Can old wood cues warp?

macneilb

macneilb

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Can Old Wood Cues Warp?

Pretty much what the question says. Can old wood cues like old school Titlists or Tru Balance conversions that are 60+ years old and have already been cut, warp if they are still currently straight? I tend to think they can, but I'm not sure since the wood has had such a long time to season and settle. It's hard to think that a cue that's stayed straight over 60 or 70 years of different temperatures/humidity levels can warp..but a cue maker I am not :rolleyes:. I'd like to hear some opinions on this from some of the experts :wink:
 
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old cues are more RESISTANT to warping , because all of the woods natural moisture (which is what causes the majority of expansion.contraction) has evaporated out . It is the same concept as seasoning firewood . You can bend a green twig , you'll snap a dry one . . . . :smile:

So a cue which is CARED FOR is unlikely to warp .

That being said , there are some situations which will still cause warpage :
1) climate change . Take a cue that has always lived in a nice , climate controlled poolroom , and ship it to the Philippines , where it will likely be kept in the naturally hot & humid environment , and it may take on a whole new shape as it absorbs the moisture from the air .

2) shipping . if they place another box against it creating pressure , and the non-climate controlled truck the goes thru a few day/night temperature cycles , the cue may take on a new shape as the wood expands & contracts for the first time in 70 yrs . . . .

3) abuse . Cues live in safes , wall racks , cue stands , or quality cases . They DO NOT lean against walls , get tossed on couches , or thrown in the closet . Disrespect them , and they will get their revenge !!

hope this helps !!:cool:
 
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yes

i do a lot of conversions using older one piece cues, most of the shafts i build are made from older one piece cues, a.e. smidt, older valleys, duferins and a lot of early brunswicks.
when i started doing this i thought i could cut the wood faster because of the age. boy, was i wrong. a 50 year old piece of wood can warp just as bad as a new kiln dried piece.

chuck
 
Can Old wood Cues warp?

An old cue wood has most of the moisture out of it. Moisture is the main contributor to warpage. Yes, an old cue can BE warped by pushing on the wood for a long time, but the resiliency of the old wood WILL spring back to its original shape over time.
I.M.O.
 
I have a lot of cues that are 50 to 100 years old. Generally, if they are straight, properly stored they will stay that way. Proper storage means a low humidity climate controlled environment (like a house), in a cue case protected from sunlight.

It is rare to find old cues that have not warped at least a little. They do exist, but most are at least slightly warped. Two piece cues fare the best. Cues that were stored in cases in a house tend to be the straightest. The one piece house cues are more prone to warpage. (longer pieces of wood are more likely to warp).

I am of the opinion that modern lumber processing is less prone to warpage than the older techniques. Now the lumber industry is more aware of the best stacking techniques and drying processes. Cue makers are adept at choosing quality wood and have better techniques for acclimating the wood.

For those reasons, I believe there are many of today's cues that will be still be reasonably straight in 50 or 100 years.

Chris
 
Technically, hardwoods come from the heartwood of a tree and, as such, are not "living" in that they are the part that gives the tree strength instead of growth. That said, wood is an organic material that is always impacted by changes in humidity and, to a lesser degree, temperature.

There is always a chance for things made from wood to change so, yes, it's possible for older cues to warp.

I'm not a cue maker but I am a woodworker and we're always building things in such a way that the changes to the wood won't cause a joint to become compromised. Example? I built a dining room table about 20 years ago. The person I was building it for wanted the top made from solid wood instead of plywood (it's much more stable but in their mind, means cheap). I had to figure out a way to attach the top to the legs to that it would last. Why? Because the table is 11/16 of an inch wider in the summer than it is in the winter due entirely to relative humidity. If I simply screwed the top to the leg assembly, something would give way. That's a huge change across a 40 inch span but absolutely in the correct range for red oak.

Brian in VA
 
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