Can't keep threads tight.
- Thread starter PastPrime
- Start date
The facing of the shaft or butt aren't completely flat, causing the joint to vibrate apart when playing with it. Have a cuemaker with a lathe face off the joint, he should charge you $0-$5 and it should cure your problem right away.
Look at the facing of the shaft and butt to see inconsistent discoloration which will indicate a bad facing, I will post a picture shortly to show you where to look if you don't know where I'm talking about.
Look at the facing of the shaft and butt to see inconsistent discoloration which will indicate a bad facing, I will post a picture shortly to show you where to look if you don't know where I'm talking about.
Your cue should not come undone if the two faces at the end of the butt and the bottom of the shaft face each other flat and parallel, so the contact area is as wide as possible. If they don't, the joint will never be tight however hard you screw it.
Assuming your cue didn't sustain damage to the joint area, I suggest cleaning the faces with rubbing alcohol to make sure the faces aren't greasy or slippery. Also, I suggest you don't tighten the screw too much, or you'll end up damaging the threads over time.
If you want to check that the butt and shaft's contact faces touch nice and flush, make a small hole in a sheet of carbon paper, slip over the screw, mount the shaft and tighten a bit, then unmount and examine the paper: you should get a nice round mark. If not, your cue has a problem and you should probably have it checked by a professional.
Or, as a last option, if there's something wrong with your cue and it's not worth fixing, but you don't want to buy another, screw it together permanently with glue and carry it in a full length hard case (or make a hard case with a length of PVC tubing and foam).
Try the purple Loc-Tite......j/k......ask the makers is your best bet.
Is the shaft threaded directly ? Place a drop of water onto the wood threads if the shaft is threaded. This swells the wood a little and tightens the hole.
I don't believe this is good advice, if the threads are pulling tighter to one side or another then the cue might not roll straight. Same if water gets on the facing and makes it uneven, it might cause the cue to roll correctly and won't solve the "coming apart" issue.
Proved it....I have already performed this method and you?
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I'm not saying it doesn't work, all I'm saying is that it might not solve the issue and may cause another issue. And yes I have tried different things with different types of joints, worked making custom cues with Ariel Carmeli and Tim Padgett (who both use 3/8x10 joints) and for Predator Products for years when they switched to Uni-Loc joints and facings became an issue with cues coming apart after a couple of shots.
I'm more than open to learning something new but I also know that if facings are not exactly flat it will cause the cue not to roll straight and the joint will be more likely to come apart.
How could the facings all of a sudden become uneven.....ridiculous imo...moisture leaving the cue is more probable.
How many of us actually use joint protectors? Change in humidity and temperature cause wood and other materials to expand and contract at different rates, ever feel the inlays on your cue after leaving it in extreme heat or cold?
And again I am not saying what you are saying is wrong, all I am saying is the a non-flat facing is a more probable suspect.
Funny how people read information that isn't there
PastPrime didn't say anything about his cue coming unscrewed "all of the sudden". Maybe the problem has always been there and he's tired of it? or maybe he bought the cue very recently and it has a defect?
When I can't keep the threads tight I usually take a couple of Aleves, and that pretty much straightens me out.
However, if you're talking about cue joints then it depends on the type of pin. If it's a pin that screws into a bushing (5/16-14, uni-lock, etc.), check to see if the joint faces are square, and free of burrs, dents, and dings. If that's the problem, a qualified cue repair person can face them off in a lathe.
If the joint is 3/8-10, the wood threads in the shaft may have shrunk. A q-tip and a little water, swabbed onto the threads might help, but what I used to do was to hold the shaft joint end up, and fill the hole full with thin super-glue. Give it a few seconds to penetrate the wood, then pour it out and wipe off any access. Make sure the super-glue has cured before you screw the cue together or else you'll have a really pretty one-piece to show the guys at the pool-hall.
However, if you're talking about cue joints then it depends on the type of pin. If it's a pin that screws into a bushing (5/16-14, uni-lock, etc.), check to see if the joint faces are square, and free of burrs, dents, and dings. If that's the problem, a qualified cue repair person can face them off in a lathe.
If the joint is 3/8-10, the wood threads in the shaft may have shrunk. A q-tip and a little water, swabbed onto the threads might help, but what I used to do was to hold the shaft joint end up, and fill the hole full with thin super-glue. Give it a few seconds to penetrate the wood, then pour it out and wipe off any access. Make sure the super-glue has cured before you screw the cue together or else you'll have a really pretty one-piece to show the guys at the pool-hall.
Surprised no one mentioned this: I had a break cue with a 5/16-18 piloted joint. Great solid joint! But, after every one or two breaks the joint would loosen up. The problem? The joint screw was not firmly seated in the butt. Thus it was basically unscrewing a tiny bit each time. The solution was to have the cue maker fix the joint screw (not sure exactly how?)
Check to see if your joint screw looks a little longer than you remember.
KMRUNOUT
Check to see if your joint screw looks a little longer than you remember.
KMRUNOUT
He took it out, clean the threads, and re-glued it back.
I've used this Cue for about two years and it was like this from the start. It's perfect otherwise and I enjoy the hit I get with it so I'll keep on using it until I find a good mechanic and see what he says.
In the mean time I will try a little Teflon and see if that will hold for awhile. Thanks for all your suggestions, I appreciate you guys taking your time to try to help me.
PastPrime.
In the mean time I will try a little Teflon and see if that will hold for awhile. Thanks for all your suggestions, I appreciate you guys taking your time to try to help me.
PastPrime.