Changing the balance of a cue

W

will14.1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi I have a Schon cue that I like in almost every aspect - thinner butt than some cues, ss joint, crisp/firm hit, pretty design - only thing is it's kinda butt heavy. Is there any way for someone to modify it so that it is more forward balanced? It doesn't appear to have an easily removable weight bolt. I know it probably won't be cheap, but I'm hoping it's less than buying a new cue.

Thanks in advance,
Will
 
I just had a customer with the same issue. If it does have a weight bolt start with that. It shouldn't be hard to remove.

Rich
 
Have a custom shaft made for your cue that is heavier. It will help pull the weight forward with not a lot of work to the butt. Weigh your shaft and talk to a qualified cue maker, and see if he has some heavier shafts that can help you do this with.
 
If changing or removing the weight bolt doesn't do it for you, I recommend calling Paul Drexler at PFD Studios. He is thoroughly familiar with changing the weight and/or balance point on a cue.

Jay
 
Thanks for the feedback, guys. As best I understand the cue doesn't have a weight bolt that is simple to remove. The heavier shaft idea is a good one, but I'm not keen on making the cue heaver - in fact lighter would be better.

Any other advice/solutions are welcome.
 
Your first objective would be to replace the wght.blt to one that is lighter.
Schon has an optional alum wght.blt that may suit you better as to balance.
Removing a Schon wght.blt can be tricky, some are glued in at the factory.
Schon is one of several cues that you DO NOT want to run without a bolt.
The bolt is a necessary component to securing the butt-cap.
At any rate, replacing the bolt may be above your skill level.
For the sake of the cue and your peace of mind, take the cue to a competent
C-Tec for the weight adjustment.
Given things I've seen, I can't overstress the competent part.

HTHs, KJ
 
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will14.1 said:
Hi I have a Schon cue that I like in almost every aspect - thinner butt than some cues, ss joint, crisp/firm hit, pretty design - only thing is it's kinda butt heavy. Is there any way for someone to modify it so that it is more forward balanced? It doesn't appear to have an easily removable weight bolt. I know it probably won't be cheap, but I'm hoping it's less than buying a new cue.

Thanks in advance,
Will
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will14.1 said:
Thanks for the feedback, guys. As best I understand the cue doesn't have a weight bolt that is simple to remove. The heavier shaft idea is a good one, but I'm not keen on making the cue heaver - in fact lighter would be better.

Any other advice/solutions are welcome.
Click to expand...

The reason the weight bolt is hard to remove is that it's epoxied in. To check whether or not the weight bolt can be changed is to remove the bumper. Next take a small round refrigerator style magnet. Does it stick to the weight bold? If yes, it's steel and can be changed to an aluminum one. If no, then you already have an aluminum bolt. The question then is whether it's a long bolt or short bolt. Either way you probably won't be able to lose enough weight if it's already aluminum.

You can do the work at home if you've worked with epoxy enough. Otherwise just have a competent repair man do it. It'll take him longer to mix the epoxy than it will take him to actually remove the bolt.
 
Hits 'em Hard said:
You can do the work at home if you've worked with epoxy enough. Otherwise just have a competent repair man do it. It'll take him longer to mix the epoxy than it will take him to actually remove the bolt.
Click to expand...

What epoxy mixing????
Are you under the impression that a C-Tec would re-epoxy the bolt in place?
Not going to happen.
Schon does it so that people without a clue won't ruin their cue.
 
KJ Cues said:
What epoxy mixing????
Are you under the impression that a C-Tec would re-epoxy the bolt in place?
Not going to happen.
Schon does it so that people without a clue won't ruin their cue.
Click to expand...

If that epoxied in bolt is designed to hold the butt cap on, then only a careless repairman would allow a non epoxied in bolt to be given back to the customer. It's easy enough to find out how to break loose epoxy. If someone is bringing me their cue to change out an epoxied in weight bolt, they probably don't have the weight bolt themselves and have no clue what they're doing in the first place. Do I want to be liable for not putting something back as it was then having the customer break something because he was ****ing around? Something I could of prevented by not being lazy.
 
Stop trying to turn chicken shit into chicken salad.......it will never taste good no matter how nice your dress it up.

Sell your cue and find one that meets your preferences.
If you want a lighter cue, buy one.....neutral. forward, butt heavy....thin shafts or thick shafts....screw the design issues.
Go find one you like and then sell your cue......it will never taste like real chicken salad does or otherwise, you'll never truly be happy.....just settling.

Matt
 
Hits 'em Hard said:
The reason the weight bolt is hard to remove is that it's epoxied in. To check whether or not the weight bolt can be changed is to remove the bumper. Next take a small round refrigerator style magnet. Does it stick to the weight bold? If yes, it's steel and can be changed to an aluminum one. If no, then you already have an aluminum bolt. The question then is whether it's a long bolt or short bolt. Either way you probably won't be able to lose enough weight if it's already aluminum.

You can do the work at home if you've worked with epoxy enough. Otherwise just have a competent repair man do it. It'll take him longer to mix the epoxy than it will take him to actually remove the bolt.
Click to expand...

Just a small detail to point out - if the weight bolt is stainless steel, the magnet won't stick either.

Gary
 
GBCues said:
Just a small detail to point out - if the weight bolt is stainless steel, the magnet won't stick either.

Gary
Click to expand...

I have never heard of any type of steel being non magnetic. Steel itself is a ferrous material, the plating on top of the steel should have no effect on its magnetic properties.

Anyone able to confirm this? I can't.
 
Hits 'em Hard said:
I have never heard of any type of steel being non magnetic. Steel itself is a ferrous material, the plating on top of the steel should have no effect on its magnetic properties.

Anyone able to confirm this? I can't.
Click to expand...

Stainless Steel is not just steel that is plated. Most stainless materials have a higher amount of Chromium and much lower amounts of iron, so they are not considered to be magnetic.

Royce
 
Hits 'em Hard said:
If that epoxied in bolt is designed to hold the butt cap on, then only a careless repairman would allow a non epoxied in bolt to be given back to the customer. It's easy enough to find out how to break loose epoxy. If someone is bringing me their cue to change out an epoxied in weight bolt, they probably don't have the weight bolt themselves and have no clue what they're doing in the first place. Do I want to be liable for not putting something back as it was then having the customer break something because he was ****ing around? Something I could of prevented by not being lazy.
Click to expand...

Interesting that you would suggest that those that don't epoxy the threaded wght-blt in place
are lazy and that to epoxy the wght-blt in place was necessary to secure the butt-cap.
Hopefully, I've captured the gist of your statement.
In my post I stated that there are several cue manufacturers that utilize the wght-blt as
a component in securing the butt-cap, most notably would be McDermott (as well as others).
No other manufacturer uses epoxy in setting the wght-blt, only Schon.
May we conclude from your statement that McDermott, the world's largest cue manufacturer
by volume of number of cues sold is lazy? That other manufacturers are cutting corners as well?
Or is it an effort on Schon's part to make their cues more tamper-proof ?
Schon has a policy that if it can be determined that someone other than Schon has done work
on a submitted Schon cue that the cue's warranty will then be null and void.
This may not apply to routine service items such as tips, wraps and weight adjustment
but it does offer a strong position by Schon that they don't want just anyone messing with their cues.
That includes the owner of the cue.

Regarding today's statement by you, not having heard of any steel not being magnetic,
I've provided an opportunity for you to enlighten yourself.

http://www.bosunsupplies.com/StainlessInfo2/

Stainless steel is not a coating like galvanizing or chrome plating.
A stainless bolt is made entirely of stainless steel.

HTHs, KJ

Good morning Royce. Had I known you were posting, I could have quit typing.
Too much time wasted in duplication.
 
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Just to add some confusion, there are some grades of stainless steels that are magnetic, but for the most part, commercial all thread rod and stainless fasteners are usually non magnetic grades. If the chrome content is high enough, copper sulphate solution, will not go brown when put onto the material.
 
KJ Cues said:
........
Click to expand...

You know, you're forcing a lot of information onto me that violates the rules of these forums. You're attacking my ideology that putting something back together as you found it is wrong. You want to tell me that epoxying a weight bolt is wrong, great. I never said to epoxy in all weight bolts. Just the ones that were already epoxied in. Want to know why I say that? I just worked on the weight bolt on my personal Schon. Based on how the butt cap is attached to the cue along with the need of the weight bolt to hold it tight, there's no way in hell I'd not epoxy it back into place. But continue attacking me for my personal beliefs regarding putting it back to the way I found it. Please infer more information about what I'm saying than I'm actually typing out, it worked so well on that post.

As far as the stainless steel not being magnetic, I tested various pieces. From knives to other stainless steel parts. My magnet stuck to them all. Maybe my magnet is too strong compared to what other people use.
 
Attacking you?? Not hardly.
Rather, questioning your contention that the epoxy is necessary to secure the bolt/butt-cap in place.
If that contention is correct, why does no one else do it? Could it be that it's not the reason it's done?
The very idea of a wght-blt. system is to allow the wght. of the cue to be conveniently adjusted.
Most cue owners are capable of the task and several cue manufacturers even sell the tools for them to do
it with when a specialized tool is needed such as is the case with contemporary Predators.
The exception to this liberty to the owner would be Schon.
The epoxy is basically the first warning. It makes the procedure not so user friendly for the owner.
At that point, his very next thought should be: IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, DON'T TOUCH IT.
I believe Schon has a different mind-set as to just who takes tool to one of their cues.
I don't just applaud that position, I give them a standing ovation.
What you do with your own cue is your business. I speak about what goes-on in the real world everyday.
I'll be honest to tell you, I'm not aware of anyone that re-epoxys the bolt 'back' in place.
Well, other than now, you. But that's fine, it's your cue, do what you want with it.

If I were attacking you I wouldn't have given you a link to a site that would have allowed you to educate
yourself regarding the properties of the different types of stainless steel. Still you want to argue that
they all are magnetic. Are the other people that are suggesting to you otherwise attacking you also??
If you're resistant to learn, you can't be taught.

KJ
 
I never ever once said that epoxy was required to hold a weight bolt in. Not once. Those are your words, keep them. I said that if a weight bolt is already epoxied in, only a lazy repairman would return the cue without it epoxied in. Why? Because I'm going to return it as I got it.
 
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