H
Harley316
Guest
Does anyone know a good way to get small dings out of your shaft?
Gregg said:
:slap:
:speechless:
Swell the wood back into place with a damp cloth or cuetip. It'll bring up the grain too so you will have to smooth the shaft.
B
Yes I Always Take A Damp Washcloth Put It In The Microwave To Heat It Up Then Wrap It Tightly Around Where The Ding Is, Hold For 5 Minuets, Then Repeat 4 Or 5 Times Until Swelling Has Absorbed The Ding. Be Careful Not To Burn The Washcloth Up In The Microwave Lol
I do not wrap the shaft in a moist cloth...the key here is to apply moisture to the smallest area as possible to avoid raising as little grain as possible.
Take a terry cloth wash cloth, and just dampen the corner, squeeze out any excess water. Locate the ding, and place the dampened corner of the wash cloth over it. Now take a hot clothes iron, and place the tip of it over the dampened corner of the wash cloth. The absolute second you hear the wash cloth sizzle, remove the heat and the wash cloth...wipe down with a clean dry absorbent cloth, like a micro fiber towel, to remove any excess moisture left on the shaft. Remember to place no pressure on the shaft while steaming out the ding, as you can cause a warp to develop this way. You are just lightly placing the tip of the iron on the wash cloth corner is all.
If the ding is a small one, this will usually do the trick with one application...sometimes, you may have to repeat the process on deeper dings.
Once the ding is out, you need to deal with the raised grain on the shaft created by the moisture/steam. You can use a super fine grit sandpaper, or I often just use my Q-Whiz...you want to just get the raised grain area smooth again. Once you have completed that, simply burnish with a leather burnisher, or, I have often used a wax-free brown paper grocery bag for burnishing. Your shaft will be as good as new.
I have been using this technique for more years than I can think about, for not only my shafts, but my league team's shafts as well...never had a complaint, or a shaft warp...and the dings are gone. It works great, and with a little practice, can be done quite quickly.
Lisa
Take a terry cloth wash cloth, and just dampen the corner, squeeze out any excess water. Locate the ding, and place the dampened corner of the wash cloth over it. Now take a hot clothes iron, and place the tip of it over the dampened corner of the wash cloth. The absolute second you hear the wash cloth sizzle, remove the heat and the wash cloth...wipe down with a clean dry absorbent cloth, like a micro fiber towel, to remove any excess moisture left on the shaft. Remember to place no pressure on the shaft while steaming out the ding, as you can cause a warp to develop this way. You are just lightly placing the tip of the iron on the wash cloth corner is all.
If the ding is a small one, this will usually do the trick with one application...sometimes, you may have to repeat the process on deeper dings.
Once the ding is out, you need to deal with the raised grain on the shaft created by the moisture/steam. You can use a super fine grit sandpaper, or I often just use my Q-Whiz...you want to just get the raised grain area smooth again. Once you have completed that, simply burnish with a leather burnisher, or, I have often used a wax-free brown paper grocery bag for burnishing. Your shaft will be as good as new.
I have been using this technique for more years than I can think about, for not only my shafts, but my league team's shafts as well...never had a complaint, or a shaft warp...and the dings are gone. It works great, and with a little practice, can be done quite quickly.
Lisa
tjlmbklr said:
This is a good point! My technique has only been done on standard hard maple shafts, not on a laminated shaft. It is my understanding that some of the glues used in laminated shafts is water soluble. In this case, a visit to your local cue maker/repair person may be in order, as they can put on a lathe a likely remove the ding for you.
Lisa
"Minuets" is a little known French dialog for seconds. :grin: Good advice here, particularly the part about moistening the smallest area needed to get the ding out. If all else fails, see a professional so as to not permanently damage your investment.tjlmbklr said:
Gene
ridewiththewind said:
Well i also found another way to do this is to put a small drop of H2O on the ding (unfortunately have to be one at a time) then let the water absorb. The heat/steam is what is bad for the laminated shafts. I would never turn my cue down with a lathe or sand it for that matter. Evry time you do this you are taking a small amout off then eventually your shaft and taper are all f#@ked up.
tjlmbklr said:
As I previously stated, I have not dealt with laminated shafts at all. However, I have been told by many a cue maker that the way I am removing those shaft dings is absolutely the correct way. Also, my shafts are still nice and 'fat' and their respective tapers intact.
Lisa
ridewiththewind said:
I can respect that. However I'd just chalk this up as compared to telling a new driver to always check you blind spots. Well I've been a professional driver (on the road half my day) and rarely check mine. If you check mirrors correctly and always know your surroundings you should be good.
So when the cue maker tells you that is the correct way to do it it's just them covering there arse when I have had 3 laminated shafts that I have been removing dings from them there whole life in my hands (some of which I still have) and not once has my glue been comprimised. I would never trust anyone but myself to do this to my cue. So with that said I understand why the manufacture would say this.
IMO
ridewiththewind said:
Never used the iron, just hot water. A dish rag or wash cloth works well, but I find a Qtip is more precise (less surrounding grain raised)
Excellent post.
B
tjlmbklr said:
It was why I added a post to clarify that my experiences were with hard rock maple shafts only, and not laminated. I wanted to make sure that was clear, as I did not want someone to ruin a laminated shaft using what is considered a sound technique for standard hard rock maple shafts.
Lisa
DelaWho??? said:
Thank you. The idea of using the iron is that it actually can do much more with regards to removing the ding with much less moisture and time exposed to the moisture. The key here is, keep the iron on the wash cloth, and it's on there for like next to no time at all before it begins to steam...I'd say less than a second in most cases.
Lisa
SOme elaborate techiniques for getting out a dinger. Simple is best though. Pull off a corner of a tissue, dip it into some water and then lay it over the dinger and leave it there for 20 minutes or so. Go have a smoke or 2. When you get back, check to see if the wood swelled back into place. If so grab some really really light sandpaper, 1,000 grit or more, and lightly sand the area around it.
Done.
MULLY
Done.
MULLY
Steam
Take a pan with a lip around the edge. fill it half full of distilled water. Place a sheet of tinfoil on/around the top of the pan, wrapping it under the lip of the pan, a tight seal is important. take a needle and poke a hole in the middle of the tinfoil. Boil the water. When boiling, a small stream of steam will shoot out of the hole. put the offending ding on your shaft right in the stream of steam it will pull the dings out when the wood swells, finish with burnishing, waxing, sealing, etc.
********NOTE Do NOT let the steam get too close to the ferrule area, it could cause the tenon to swell and pop your ferrule up a little.
Take a pan with a lip around the edge. fill it half full of distilled water. Place a sheet of tinfoil on/around the top of the pan, wrapping it under the lip of the pan, a tight seal is important. take a needle and poke a hole in the middle of the tinfoil. Boil the water. When boiling, a small stream of steam will shoot out of the hole. put the offending ding on your shaft right in the stream of steam it will pull the dings out when the wood swells, finish with burnishing, waxing, sealing, etc.
********NOTE Do NOT let the steam get too close to the ferrule area, it could cause the tenon to swell and pop your ferrule up a little.
Ding B Gone!!!!
I actually picked up a little glass piece that has a round nob on one end and it makes a round contour like the roundness of the shaft. If you put the glass piece on the shaft and rub it right on the ding with a bit of pressure the ding comes out flush .... I have a few times actually used a beer glass or some other piece of solid glass that has similar contour as a shaft... This has been far more effective than when i was using a damp hot cloth. Try it.. you will see!
I actually picked up a little glass piece that has a round nob on one end and it makes a round contour like the roundness of the shaft. If you put the glass piece on the shaft and rub it right on the ding with a bit of pressure the ding comes out flush .... I have a few times actually used a beer glass or some other piece of solid glass that has similar contour as a shaft... This has been far more effective than when i was using a damp hot cloth. Try it.. you will see!
H
Harley316
Guest
Thanks to you all for the help 