Cue appears warped

7

7stud

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I received a cue from a dealer, which was made by a former "Cuemaker of the Year", and the cue was advertised as new even though the cue was made over a decade ago. When I asked how bad the taper roll was in the shafts, I was told the cue was well cared for and the shafts were straight. When I received the cue, I rolled the shafts and the tips did not lift, but they have what I would describe as "medium taper roll": about half the light under the middle of the shaft disappears at one point when rolling the shafts. Next, when I attach the shafts to the butt, then roll the whole cue, the tips lift between 1/8-1/4 inch, i.e. the tips lift a lot, according to my opinion. I set about to figure out what was wrong with the cue. I have another cue from that same "Cuemaker of the Year", which I will call "old cue" v. the "new cue" that I got from the dealer. The old cue rolls straight together and apart. I attached a new cue shaft to the old cue butt, and I rolled the cue, and the tip *did not* lift. Then I attached an old cue shaft to the new cue butt, I and rolled the cue and the tip lifted. It seems to me that the new butt is warped. However, the dealer said that he spun the butt on his lathe and it was perfectly straight. The dealer says there must be a facing problem with the butt.

Is a "facing problem" an easy fix? Is it likely to be a "facing problem"? When I look at the pin end of the butt, the end of the joint looks like a phenolic ring with a circle of wood in the middle, with the pin drilled into the circle of wood. I like the cue, so I would like to keep it, but at the same time I don't want a cue that doesn't roll straight. What advice can you give me?

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Taper roll is a nice way of saying it's warped, but maybe not too bad. If you roll the shaft and the light under the middle changes that is showing warp. I personally don't think a bit of warp doesn't hurt anything as long as the tip doesn't lift.

The problem you describe does in fact sound like your "new cue butt" need refacing. It is not a major problem, but you do need to take it to someone who has the proper equipment to do it with and has the knowledge to set it up correctly. It should not be a very expensive repair.
 
The joint pin could be crooked too I suppose, but your repair person can figure out what needs fixed.
 
Thanks for the responses.

How much would it affect the cue's value if the "Cuemaker of the Year" doesn't do the repair? Also, how would the face of the joint on a supposedly unplayed cue get out of alignment?


Another problem is that I don't know any local repairmen, so unless the dealer knows someone in my area that he trusts, I wouldn't know who to go to.
 
Last edited:
The dealer should ask you to send it to a cue maker/repairman of his choosing and returned to you when the work is done at no expense to you

upon your receipt all is good if your satisfied, if not return the cue for a full reimbursement

if the dealer balks at this return the cue
 
This is what my cue repairman did at the local pool hall with my cue wwhen it had the same problem. He rolled the cue on the banks edge, the cue will rest at a point where the warp will be pointing downward. He marked the lowest point with a sharpie. He unscrewed the cue got the butt and scraped half of the joint area where the mark was located twice and repeated the process until the cue was straight. I did this myself for my friends cue and he was amazed !!!

I would not do this to "Cue of the Year" type cues, BUT, if this was my cue and I would need to ship the cue using FEDEX or UPS, I would think twice about sending the cue for repair and may just leave it alone until the time comes when I can personally bring the cue to a repairman
 
7stud said:
I received a cue from a dealer, which was made by a former "Cuemaker of the Year", and the cue was advertised as new even though the cue was made over a decade ago. When I asked how bad the taper roll was in the shafts, I was told the cue was well cared for and the shafts were straight. When I received the cue, I rolled the shafts and the tips did not lift, but they have what I would describe as "medium taper roll": about half the light under the middle of the shaft disappears at one point when rolling the shafts. Next, when I attach the shafts to the butt, then roll the whole cue, the tips lift between 1/8-1/4 inch, i.e. the tips lift a lot, according to my opinion. I set about to figure out what was wrong with the cue. I have another cue from that same "Cuemaker of the Year", which I will call "old cue" v. the "new cue" that I got from the dealer. The old cue rolls straight together and apart. I attached a new cue shaft to the old cue butt, and I rolled the cue, and the tip *did not* lift. Then I attached an old cue shaft to the new cue butt, I and rolled the cue and the tip lifted. It seems to me that the new butt is warped. However, the dealer said that he spun the butt on his lathe and it was perfectly straight. The dealer says there must be a facing problem with the butt.

Is a "facing problem" an easy fix? Is it likely to be a "facing problem"? When I look at the pin end of the butt, the end of the joint looks like a phenolic ring with a circle of wood in the middle, with the pin drilled into the circle of wood. I like the cue, so I would like to keep it, but at the same time I don't want a cue that doesn't roll straight. What advice can you give me?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Take it to a repairman and let him figure it out. Hopefully the butt joint just needs a very light refacing.
 
7stud said:
Thanks for the responses.

How much would it affect the cue's value if the "Cuemaker of the Year" doesn't do the repair? Also, how would the face of the joint on a supposedly unplayed cue get out of alignment?

,ther problem is that I don't know any local repairmen, so unless the dealer knows someone in my area that he trusts, I wouldn't know who to go to.
Click to expand...
This is a common occurrense with pool cues and shafts and has nothing at all to do with the cue maker, or what year, or if they happened to be a cuemaker of the year. It's because it is wood, and wood moves with humidity. Most any cue repair guy can fix it and the cuemaker has nothing to do with it unless it is under a warranty from him. If it is, ship it to him.
 
Take it in for repair.

It's still wood and ten years old. Any piece of wood is going to settle, twist and bend over time, even by one of the best cue makers.

Years ago a buddy of mines everyday player was a Gus Szamboti cue. I saw that cue's forearm crack in front of me while he was playing. Wood is going to act like wood no matter who made the cue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top