey Ghost-
 
alstl said:
Don't you have some place at work you could put it instead of your car?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I could. Out of laziness, and fear of forgetfullness I'd rather not. And I don't really have a way to secure it at work, and though that shouldn't be a problem, things sometimes do get stolen anywhere.

Thanks for the responses so far, folks. Still looking for more "experiences"...
 
If you're still worried, leave yourself a note on the dash in the car.

A little piece of paper that says, "Got your cues ?" is all you need.
 
Have seen the good and the bad

I can give you a couple of diffrent senarios

Myself I carried my cues in my truck for weeks at a time and have had no problems , but they are in a hard tube case , Either an Instroke 2x4 hard case or a Porper 3 x 7 hard case and no problems , I would always lay the case flat on the floor under the back seat of my truck ( yeah I drive one of those redneck Rolls Royces lol) and living down on the Gulf Coast we see some extreme heat

My GFs son also was bad about leaving his cues in the truck he was using a 3 x 5 Joss soft case and would leave them leaning against the the seat in the passenger side floor board. first thing that happened was both cues in his case warped pretty bad i would guess from the heat and the position they were left in . after replacing 3 shafts he still did the same but this time with a hard case no warpage but his truck got broken into and bye bye cues

IMHO you are money ahead not leaving your cue in your vehichle just as a good habit , but if you forget and leave it in the car a day or two it shouldnt hurt anything but no guarntees on that

Good Shooting
 
Lance Link said:
If you're still worried, leave yourself a note on the dash in the car.

A little piece of paper that says, "Got your cues ?" is all you need.
Click to expand...

yea a little sticky note on the steering wheel, that and he could just get an aluminum style luggage case or a case with a lock......bring it in with him and pad lock the case to something lol.....i do it if thats what i had to do....just sayin....cuz the Grey Ghost dont leave them in the car......

I wouldn't leave my kids in the car and some of my cues I raised up since they were just square blocks of wood......couldn't leave my children in the car....

plus I know tons of people that have gotten their equipment jacked from the car....backseat, trunk it doesn't matter.

The car has 4 issues. Keeping them with you has no issues.

1)heat
2)cold
3)humidity
4)theives
 
justadub said:
Hey gang, looking for real-world advice.

My 1st nice cue is due to arrive in a few days, and I want to make sure that I'm taking care of it as best possible. (Nuthin fancy by forum standards, but a couple-hundred dollar McDermott that I'm pretty excited to get. That's a big deal in my world!) My problem is that I work 35 miles away from home, and often have to go wherever I'm going to play, without the time to go home to pick up my cue. Thus I need to leave it in my car. I'd really rather not have to take it into work with me, and risk forgetting to take it with me when I leave.

Understand, I fully realize that temperature extremes are bad for cues. I get it. What I'd like to ask everyone here is what their real-world experience is with leaving their cues in their cars.

I live in Maine. It gets pretty cold in the winter, and for a couple of months in the summer it can get quite hot and humid as well. I guess I want to know how cold is too cold? 50 degress? freezing? Zero?

Similarly, how hot is too hot? 70 degrees? 80? 90? When it gets hot here, it is usually quite humid, not that fabled "dry heat" I hear about... :D

Have folks wrapped their cue case in a blanket and avoided trouble? Is there a style of case that is designed for these issues? Or perhaps an insulated box to put the case in?

I'm just a newbie in this pool world, hoping to tap the collective brilliance of the forum and maybe learn something, without having to learn it the hard way. :p Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...



Leaving your cues in your car is like Smoking, you can have a major problem for doing it once or you could leave them there for 100 years and nothing serious will happen it is a total crap shoot.

The problem is if something does happen in many cases it isn't cheap to repair, now I am not going into all the things that can happen or even what causes these things to happen, but I will say the following.

There is no case, or other protection that is going to help for long exposure to Hot or Cold temperatures so don't do it, appreciate what you have and take care of it.

JIMO
 
I used to just take a piece of chalk out of my case and leave it on my driver's seat. If I forgot to take my cue case with me from work, I'd see the chalk and turn around and get it. If i had a bad day at work and I was REALLY distracted, I would realize I forgot my case when I sat on the dang thing.

It got so bad at work for a period of time that I'd be shooting on league night and I would hear two of my team mates say "Oh Paul had another crappy day at work, look at the chalk mark on his ass".
 
PaulieB said:
I used to just take a piece of chalk out of my case and leave it on my driver's seat. If I forgot to take my cue case with me from work, I'd see the chalk and turn around and get it. If i had a bad day at work and I was REALLY distracted, I would realize I forgot my case when I sat on the dang thing.

It got so bad at work for a period of time that I'd be shooting on league night and I would hear two of my team mates say "Oh Paul had another crappy day at work, look at the chalk mark on his ass".
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HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA lol......awesome story brother......

thats using your head? or maybe your butt i don't know lol:p
 
perils for ferrules...

I've been told by reliable sources that if you use ivory ferrules and they have been exposed to cold temps, it's important to let the ivory warm up prior to hitting as they may crack.

I know this prob isn't the case with your McDermott but I thought it worth mentioning.

And for the record, I agree 100% with those suggesting that you remove the cue from the car during hot or cold weather.

Best,
Brian kc
 
OK, I'm getting the message...:D

One of my original questions remains: how hot is too hot, and how cold is too cold? In other words, when is it OK to leave the cue in the car, and when should I be worried abut the temperature extremes?

Thanks again for all the advice.
 
justadub said:
OK, I'm getting the message...:D

One of my original questions remains: how hot is too hot, and how cold is too cold? In other words, when is it OK to leave the cue in the car, and when should I be worried abut the temperature extremes?

Thanks again for all the advice.
Click to expand...

Forget about the temperature variances part.

You have kids? Leave the cue(s) in your car for as long as you would leave your kids in the car.

That's a rule of thumb I think is probably pretty accurate for most cue nuts on here!! :) ;)
 
8-ball Rat said:
Forget about the temperature variances part.

You have kids? Leave the cue(s) in your car for as long as you would leave your kids in the car.

That's a rule of thumb I think is probably pretty accurate for most cue nuts on here!! :) ;)
Click to expand...

perfect advice rep to you
 
greyghost said:
ok so your the luckiest guy on the planet....where do i send the $100 for you to buy me some lottery tickets......

dont come on here saying that garbage making it out for someone to believe that leaving their cues in extreme temperatures can do it no harm

to the OP: Listen to the other guy BRING THE CUES INSIDE WITH YOU AT WORK

its better to be safe than sorry.

-Grey Ghost-
Click to expand...
I'm not gonna say it's not gonna hurt them. But mine have been in my truck for about 2 years every day. I go play when I get off work and that's where they stay. It might have something to do with the type of case I carry. Don't know but it's worked for me.
 
I gave my real world experience.

I know its not the best thing to leave cues in your car. In my personal situation, having them with me at all times was paramount.

Now, if I had a brand new custom butt, I wouldn't do that. My Scruggs was already beat up from years of play and needs a refinish, but it stayed straight during the whole time its been in the trunk.

I had a soft 1x2 case that I would stuff all my stuff into, sometimes 3 butts and 7 shafts. I just never had any issues.
 
I carry my cues in to my office and zip my car keys in the top pocket. Haven't left work without them yet!:thumbup:

I also keep a "bar beater" Joss/314 in my office in case I sleepwalk out of my house some morning.
 
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8-ball Rat said:
Forget about the temperature variances part.

You have kids? Leave the cue(s) in your car for as long as you would leave your kids in the car.

That's a rule of thumb I think is probably pretty accurate for most cue nuts on here!! :) ;)
Click to expand...

I agree. If it's too hot or cold in the car for you, then it's too hot or cold for the cue. I think it's OK to leave it in the car as long as it's not extreme temperatures (below freezing or above 80), but remember that the interior of a car gets much hotter than the ambient temperature outside. If it's over 70F outside, I would probably bring it inside.

This was a good question because I am confronted with the same thing occasionally. My concern is I work in a secured environment, and to me the appearance of a 1x1 cue case could raise some eyebrows or cause some security personnel to question. Ridiculous, I know. :rolleyes: :embarrassed2:
 
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