Can you straighten a warped shaft?.....Manwon can!

Seth C. said:
This is an old thread, but that's the point of my reviving it.

Did any of those who used Craig's method to successfully -- in the short term -- straighten a warped shaft find that -- over the long term -- the shaft stayed straight?

Not being skeptical here at all. Purely interested in hearing about the long-term outcomes. Thanks in advance.
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I was the original poster & all the shafts are as good as they were when he straightened them out.
 
When I was a kid long before anybody ever heard of a metal bat we used to nail and duct tape our baseball bat when it broke. We also used tape on baseballs after the cover came off.

It was better than no bat or ball but not as good as the original.
 
Great Guy and Great Info

Craig is one of the very few that under advertise and deliver far more than promised!

As he stated the key is what is the wood's natural state. A lot of wood, even good looking wood, should never be shaft wood. Even after babying it along and turning it slowly to size over years it still wants to warp. This very dry maple makes pretty good kindling.

Which brings us to the point Craig mentioned several times, why the wood is warped is key. If it warped due to stress, abuse of some kind, there is a very good chance it can be straightened and stay straight. If it warped due to stress relief, it returned to it's natural state, it will probably always have a tendency to warp. Beating a dead horse to keep straightening it. I have a playing shaft I use down here in a very humid climate that warps very slightly with the seasons and straightens back out on it's own when cool dryer weather returns. I just let it do it's thing.

Never hurts to try straightening a shaft once or twice but if it warps over and over it is likely that is it's natural state. A good woodworking forum might give you some ideas about dealing with that but the shaft is going to be out of action for a long long time or some pretty fancy equipment is going to be needed. After all of that, the shaft may still warp. A shaft is unique in woodworking in that we are asking a piece of wood to stay straight without support while abusing it with just normal use. The beating is one thing, the atmosphere inside pool halls and bars another.

Hu
 
* That was a real cool post Craig. Found it shortly after I joined. Nice to see it revived. Allot of nice 'old' Meucci's in closets due to shafts that can be remedied.

1st tried, practiced on a few of some of my old personal shafts I had stashed. They were tight grain, honey beauties in pretty bad shape and Craig's technique worked and they are still straight as are 80% + the 25-30 I have done for friends.

I keep them hung in closet tip up for day's between work with a little weight screwed in joint.

It's like 'magic' :groucho:

Happy Holiday's

-Kat,
 
Dave-Kat said:
* That was a real cool post Craig. Found it shortly after I joined. Nice to see it revived. Allot of nice 'old' Meucci's in closets due to shafts that can be remedied.

1st tried, practiced on a few of some of my old personal shafts I had stashed. They were tight grain, honey beauties in pretty bad shape and Craig's technique worked and they are still straight as are 80% + the 25-30 I have done for friends.

I keep them hung in closet tip up for day's between work with a little weight screwed in joint.

It's like 'magic' :groucho:

Happy Holiday's

-Kat,
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Thanks to all who have replied with their updates.

Kat — How do you hang the shafts? Meaning, what do you connect to the tip end and how do you connect it, in order to have the shaft hang straight down? I haven’t experimented but it seems to me that using a piece of string would cause the shaft to hang at a slight angle.

Thanks.
 
I use the rubber 'split' cue holders zip tied to closet rod. Cheap, soft rubber clamp with eyelet at top is what they are. Perfect and cheap.

Bought 3 of them 4 or 5 years ago. Just looked on eBay and here is what one vendor is selling and calling them. Copy and paste to see. Think some of the cue suppliers have them as well here in States.


Universal Billiard Cue Tip Protector Hang Hanging Rubber Long Clamp Holder


Have a good day,

-Kat,
 
Dave-Kat said:
I use the rubber 'split' cue holders zip tied to closet rod. Cheap, soft rubber clamp with eyelet at top is what they are. Perfect and cheap.

Bought 3 of them 4 or 5 years ago. Just looked on eBay and here is what one vendor is selling and calling them. Copy and paste to see. Think some of the cue suppliers have them as well here in States.


Universal Billiard Cue Tip Protector Hang Hanging Rubber Long Clamp Holder


Have a good day,

-Kat,
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Thanks very much. Seth.
 
OKAY!!!! I'm sure that I'm an IDIOT! But I've tied this on 4 shafts and it doesn't work at all. I know that it's me. I know that I'm doing something wrong. Can somebody PLEASE post a video. I want to do it right. I have 70 cue sticks and about 30 have a "taper roll". I'd like to straighten them. But this hasn't worked. I know that it's me. It's not these instructions. Anyone have a video of their process? I WANT THIS TO WORK!
 
thrillsoft said:
OKAY!!!! I'm sure that I'm an IDIOT! But I've tied this on 4 shafts and it doesn't work at all. I know that it's me. I know that I'm doing something wrong. Can somebody PLEASE post a video. I want to do it right. I have 70 cue sticks and about 30 have a "taper roll". I'd like to straighten them. But this hasn't worked. I know that it's me. It's not these instructions. Anyone have a video of their process? I WANT THIS TO WORK!
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The best you can do is store your cues and shafts in a case, standing upright. Other than that, most warped shafts cannot be straightened. There are some methods that may seem to do some good, but in the end, the wood is warped, and will continue to that warped shape. It's a natural material, and it's not perfect.
 
manwon said:
Ok as promised this is the method I was taught to straighten a shaft, be prepared it's long post:

“How to straighten a pool cue shaft”


First let me say all warped shafts can not be straightened, the following points of interest are things that may point to internal stress in the wood that has not been relieved, or methods of poor handling that can result in a shaft causing stress to wood objects. However, all or none of what I have listed below could have been the cause of a shaft warping. Shafts warp due to wood that has not been properly stress relieved. Now this internal stress can be natural which is normal for all wood once it is cut and when it is being processed. Or it can be man made by abuse or by improper handling / treatment of the wood by some one using one of the following methods.


1. Turned to finished size to fast. (Such as taking a 1 inch dowel and turning it to finished size in a afternoon)

2. Shafts that have excessive non-straight grain. (Sometimes this can be used to identify a problem and sometimes shafts like this will stay straight forever)

3. Shafts that have been exposed to unstable conditions such as, high temperatures or low temperatures. ( Leaving your cue in your automobile summer and winter can cause a shaft to warp, along with many other problems, but wood is wood and sometimes this will not have an effect concerning a shaft warping. However, it will cause expanding and contraction that will cause inlays to pop, materials to expand or to shrink which will cause many types of damage.)

4. Shafts that were exposed to excessive amounts of moisture for extended periods of time. (This is very easy to understand keep all items that are made from wood dry, moisture will cause swelling and as it dries shrinkage which in most cases will damage any pool cue.)


Things you will need to straighten a shaft:

1. Lead Pencil
2. Flat Surface
3. A single burner Electric Stove
4. A method to hang the shaft with the cues butt attached
5. A method or device that you can use to bend the shaft


The first step to making a warped shaft straight again is finding the highest point of the warp. Now keep this in mind, in some cases when a shaft warps the internal stress will cause it to bend at more than a single location, so you will have to fix one bend at a time. I have seen and fixed shafts that had multiple bends ( 3 or 4) and while this seems like a situation where a shaft can not be fixed that is not always the case, so the key is patients, this is something you will need a lot of LOL. The best way to find the high point is to roll the shaft on a flat level surface such as a pool table, but any flat surface will work. Now this is not the method I would use to check a shaft for straightness, I would recommend placing the shaft between centers on a lathe and spinning it, then using a dial indicator to determine how much movement there is. But most do not have a lathe so rolling the shaft on a flat surface is an alternate method that anyone can do to find the high point of the warp. Next mark the high point of the warp with a pencil so that you can find it before you make your first bend of the shaft ( The first bend should be done without heat so I call it a Cold Bend)

Once you have found the high point of the shaft and marked it you are ready to make your first bend. Hold the shaft flat to the surface you are bending it upon and lift up on the joint side of the shaft, holding the marked area flat to the table. Then roll the shaft and see if the marked high point is still the high point. In many cases it will move a little because what you thought was the high point may not have been, or there may have been more than a single area that warped. It may take a couple of bends until you get the shaft as straight as possible bending it cold, then hang the shaft with or without the butt attached for 24 to 48 hour’s.

After it has hung for one of the times listed above check the shaft for straightness and to see if any of the original warp may have returned. Either way it is time to roll the shaft and again find the high point and mark it with a pencil. Then heat up your single burner electric stove, when it is fully heated holding the shaft about 2 to 3 inches from the mark on both sides place the marked area above the coil of the electric single burner stove, and keep the shaft a good distance away from burner so that it does not mark the shaft. If you are too close you will know it because it will burn your hands, that is why you are holding it two to three inches on either side of the mark. When the wood and your hands start to get warm place the shaft on the flat surface and bend it again. Again this may take a couple of times but the shaft should straighten out for the most part at this time then hang it again for 24 to 48 hour’s. After that time has passed again check the shaft by rolling it on the same flat surface you have been using to check and see if the warp has returned.

If there has been any movement, again mark the high point and get out your Electric stove and heat the shaft as mentioned before, At this point after a few bends along with heating the shaft it should be straight, but to be on the safe side again hang it for a minimum of 24 hour’s. If the wood doesn’t move your good to go, if it moves at this point it is most likely the best it will ever get and to my knowledge there is nothing else that can be done to correct the problem.

I hope this helps
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I like it! I was (and still am) very good at removing small dents from a shaft. I use a wet cloth and a hot iron. Then a light sanding will finish the job. Pretty much works on any wood shaft. Sharp dents are very hard to remove completely, but I can at least minimize them.
 
jay helfert said:
I like it! I was (and still am) very good at removing small dents from a shaft. I use a wet cloth and a hot iron. Then a light sanding will finish the job. Pretty much works on any wood shaft. Sharp dents are very hard to remove completely, but I can at least minimize them.
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Sharp dents are very difficult to remove without sanding. But for the most part a wet cloth and hot iron will work very well the heat and the moisture will raise the grain. It’s the same technique I used to use to remove a warp in a shaft. I’m really glad it worked for you. Thanks a lot for the post..
 
thrillsoft said:
OKAY!!!! I'm sure that I'm an IDIOT! But I've tied this on 4 shafts and it doesn't work at all. I know that it's me. I know that I'm doing something wrong. Can somebody PLEASE post a video. I want to do it right. I have 70 cue sticks and about 30 have a "taper roll". I'd like to straighten them. But this hasn't worked. I know that it's me. It's not these instructions. Anyone have a video of their process? I WANT THIS TO WORK!
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Unfortunately, I never made a video of how to do it. My explanation is all there is, I just reviewed it, and I didn’t leave anything out so I really don’t know where you’re going wrong. How many different shafts have you tried to do this on?

Unfortunately, I don’t know what else to tell you I sold my business. I don’t work on cues anymore so all I can say is I hope you figure it out if you have any questions specifically send me a PM and I’ll answer your questions to the best of my ability.
 
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manwon said:
Unfortunately, I never made a video of how to do it. My explanation is all there is, I just reviewed it, but I didn’t leave anything out so I really don’t know where you’re going wrong. How many different shafts have you tried to do this?

Unfortunately, I don’t know what else to tell you I sold my business. I don’t work on cues anymore so all I can say is I hope you figure it out if you have any questions specifically send me a PM and I’ll answer your questions to the best of my ability.
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When I was a kid my grandfather taught me how to bend planks to make wood forms for concrete. He made all the walkways and walls for the beautiful gardens that surrounded the house I grew up in. That was softwood, and it was for temporary use.

Woodworkers, craftsmen, and artists steam and bend hardwood regularly, and accurately. It can be done on small scale, or on large scale to produce curved architectural beams using large hydraulic machines to bend the steamed wood accurately.

I have no doubt that with diligent practice manwon got his process down to a good degree of accuracy and reliability.
 
manwon said:
Unfortunately, I never made a video of how to do it. My explanation is all there is, I just reviewed it, but I didn’t leave anything out so I really don’t know where you’re going wrong. How many different shafts have you tried to do this?

Unfortunately, I don’t know what else to tell you I sold my business. I don’t work on cues anymore so all I can say is I hope you figure it out if you have any questions specifically send me a PM and I’ll answer your questions to the best of my ability.
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Nice to see you posting again.
 
Chopdoc said:
When I was a kid my grandfather taught me how to bend planks to make wood forms for concrete. He made all the walkways and walls for the beautiful gardens that surrounded the house I grew up in. That was softwood, and it was for temporary use.

Woodworkers, craftsmen, and artists steam and bend hardwood regularly, and accurately. It can be done on small scale, or on large scale to produce curved architectural beams using large hydraulic machines to bend the steamed wood accurately.

I have no doubt that with diligent practice manwon got his process down to a good degree of accuracy and reliability.
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DOC, I was taught how to do it by a Luthier, the gentleman was in his 70s when he taught me. If done correctly and depending upon the quality of the wood, the straightening of the shaft will be permanent 90% of the time. Some have.already commented that it's not possible, all I can say to them is ignorance is bliss because they have no idea what the hell they're talking about.

Thanks for your kind words, Doc
 
jay helfert said:
I like it! I was (and still am) very good at removing small dents from a shaft. I use a wet cloth and a hot iron. Then a light sanding will finish the job. Pretty much works on any wood shaft. Sharp dents are very hard to remove completely, but I can at least minimize them.
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I use a tea pot on the stove. When it starts to whistle I pass the dented area thru the steam, wait a few minutes then lightly sand with 1000 grit. If the dent is still there I will pass it thru the steam another time or 2, until its nice and smooth.
 
I have a 1 piece Brunswick cue that was part of the new purchase of my GCI back in 1971, I wouldn't call it warped, it had a turn. If you laid it on the table the tip raised up at least 4" over the last 12" of the cue. I stuck the cue in a knot hole of a rafter over my table with the the butt end curving upwards. I would check for changes every few weeks. Gradually the turn turned into a warp, I would adjust the position of the cue as needed to keep the maximum upward curve. After about a year plus or minus a couple of months it is reasonably straight. I may leave it alone now or maybe continue to try to straighten it more. The tip only raises an 1/8" to 1/4" now, I will have to check and see if it is still moving. :) :)
 
Wow, it's amazing. This old resurrected thread is doing pretty good after all these years I'm glad so many people have had success with my technique that makes everything worth it..

If anyone is having problems using my technique, send me a PM I may be able to help you figure out what is going wrong.
 
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