Can a shaft be straightened?
- Thread starter MattS
- Start date
depends on how warped it is. most folks say you can hang 'em (put together so it's heavier), say in your closet. loop a rubberband around the ferrule and hang it in a climate-controlled place (closet anyone). maybe, just maybe, in a couple of months your shaft will straighten some.
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Shaft
My buddies Schon shaft warped. Not sure if it was left leaning or in his trunk too long. It had a major wobble. I tried hanging it for a month and it did nothing. I ended up rolling it to find the high spot and bent it in the opposite direction. Repeated till it was straight. It's still straight today, 2 years later. It's the only one I've messed with and it was probably a fluke, but it worked.
My buddies Schon shaft warped. Not sure if it was left leaning or in his trunk too long. It had a major wobble. I tried hanging it for a month and it did nothing. I ended up rolling it to find the high spot and bent it in the opposite direction. Repeated till it was straight. It's still straight today, 2 years later. It's the only one I've messed with and it was probably a fluke, but it worked.
I have attempted to straighten dozens of shafts through the years. I have only succeeded in straightening a handful of those that actually stayed straight. Bending like mentioned above works best with immediate sanding on the lathe afterwards. The easiest ones to straighten are those which have not been warped very long.
shaft straightening
Wood has a "memory" in my opinion. Every one that I have had luck straightening only lasted a short time. Eventually if the shaft is exposed to high humidity or very low humidity it will remember where it was and return to it's equilibrium state. I refuse to guarantee that I can straighten a shaft at this point. I am open to others experiences and techniques though.
Tom Gedris, Triple Cross Cues
Wood has a "memory" in my opinion. Every one that I have had luck straightening only lasted a short time. Eventually if the shaft is exposed to high humidity or very low humidity it will remember where it was and return to it's equilibrium state. I refuse to guarantee that I can straighten a shaft at this point. I am open to others experiences and techniques though.
Tom Gedris, Triple Cross Cues
IMHO if you expose any wood be it a board or a cue shaft to high humidity or heat it will move, and move back to where it was when in the controlled climate. This is the reason all cue shops should be climate controlled because 99% of the time you will be in a climate controlled pool hall/ bar when the cue is being used. As an example dried wood left outside in Florida in summer will rarely get below say 20% MC. Now go to the desert outside Vegas in July and the same wood might as low as 5% MC. And wood can be bent back to stay straight permanently. Think steam bending.TripXQ said:Wood has a "memory" in my opinion. Every one that I have had luck straightening only lasted a short time. Eventually if the shaft is exposed to high humidity or very low humidity it will remember where it was and return to it's equilibrium state. I refuse to guarantee that I can straighten a shaft at this point. I am open to others experiences and techniques though.
Tom Gedris, Triple Cross Cues
Over the years I've tryed heat, moisture, bending, hanging & others that I don't even remember. They all went south eventually...JER
Thanks
Thanks for the replies. I actualy was able to bend the shaft. Its not perfect but its good. Much better then before. I have not had a problem playing with it, warped or almost straight. I just didnt like it when I rlloed the cue ove my table. Now its hardley noticable.
Thanks for the replies. I actualy was able to bend the shaft. Its not perfect but its good. Much better then before. I have not had a problem playing with it, warped or almost straight. I just didnt like it when I rlloed the cue ove my table. Now its hardley noticable.