Can Ivory shrink?

Qjunkie

Qjunkie

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I sold a Mottey w/ a 5/16-14 piloted ivory joint to a friend of mine several months ago and last night at league he had difficulty screwing the shaft onto the butt. The shaft would thread on, then right when the brass insert of the shaft reaches the ivory, it becomes difficult to turn. The shaft will fully thread on but you have to apply additonal force not normally required. Should my friend be concerned? Is there a way to correct this?

Thanks in advance for your replies-

Mike
 
Qjunkie said:
I sold a Mottey w/ a 5/16-14 piloted ivory joint to a friend of mine several months ago and last night at league he had difficulty screwing the shaft onto the butt. The shaft would thread on, then right when the brass insert of the shaft reaches the ivory, it becomes difficult to turn. The shaft will fully thread on but you have to apply additonal force not normally required. Should my friend be concerned? Is there a way to correct this?

Thanks in advance for your replies-

Mike
Click to expand...
I take it the Ivory joint is capped(?). If it were mine, yes I would have concerns. The fix would involve trimming the brass just a fuzz. This should be done on a lathe, not by hand.

Be aware, if it is the Ivory that has shrunk and the brass is trimmed, if/when the Ivory expands to it's normal size, the brass might be a little loose in the pilot.

Thinking on it a little more: It could also be the joint screw has been bent. Best to take it to your local cue doctor and get them to check it out.
 
i'm pertty educated about elephant ivory, so what i'm telling you is factual not a guess. Until its about 30 years old it can have allsorts of problems like wood in a sence it shrinks and cracks in a dry inviroment like vegas ans swells in a humid enviroment, this is a problem with alot of ivory cues when they come to vegas they are fine for a few months and then you can rub your fingers over the inlays or twhere the shaft meets the ferrel and the elevations are different. I cant go into names but make sure who ever you buy ivory from is pre-ban ivory its seasoned enough that it wont change, I HAVE A SMALL 30 POUND TUSK WITH A HUGE CRACK ON IT 3" inches long sorry for caps. the ivory comming in now on C.I.T.E.S. permits(sport hunted elephants is too freash to be useable, I have about 450 pounds, but a good old school cue make like Ginacue or Tad knows better, I have been to Southwests shop and theit ivory is yellow on the outside when that happens its seasoned enough and white inside, if its white on the outside it wont be reliable enough for cues, so get pre ban only it costs more but it works.
 
Fatboy said:
i'm pertty educated about elephant ivory, so what i'm telling you is factual not a guess. Until its about 30 years old it can have allsorts of problems like wood in a sence it shrinks and cracks in a dry inviroment like vegas ans swells in a humid enviroment, this is a problem with alot of ivory cues when they come to vegas they are fine for a few months and then you can rub your fingers over the inlays or twhere the shaft meets the ferrel and the elevations are different. I cant go into names but make sure who ever you buy ivory from is pre-ban ivory its seasoned enough that it wont change, I HAVE A SMALL 30 POUND TUSK WITH A HUGE CRACK ON IT 3" inches long sorry for caps. the ivory comming in now on C.I.T.E.S. permits(sport hunted elephants is too freash to be useable, I have about 450 pounds, but a good old school cue make like Ginacue or Tad knows better, I have been to Southwests shop and theit ivory is yellow on the outside when that happens its seasoned enough and white inside, if its white on the outside it wont be reliable enough for cues, so get pre ban only it costs more but it works.
Click to expand...
I buy pre-ban ivory and it is yellow. The yellow is shellac I have been told. Once the shellac is removed it is more white than yellow, and thoughts? One other thing, I buy my ivory from a very reputable source. I received some ivory from someone that wanted some inlays cut. I know they just cut up the tusk before they sent it to me. When I cut ivory, I super glue it to a backing board and once the inlays are cut, I drop it into acetone, wait a few hours and all of the inlays fall off the board. I did notice the ivory soaked up some of the acetone and discolored it for a day...It then dried out, and looks normal now.
 
billiardbum said:
I buy pre-ban ivory and it is yellow. The yellow is shellac I have been told. Once the shellac is removed it is more white than yellow, and thoughts? One other thing, I buy my ivory from a very reputable source. I received some ivory from someone that wanted some inlays cut. I know they just cut up the tusk before they sent it to me. When I cut ivory, I super glue it to a backing board and once the inlays are cut, I drop it into acetone, wait a few hours and all of the inlays fall off the board. I did notice the ivory soaked up some of the acetone and discolored it for a day...It then dried out, and looks normal now.
Click to expand...
I do the same thing with inlays except that I bandsaw them off the substrate material...
 
I've also gotten material from someone who wanted me to use it for his cue. It didn't come from my normal, very established source. It was so raw it cracked trying to drill it out. I've done hundreds of joints and butt caps and had never cracked one before. I'll called my source and he said just what has been kicked around in this thread. Not properly aged ivory.
Fortunately for me the customer understood and payed for the replacement butt cap. I'll never again work ivory that I don't know the source of.
 
Fatboy said:
i'm pertty educated about elephant ivory, so what i'm telling you is factual not a guess. Until its about 30 years old it can have allsorts of problems like wood in a sence it shrinks and cracks in a dry inviroment like vegas ans swells in a humid enviroment, this is a problem with alot of ivory cues when they come to vegas they are fine for a few months and then you can rub your fingers over the inlays or twhere the shaft meets the ferrel and the elevations are different. I cant go into names but make sure who ever you buy ivory from is pre-ban ivory its seasoned enough that it wont change, I HAVE A SMALL 30 POUND TUSK WITH A HUGE CRACK ON IT 3" inches long sorry for caps. the ivory comming in now on C.I.T.E.S. permits(sport hunted elephants is too freash to be useable, I have about 450 pounds, but a good old school cue make like Ginacue or Tad knows better, I have been to Southwests shop and theit ivory is yellow on the outside when that happens its seasoned enough and white inside, if its white on the outside it wont be reliable enough for cues, so get pre ban only it costs more but it works.
Click to expand...
Are you selling? If so PM me prices on preban only.
 
Qjunkie said:
I sold a Mottey w/ a 5/16-14 piloted ivory joint to a friend of mine several months ago and last night at league he had difficulty screwing the shaft onto the butt. The shaft would thread on, then right when the brass insert of the shaft reaches the ivory, it becomes difficult to turn. The shaft will fully thread on but you have to apply additonal force not normally required. Should my friend be concerned? Is there a way to correct this?

Thanks in advance for your replies-

Mike
Click to expand...

Hello Mike, I would be very careful using the cue until it has been repaired. Because if you force the Brass insert into the Ivory joint you may crack it.

There are two things I would do, first of all, I would take the butt to a proficient cue maker or repairman and have the pilot hole slightly trimmed. Next I would try and determine, what caused the problem in the first place.
To this I would check the following:

1) How is the cue being stored? What type of case is used and where is the cue stored when not in use. Many people have very bad habits when it comes to storing their cues. Some people leave them in their car, non-temperature controlled garage, or even in closets with water heaters and such. Any cue should be kept in temperature controlled environment, but when you add Ivory, Metal ring work, or other materials that expand and contract at vastly different rates this is especially true.

2) If none of the above are true, then I would contact Paul Mottey, and he should take care of the problem for free.

Hope this helps, and have a great day!!!!!!!
 
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