Bent joint pin

[oneshotwiss]

Here is my issue. If I roll my shaft it is dead straight. If I roll the butt it is dead straight. If I roll the cue when screwed together there is a wobble which leads me to believe that my joint pin is bent a little. It is a 5/16 x 14 stainless joint. My question is, can a bent joint pin be straightened?

 

[Dave38]

First, Pins don't bend unless a bad accident happened. That being said, when rolling just the butt section, does the pin wobble even the slightest while the forearm stays on the table at all times? If not, then it's not the pin. A bent pin will show up when doing this. Next look at the forearm and joint area of the butt while doing this, does it lift of the table as you roll it? It's common for a forearm to warp slightly and cause the shaft to lift off the table as you roll it. Please do all of this on a slate table. Then screw both shaft and butt together but leave about a 1/16th gap and roll them, does it show any signs it's not straight? then tighten them together and roll them. Then roll just the shaft by itself and see if anything looks warped. If the shaft looks fine by itself, but it's flopping about when screwed together tight, but not when done loosely, and the butt rolls true by itself, then it would be a joint facing issue, which can be fixed.
Hope this helps,
Dave

 

[Colonel]

1. Do you use J/P's
2. Are you one of those guys that puts their cue into their case upside down? I.E. Joint to bottom of case instead of bumper to bottom of case?

These 2 factors have led to most bent pins I've seen.

 

[cueman]

I would tend to think you need your joints faced off again instead of the pin replaced.

 

[Kim Bye]

IF it's the joint pin, straightening it out is next to impossible, it's much easier to change it.

 

[tsp&b]

Of course it is nearly impossible to give a definitive answer to the original question without being able to actually put your hands on the cue and personally inspect it. However, it has been my experience that in all probability Chris is correct and if the shaft and butt joint surfaces were faced off square the problem would likely be solved.

Todd

 

[KJ Cues]

IF it's the joint pin, straightening it out is next to impossible, it's much easier to change it.

"next to impossible" for the unimaginative. Actually, straightening a pin is quite easy.

"Whether you believe you can, or you believe you can't, you're right." Henry Ford

 

[HDR10]

Might not be bent. Could've been put in off center. Or the shaft drilled/threaded off center.

 

[Madrakr]

A decent lathe and a dial indicator will tell the tale.

 

[HawaiianEye]

Off-the-wall question for anybody.

If you have never dropped the cue or anything similar and the joint pin isn't bent, then how does the "facing" all of a sudden become off?

 

[Michael Webb]

Off-the-wall question for anybody.

If you have never dropped the cue or anything similar and the joint pin isn't bent, then how does the "facing" all of a sudden become off?

Chalk dust from a dirty case. I face a lot of cues with dirty joints.

Questn for the O.P.
Are you sure the butt didn't move? Roll the butt and look at the joint end and see if it lifts off the table.

As far as the pin itself. With the right set up. It is possible to straighten it, if it's actually bent.

 

[Dave38]

Off-the-wall question for anybody.

If you have never dropped the cue or anything similar and the joint pin isn't bent, then how does the "facing" all of a sudden become off?

Usually, from watching a lot of league players, they drop the shaft while putting the cue away and a week later are calling me to fix their 'warped' cue. Usually it has a gouge on the edge of the collar that disrupts the facing. Another reason can be that the joint collar has loosened, only about a half a turn and disturbs the facing. The other reason I see is humidity goes up or down and have seen cheap azz cues take a twist at the joint, then straighten out when the weather gets drier. Also the material the joint is made of can change shape as time and use goes by. Just like a lot of ferrule material will go out of round after some use.
But if the above doesn't apply, the forearm probably has moved and is making the whole cue roll bad.
Dave

 

[shakes]

I'm curious as to how you would fix a bent joint pin without replacing it. At least a steel pin. I wouldn't feel comfortable pushing on the pin hard enough to bend it back. Even if you reinforce the diameter of the cue with something like a hose clamp, you would still be pushing the pin into the wood tenon hard enough to compress that side of the ID. If you heat the pin enough to be able to bend it without those concerns I would be worried about compromising the strength of the adhesive you used to glue the pin in.

 

[Canadian cue]

Joint pins usually bend right at the joint face. To fix it I usually just hold the pin in a 5c collet and leave the cue stick out unsupported. When you rotate the cue the bend becomes obvious. You simply push the cue gently in the opposite direction of the bend. Put a dial on it and keep tweaking it until it runs good. This has been my experience.