learn from your mistakes

whammo57

whammo57

Kim Walker
Silver Member
I am learning from my mistakes. Boy am I learning!

I had a cue butt assembled and sanded and ready for the finish. I wanted to clean all the sanding dust off before the finish went on so I wiped it down with a paper towel with a little alcohol on it.

I did this on my last cue and it went very well. That cue was BEM and PH.

This cue was east indian rosewood and curly maple. It seems that the EIR has a purple oil in it. The alcohol dissolved the oil from the EIR and deposited into the curly maple. Now my curly maple has purple streaks instead of brown.

Chalk it up to "I'll never do that again"!!


Oh well.... you can't put a price on education.

Kim
 
whammo57 said:
I am learning from my mistakes. Boy am I learning!

I did this on my last cue and it went very well. That cue was BEM and PH.

This cue was east indian rosewood and curly maple. It seems that the EIR has a purple oil in it. The alcohol dissolved the oil from the EIR and deposited into the curly maple. Now my curly maple has purple streaks instead of brown.

Kim
Click to expand...

Your not the first one to make that mistake with oily woods.
A lot of people think if you wipe it down with alcohol or lacquer
thinner the finish will stick better. Actually you are wicking the oil
up to the surface. The better method is to have a good sealer ready to go
and as soon as you have your final sanding done immediately seal the wood.
 
QMAKER said:
Your not the first one to make that mistake with oily woods.
A lot of people think if you wipe it down with alcohol or lacquer
thinner the finish will stick better. Actually you are wicking the oil
up to the surface. The better method is to have a good sealer ready to go
and as soon as you have your final sanding done immediately seal the wood.
Click to expand...

Next time it wil be sealer.....

tks

Kim
 
whammo57 said:
Next time it wil be sealer.....

tks

Kim
Click to expand...

Whether it's a sealer or clearcoat, your 1st couple of coats should be light (more air- less paint). Otherwise oily woods like Cocobolo & other Rosewoods will run out on to the lighter wood, next to it. By the way, I always put a black ring seperating Maple & Rosewood...JER
 
BLACKHEARTCUES said:
Whether it's a sealer or clearcoat, your 1st couple of coats should be light (more air- less paint). Otherwise oily woods like Cocobolo & other Rosewoods will run out on to the lighter wood, next to it. By the way, I always put a black ring seperating Maple & Rosewood...JER
Click to expand...

Thanks.... that's good to know.

On to the next learning experience...

tks, Jer


Kim
 
cueman said:
I suggest using a gray or thinned out black stain and make the Maple gray and you will never notice the smear.
Click to expand...

That's an interesting idea. I might try that.

I might also screw it to the wall as a reminder how fast beauty and hard work can become a tent stake.

Now I get to this point.... if I finish it, I will forever know it is really a mistake and some day someone will point out that mistake. It's like foolish people that take videos of them selves in a compromising position and it comes back to haunt them 20 years later.

I am disappointed .... I think I will just cut my losses and start over. It's not like I had a million dollars invested.

tks Chris

Kim
 
I do that quite a bit. The difference being, I love the look of the maple with the rosewood tint. I've got a wood lathe that keeps a piece of rosewood in it. I'll spin it and hit it with some paper, grab the alcohol rag and rubbed it into the maple
 
sliprock said:
I do that quite a bit. The difference being, I love the look of the maple with the rosewood tint. I've got a wood lathe that keeps a piece of rosewood in it. I'll spin it and hit it with some paper, grab the alcohol rag and rubbed it into the maple
Click to expand...

I smell a "stab in the back" here.

point well taken

:wink:

Kim
 
whammo57 said:
Plan B is to put the finish on it and say I meant to do that!!

Kim
Click to expand...

Stain it to cover up the oops. I use air as the cue spins, then proceed with a brush on sealer.
EDIT: Let me clarify that after and as I sand I use air to blow dust off. Then brush on the sealer while the cue is not spinning.
 
Last edited:
Couldn't you give it a rosewood colored stain to make it all rosey? It may not be intentional, but you should be able to make it look 'right'.
 
sliprock said:
Not sure what you mean about a stab in the back. I wasn't trying to imply anything. Just saying that I prefer a little tint to the wood.
Click to expand...

I apologize if I mistook your comment for a joke.... I thought you were kidding.

Kim
 
If the cue is a commissioned piece I would start over or give the customer the option. Otherwise try to go on from there and see how it turns out. You can always screw it to a wall at a later time. You might just see something that you like by experimenting.
 
I finished it

Well I listened to all the advice and I thank you all for it. I decided to go ahead and finish the cue. It is for my grandson and he likes it. So I am a winner.

have a look

Kim
 

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Needo said:
That's some awesome curley. The cue design looks unique. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

That's because of the rosewood oil in the CM stripes. I t really did not turn out that bad. The only thing is that the brilliant colors of the rings and the paduak are subdued by the dark purple cast.

Kim
 
I did the same thing on a birdseye forearm. The brown from the rosewood points made the eyes darker and came out looking cool. After I screwed it up, a mentor friend of mine told me to hit it with air during sanding. When going from darker to lighter, it is important to blow your sandpaper.

Your result turned out nice. Good job.
 
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