As Cue makers, Craftsman or what ever you want to call yourself. CUEOLOGIST practicing the art of Cueology. How's that sound?
We search for our methods that we can be confident using and live by. It's not in stone because the search never ends. So with that being said, auto finish is great, but it really doesn't like wood. So just like UV finish, it needs a (buffer) if you will that likes and sticks to wood and that the finish will stick to that.
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Happy Cue making. There's no compromise. You either love it or you don't.
Bob Flynn who I bought several cues from prior to getting interested in building them myself used a tung oil finish and it looks pretty good hot off the press but is softer and ages less well than some others. One cue I have played lightly with over the years and the finish is getting milky looking. Another one I have played with a lot and it's beat to hell with what I consider normal use.
Bob is in his 80s now and as far as I know cancer free so did he make the right choice? HIs cues play really well BTW, he's the one who ultimately inspired me to build full core cues. Every time I shot with the cues he made I thought yes, this is the hit I like. Thanks Bob if you read this.
JC
Thanks for the compliment JC--much appreciated. Yes, I am 81 now and,
as far as I know, pretty healthy and use the treadmill and walk my dog several times a day. I still make cues, about 12 per year, and still use the
GUNSTOCK OIL finish I first used on guitars and then read that Kersenbock also used it. Figured if it was good enough for him its good enough for me. I like it because it is safe and durable. Although I have refined my methods over the years by laying down a undercoat of about
10 layers of this CA, sanding between layers. Its not as hard as autoclear coat but I dont have to spray anything and I (as far as I know) do not have cancer or any respitory problems. Another advantage of it is that it can be easily repaired by light sanding and wipe on Birchwood-Casey gunstock oil (Wallmart).