If I do any sanding on a shaft, it's usually because it was either too fat, dirty and or grimy for my liking. At that point, I know I've removed whatever seal was there (assuming there was one).
If there are dings all over the shaft, I will run hot tap water over the entire shaft and expand the wood while I'm cleaning it. If only a few dings, I try to run the hot water just over those areas to focus the heat and keep it where needed to pull out the ding.
And depending on how blue the shaft is, I will use a household cleaning abrasive powder from under the sink, with water and a paper towel. Rinse, repeat, over and over again until a paper towel isn't pulling chalk dust off of the shaft anymore. , I will continue running warm water over the areas where there were dings and let the water pull and allow the wood to breathe a bit, until I'm convinced the shaft dings are gone.
Since I don't own a lathe, I will load the shaft onto a makeshift arbor/spindle that I use in a drill to provide rotation. I gently spin the shaft while sliding the 400 grit up and down the shaft to get to smoothness. After a little bit of that, I use 1200 grit and do the same thing, followed by leather burnish.
Once all of that is done and I'm happy with the outcome, I use a lacquer based sanding sealer made by Deft. The advantage of lacquer-based sealer is that it dries almost instantly and there is no long wait for it to dry or settle in. You can keep working on the shaft 5-10 minutes after sealing it. Some other sealers require longer wait time.
Then, I hand sand with some old "shaft papers" that I've had in my bag since the late 80's. The shaft papers I have are nothing more than washable, super-fine abrasive (2000 grit +) sheet's of plastic. You could use 2000 grit disposable sandpaper sheets with the same results.
My shafts feel and play great, and they stay that way under regular play without any further maintenance required. The occasional wipedown with a damp cloth is all that is really ever needed after that.
I have never warped a shaft with this process, nor do they end up collecting huge deposits of blue chalk dust over time.
I've never put wax on one of my cues.
If there are dings all over the shaft, I will run hot tap water over the entire shaft and expand the wood while I'm cleaning it. If only a few dings, I try to run the hot water just over those areas to focus the heat and keep it where needed to pull out the ding.
And depending on how blue the shaft is, I will use a household cleaning abrasive powder from under the sink, with water and a paper towel. Rinse, repeat, over and over again until a paper towel isn't pulling chalk dust off of the shaft anymore. , I will continue running warm water over the areas where there were dings and let the water pull and allow the wood to breathe a bit, until I'm convinced the shaft dings are gone.
Since I don't own a lathe, I will load the shaft onto a makeshift arbor/spindle that I use in a drill to provide rotation. I gently spin the shaft while sliding the 400 grit up and down the shaft to get to smoothness. After a little bit of that, I use 1200 grit and do the same thing, followed by leather burnish.
Once all of that is done and I'm happy with the outcome, I use a lacquer based sanding sealer made by Deft. The advantage of lacquer-based sealer is that it dries almost instantly and there is no long wait for it to dry or settle in. You can keep working on the shaft 5-10 minutes after sealing it. Some other sealers require longer wait time.
Then, I hand sand with some old "shaft papers" that I've had in my bag since the late 80's. The shaft papers I have are nothing more than washable, super-fine abrasive (2000 grit +) sheet's of plastic. You could use 2000 grit disposable sandpaper sheets with the same results.
My shafts feel and play great, and they stay that way under regular play without any further maintenance required. The occasional wipedown with a damp cloth is all that is really ever needed after that.
I have never warped a shaft with this process, nor do they end up collecting huge deposits of blue chalk dust over time.
I've never put wax on one of my cues.
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