How to remove and re-install butt cap

Hey jayman, I don't know why you feel compelled to start swearing behind your keyboard...but your first post seemed unhelpful to me for several reasons. Firstly, if my friend is considering boring out the cue. Don't you think a simple idea like removing a weight bolt would have occurred to us? Why you feel that changing out the pin and joint sleeve are the most practical ways to go about lightening this cue is beyond me. Sure it's possible to do these modifications, but if you read my post, this cue belongs to a man who does things himself. It's his cue to do as he pleases and I'm trying to gather information so that he can either be compelled to leave the cue original or do it the best way possible. Suggesting to a man like this to just change out some ivory and g-10 as though it's some easy thing to do doesn't make sense to me.
 
Last edited:
JoeyInCali said:
1.3 to 1.4 oz for SS and brass 3/8.
G10 is wood weight.
Click to expand...

Yep, wood is a lot lighter than steel or brass. So is G10, I can easily lift a cubic foot of any wood, (50lb's?) But at at 494.21 lb's I'm not likely to lift a cubic foot of stainless steel or a 535.68 pound cubic foot of brass either. With a little thought a cue can be lightened up a hell of a lot usually. If the cue has enough value to be worth it then why not?
 
I sincerely apologize for being offensive, I will say I have had some cues that were very nice but way to heavy. With the help of a friend / cue-maker we were able to get them down to where i could enjoy playing with them and not just looking at them in my display case. It is a bit costly but so are a lot things that are important to us all. with some thought and ingenuity it is not particularly difficult.

Jayman
 
I don't think you are going to remove 2 oz's of weight by coring out the cue alone. That is why changing the joint material and pin were suggested. Besides, I would be concerned about effecting the integrity of the cue boring out that much wood.

Of course I am not a cue maker so you can ignore my opinion and carry on the path you choose.
 
jayman said:
I sincerely apologize for being offensive, I will say I have had some cues that were very nice but way to heavy. With the help of a friend / cue-maker we were able to get them down to where i could enjoy playing with them and not just looking at them in my display case. It is a bit costly but so are a lot things that are important to us all. with some thought and ingenuity it is not particularly difficult.

Jayman
Click to expand...

So, you think I've never weighed a joint collar???????

I have probably made more SS jointed cues than you own - I know how much
my joints collars weigh.

To clarify I use the vintage style thin walled SS joint collars like that guy George.

Dale
 
Last edited:
I would NOT recommend drilling/boring it out himself for the following reason, if it's a solid ebony butt, drilling or boring ebony without a gundrill with compressed airflow thru it will create a LOT of heat which when heated like that, ebony has a high tendency to crack. He may like to do things himself, but if the butt cracks, he will have destroyed a cue needlessly.
I wish him well with this project.
Dave
 
Why bother, sell the cue and get one that you like.

Some people like light cue some like heavy.

If you do this job yourself without experience you could be sorry.

JMO,

Rick
 
TwoRailDave said:
Hey jayman, I don't know why you feel compelled to start swearing behind your keyboard...but your first post seemed unhelpful to me for several reasons. Firstly, if my friend is considering boring out the cue. Don't you think a simple idea like removing a weight bolt would have occurred to us? Why you feel that changing out the pin and joint sleeve are the most practical ways to go about lightening this cue is beyond me. Sure it's possible to do these modifications, but if you read my post, this cue belongs to a man who does things himself. It's his cue to do as he pleases and I'm trying to gather information so that he can either be compelled to leave the cue original or do it the best way possible. Suggesting to a man like this to just change out some ivory and g-10 as though it's some easy thing to do doesn't make sense to me.
Click to expand...

Well,
"Hey jayman, I don't know why you feel compelled to start swearing behind your keyboard"

How else can I "swear in a chat room?

"Firstly, if my friend is considering boring out the cue. Don't you think a simple idea like removing a weight bolt would have occurred to us?"

It was included in a list of possible actions other than destroying a cue. I don't know you or have any idea what may or may not occur to you.

Sure it's possible to do these modifications, but if you read my post, this cue belongs to a man who does things himself. It's his cue to do as he pleases and I'm trying to gather information so that he can either be compelled to leave the cue original or do it the best way possible.

Offering other options that may not be in his range of ability is still an attempt to help him reach his ultimate goal. or at least understand what else could be done for future reference if he decides to take that rout.

Suggesting to a man like this to just change out some ivory and g-10 as though it's some easy thing to do doesn't make sense to me

I'm not surprised.
 
Tony_in_MD said:
I don't think you are going to remove 2 oz's of weight by coring out the cue alone. That is why changing the joint material and pin were suggested. Besides, I would be concerned about effecting the integrity of the cue boring out that much wood.

Of course I am not a cue maker so you can ignore my opinion and carry on the path you choose.
Click to expand...

The thing not considered in your advice is that this guy wants to do it himself. Your suggestions are probably one of the only ways he will get the weight where he wants it, but he will have to have a cuemaker do this for him.
 
This entire thread is ridiculous. It's like posting on a medical forum - hey doc, my tonsils are bothering me and I want to remove them myself; can I use a pair of pliers and a sewing needle to stitch it all up? It's that ridiculous.

The guy is going to screw the cue up. Instead of telling him how to do it, why not post why he can't do it and why he shouldn't do it.

Let me get back to what I wasn't doing.
 
TwoRailDave,

One thing that bugs me about this whole thread is that you ask for advice, then say, "But my friend is a DIY guy and wants to do it himself - he won't listen to you" more or less. NEVER have you said, "He asked me to inquire about the best way to do this."
You remind us that he is an experienced machinist and woodworker, so he doesn't want or need help. So if he won't listen to experienced experts in the field here, just what is the point?
My 2 cents,
Gary
 
Just because Dan wants to do it himself doesn't mean he won't listen to experts' opinion. And for the record, I don't want any modification done to this cue. I like cues and I respect the opinion of those who call for Dan to sell the cue and keep it original. That is my view as well. All I have said is that I wanted guys with experience to comment on the process. I'm going to show Dan this thread and that way he can see why experienced cuemakers feel what they do about this job. He doesn'tt need to see non-expert opinion. Sometimes it's difficult to know if someone actually knows what they are talking about. I already know that changing out a g-10 pin would be lighter. That also seems like a ridiculous thing to do to a McDaniel cue in my opinion but no one's saying anything about that. I looked up dry weight of macassar ebony and saw two sites saying it was 70 lbs per cubic foot. I realize that that is just an approximation, but lets use this figure for the purpose of this quick calculation. Let's say that Dan can save .4 oz. by using a wine cork instead of the rubber bumper and screw. If he bores a hole, he has options -he can replace the wine cork with a plug style bumper if desired, or he can refill the hole in the future. 70 lbs per cubic foot equates to .648 oz. per cubic inch. If he needs to lose another 1.6 oz., that means he needs to take out 2.47 cubic inches. If he bores out a half inch hole 12.5 inches long, that equates to a volume of 2.45 cubic inches and an approx. weight of 1.59 oz. and an overall weight loss of 1.99 oz. I realize that this hole is a little larger that a standard 3/8 weight bolt hole, but my point is, it seams like it can be done. A couple have said that ebony may crack without a gundrill. This is the kind of helpful info I am looking for. I welcome critical response, but I don't see why there has to be any negativity.
GBCues said:
TwoRailDave,

One thing that bugs me about this whole thread is that you ask for advice, then say, "But my friend is a DIY guy and wants to do it himself - he won't listen to you" more or less. NEVER have you said, "He asked me to inquire about the best way to do this."
You remind us that he is an experienced machinist and woodworker, so he doesn't want or need help. So if he won't listen to experienced experts in the field here, just what is the point?
My 2 cents,
Gary
Click to expand...
 
I'm not sure if I qualify as an expert or not. I have built about 25 cues so far, so maybe not. I have performed quite a bit of the type of work your friend is looking to do, so maybe.
Obviously, no competent cue repair person is going to feel comfortable advising a diy on this type of project. Having said that, there is no reason why your friend couldn't perform the work, especially if he has a machining background. I would be most concerned about the following issues:
Holding the cue in a way that doesn't damage it, but keeps it perfectly concentric to the hole.
and
As Dave said, keeping the wood from cracking. You are talking about drilling a very large hole in a finished cue. A 12.5" deep hole will get very hot very quickly.
Personally, if someone asked me to do this to their cue, I would refuse. I would be too concerned about ruining the cue. I am not trying to discourage anyone, and like I said, I may not qualify as an honest to god expert, but your friend should understand that even with the right equipment, there is still a chance of ruining the cue.

Hope this helps,
Josh
 
skins said:
I would consider George's SS joints thick walled... To me thin walled joints are reminiscent of the early brass joints..
Click to expand...

Then you consider incorrectly. He used a joint collar that was thinner than
those shown in the pics - at least on the 4 or 5 that I have seen up close and personal,
and the one I sorta owned for a month or 4, as do I.

Dale
 
Couldn't you just drill out a little bit at a time and break it up into separate sessions so it doesn't get too hot? And Josh thanks for your input.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top