Cue Polishing Disaster

It happens to the pros too. I hope you were wearing eye protection - now you see why.

I have a cue maker contact me for a Palmer M forearm. He had sent a cue out for painting at a refinisher's place (nobody I know) and the same thing happened - it broke the neck just like yours did. The Palmer M has the wavy veneers. Since they are now a $3,000 cue he was stuck.

Many months later he contacted me again desparate and still looking. I felt for the guy so I finally offered him a forearm I was hoarding as a replacement, or I was willing to buy the parts of his cue still salvageable. He ended up buying it and fixed the cue right up.

Chris
 
Chris,

Thanks for sharing a dangerous and humbling experience. It happens to all of us when we take it for granted everything is fine. Machinery can be a wonderful tool, but when physics and inertia tangle it's KAOS!!!

Glad to hear you're OK.
John
 
There is a time in buffing our a finish that I back the tailstock up a 1/4 inch or so and and unscrew the joint pin from the mandrel a few turns until the butt end locks up against the live center. I then spin the cue in reverse so it holds pressure up against the tailstock, and I can sand and polish the lip of the joint. Well after seeing your accident I am saying to myself yesterday, "if you throw that switch the wrong direction you are going to have $12,000 worth of firewood." I have broke a shaft letting it get away from me on a lathe. It was he first one I ever worked on. Sorry to see your mistake was such a costly one. I think I would have cried.
Chris
www.hightowercues.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
 
wincue said:
View attachment 36620

View attachment 36621

Above you will find the results of my attempt to polish a high end Phillippi cue on my lathe. It took about two seconds to complete the process.

The "good news" is that the polishing compound really worked great and all the pieces are very highly polished.

The other "good news" is that I now have a great Phillippi joint protector to admire. However, the "bad news" is that every time I look at it, I start to cry all over again !!!!

Moral of the story - leave it to the pros !!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

I am sorry to hear this, but you should never polish your cue with exsplosives!!!!!!:eek:

What exactly happened:confused: ?
 
cueman said:
There is a time in buffing our a finish that I back the tailstock up a 1/4 inch or so and and unscrew the joint pin from the mandrel a few turns until the butt end locks up against the live center. I then spin the cue in reverse so it holds pressure up against the tailstock, and I can sand and polish the lip of the joint. Well after seeing your accident I am saying to myself yesterday, "if you throw that switch the wrong direction you are going to have $12,000 worth of firewood." I have broke a shaft letting it get away from me on a lathe. It was he first one I ever worked on. Sorry to see your mistake was such a costly one. I think I would have cried.
Chris
www.hightowercues.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
Click to expand...

Chris, The primary reason I posted this experience was to encourage others to think about it the next time they're ready to throw that switch.
 
manwon said:
I am sorry to hear this, but you should never polish your cue with exsplosives!!!!!!:eek:

What exactly happened:confused: ?
Click to expand...

It's simply not having the right chucking fixtures for my lathe and spinning it too fast. The chuck in the headstock just held on to the cue (see the bent pin) and beat it to death against the ways.
 
wincue said:
God, I wish it had been a shaft. I'm certain that you and I are not the only ones who have experienced something like this. I guess that's why they call them "accidents".
Click to expand...

Had one of those. Was retipping and cleaning a shaft for Sarge Aylesworth for a trick shot show he had the next morning. He came up behind me to see how it was going - scared the beejeebers out of me - shaft just exploded. He jumped about 100 ft up - was white as a sheet. Thought he was going to have a heart attack - so I told him not to worry, I would glue it back together and have it for him the next morning;)
He showed up early the next morning, didn't go anywhere near my lathe, and I gave him his new shaft.
 
The question is...

how did he do in the show?

Jack Madden said:
Had one of those. Was retipping and cleaning a shaft for Sarge Aylesworth for a trick shot show he had the next morning. He came up behind me to see how it was going - scared the beejeebers out of me - shaft just exploded. He jumped about 100 ft up - was white as a sheet. Thought he was going to have a heart attack - so I told him not to worry, I would glue it back together and have it for him the next morning;)
He showed up early the next morning, didn't go anywhere near my lathe, and I gave him his new shaft.
Click to expand...
 
Whoa....What a disaster !!!

In the future, remember, a Cue is like a young buetiful lady. You carress it gently, apply the wax lovenly and wipe it off with soft smooth strokes.

Lathes are for rough work, shaping and preliminary work. I'm sure you've learned a hard lesson. I hope everything has worked out for you with this cue.

God Bless,
Tommyd1
 
I told the story...

to my buddy at the poolroom who does all the repairs and he had a story. This is sometime ago...He was preparing a shaft to be cleaned and retipped and the rear support for the shaft was not bolted up tight...and for some reason the person whom he was doing the work for just flipped the switch and the shaft spun clunk, clunck, clunk and snapped in half against the workbench. That was a shaft to a Paradise...and the person said "Oh, no big deal...Ill just have Gus make me a new shaft." Yes, it was "some" time ago when Gus Szamboti was still with us.
 
paulybatz said:
to my buddy at the poolroom who does all the repairs and he had a story. This is sometime ago...He was preparing a shaft to be cleaned and retipped and the rear support for the shaft was not bolted up tight...and for some reason the person whom he was doing the work for just flipped the switch and the shaft spun clunk, clunck, clunk and snapped in half against the workbench. That was a shaft to a Paradise...and the person said "Oh, no big deal...Ill just have Gus make me a new shaft." Yes, it was "some" time ago when Gus Szamboti was still with us.
Click to expand...
As I told another fellow who posted, I wish it was only a shaft. It would have been a lot less expensive to replace. Thanks for the comment.
 
Whom did....

you have fix the cue for you...and is that an entirely new forearm?

wincue said:
As I told another fellow who posted, I wish it was only a shaft. It would have been a lot less expensive to replace. Thanks for the comment.
Click to expand...
 
paulybatz said:
you have fix the cue for you...and is that an entirely new forearm?
Click to expand...

Alex Brick made a new forearm for the cue and did a great job on it. Looks a good as the original.
 
It does...

wincue said:
Alex Brick made a new forearm for the cue and did a great job on it. Looks a good as the original.
Click to expand...


this is the third brick repair/conversion that I have seen and I am truly impressed!!!

Big Kudos and shout out to Alex Brick...keep up the good work.
 
paulybatz said:
this is the third brick repair/conversion that I have seen and I am truly impressed!!!

Big Kudos and shout out to Alex Brick...keep up the good work.
Click to expand...
I have a number of his cues. He's really under rated - and also one of the nicest guys I know in this industry.
 
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