HELP: Advice Needed for Cleaning-Up Old Cue

JessEm

JessEm

AzB Goldmember
Silver Member
I got this old cue from a friends' Grandfather. It's probably not extremely valuable, but its condition is sound, and has a surprisingly great feel. However, it's scuzzy, cruddy, and has light nicks and scratches. You can actually see in picture 3, where I scratched the scuz on the butt-sleeve with my fingernail...

Also, the shaft is toast so I need a replacement. (If anyone is up to the task, feel free to message me).

As for cleaning it up, I'm open to suggestions and advice.

My thought is to start by cleaning the wrap... The approach in mind involves going to town with a bucket of warm water, orange soap with pumice, and a tooth brush. Then a dry towel/fan.

Any thoughts are appreciated. I have most shop tools available to me, except a lathe. Including a 8" Baldor bench buffing wheel...
 

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ideologist

ideologist

I don't never exaggerate
Silver Member
DO NOT rub chemical abrasives or water on this.

You need a Magic Eraser and elbow grease.
95% or higher denatured alcohol, in very light amounts.
You need a lathe.
You need ultra-fine sandpaper and wood luster products.

A rag and a bucket are fine for a truck, not a vintage pool cue.
 
timothysoong

timothysoong

TS Billiards
Gold Member
Silver Member
Usually for dirty shafts, most people use magic eraser with denatured alcohol. Then ultra-fine sandpaper to flatten the raised pores.

But if you do like this cue, I would recommend sending this cue to "Proficient Billiards" and let Scott restore the cue fully for you.

You'll be surprised of how good this cue will look and play than in it's current state.
 
TATE

TATE

AzB Gold Mensch
Silver Member
This looks like an old Schmelke cue made to be labeled by Brunswick in the 1970's. It looks like zebrawood, which is a very stable exotic hardwood and was popular at the time. Value? not much at all. The wrap is not going to look great no matter what you do. Spending a few hundred to fix it up would be an act of love, but there's nothing wrong with that! I do it all the time.
 
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GoldCrown

GoldCrown

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
timothysoong said:
But if you do like this cue, I would recommend sending this cue to "Proficient Billiards" and let Scott restore the cue fully for you.

You'll be surprised of how good this cue will look and play than in it's current state.
Click to expand...

Agree. Send Scott a picture and ask for a rough estimate.
 
jviss

jviss

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
TATE said:
This looks like an old Schmelke cue made to be labeled by Brunswick in the 1970's. It looks like zebrawood, which is a very stable exotic hardwood and was popular at the time. Value? not much at all. The wrap is not going to look great no matter what you do. Spending a few hundred to fix it up would be an act of love, but there's nothing wrong with that! I do it all the time.
Click to expand...

If it's a Schmelke, might Dave Schmelke fix it up?
 
JessEm

JessEm

AzB Goldmember
Silver Member
I do have wood luster products, ultra fine sandpaper (everything up to 2000), and denatured alcohol. A magic eraser I can get...

I don't believe the shaft is worth saving...? It's pretty warped. It also looks like someone simply cutoff the ferrule, thus it's probably shorter, and the tip is wider than it should be.

Before I decided to DIY the clean-up, I did look into professional restoration, and the recommendations here for Scott at Proficient Billiards ARE indeed on par with what I found. Thank you. I'm just not looking to put a couple hundred into this. I'm already paying for a new shaft, and I assume shipping both ways on the joint, as it sits. I suspect this will bring me somewhere near its "break even" point, should I ever decide to sell.

However, the Schmelke suggestion is as informative as it is intriguing...

This just kinda a "fun" project, if you will. To see what I can do, and how she turns out... And if things go sideways, which is highly unlikely, I'm out nothing...

I'm confident I can do an acceptable job with a little guidance from AZ. :)

Appreciate the comments.
 
Pete

Pete

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I would post this in the cue makers section and have one of our fine cue makers (if you love this cue) clean it up for you.
 
TATE

TATE

AzB Gold Mensch
Silver Member
JessEm said:
I do have wood luster products, ultra fine sandpaper (everything up to 2000), and denatured alcohol. A magic eraser I can get...

I don't believe the shaft is worth saving...? It's pretty warped. It also looks like someone simply cutoff the ferrule, thus it's probably shorter, and the tip is wider than it should be.

Before I decided to DIY the clean-up, I did look into professional restoration, and the recommendations here for Scott at Proficient Billiards ARE indeed on par with what I found. Thank you. I'm just not looking to put a couple hundred into this. I'm already paying for a new shaft, and I assume shipping both ways on the joint, as it sits. I suspect this will bring me somewhere near its "break even" point, should I ever decide to sell.

However, the Schmelke suggestion is as informative as it is intriguing...

This just kinda a "fun" project, if you will. To see what I can do, and how she turns out... And if things go sideways, which is highly unlikely, I'm out nothing...

I'm confident I can do an acceptable job with a little guidance from AZ. :)

Appreciate the comments.
Click to expand...

You might want to find a spare shaft somewhere with a large enough diameter and have a local cue maker just reinstall the shaft end of the joint and turn it down- not a huge project. It should be threaded on or just glued on with a tenon and removable with a little heat. Spending $150 for a new shaft with joint adapted is a lot.
 
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JessEm

JessEm

AzB Goldmember
Silver Member
Pete said:
I would post this in the cue makers section and have one of our fine cue makers (if you love this cue) clean it up for you.
Click to expand...

I "like" the cue lol. I wouldn't hesitate spending a couple hundred for a second if this had sentimental value, but it does not... I would probably even have it professionally done *if* its resale value increased to at least cover the expense.. but I doubt this is the case.

Basically, this cue is nice enough, yet dingy enough, that it seems like a good candidate for a fun little DIY project... It's not like I'm attempting to work on a Balabushka or something lol
 
JessEm

JessEm

AzB Goldmember
Silver Member
TATE said:
You might want to find a spare shaft somewhere with a large enough diameter and have a local cue maker just reinstall the shaft end of the joint and turn it down- not a huge project. It should be threaded on or just glued on with a tenon and removable with a little heat. Spending $150 for a new shaft with joint adapted is a lot.
Click to expand...

Excellent suggestion! I have some old house cues that should fill the bill! :thumbup:
 
R

RogerO

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ideologist said:
Baldor also makes big stuff, no dentist uses an 8" wheel
Click to expand...

Don't be surprised if you find out that he works in a dental lab. The father of a friend of mine owned a small dental lab in CT and used such a buffing wheel for crowns and dentures. Father and son, both long since passed away, were both excellent pool players as well.

Roger
 
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