Cues in Cars

I treat my cue like I treat my musical instruments. They stay with me in conditions I find comfortable as much as possible. If they do get too cold or too hot, they stay in their cases until they have thermally equalized to the new temp. Fast change in temperature/humidity is more harmful than the temperature itself.

Blankets and any other insulation reduce the speed at which heat moves, but don't prevent it. If your car is 100°F for a few hours, so will everything in it be.

Thank You Kindly.
 
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No, never ever. It never sees the trunk and goes with me when I leave the vehicle. I agree with the earlier posting of "if you're comfortable then so is your cue"
 
I've owned the same cue for something like 15 years now, with maybe 4-5 shafts, and it's been in the car day and night, and it hasn't warped. YMMV.

The butt is an old Brunswick, shafts are OB.

It lives in a cheap generic black 2-cue case, can't even remember the brand.

Doesn't mean cues won't warp if you treat them like this, but I suspect it's a combination of both temperature changes and humidity. A tiny bit of water sneaks into the cue, or forms on the surface, then extreme temps cause this water to freeze or evaporate and pop the wood fibers apart. I wouldn't want the cue sitting in a car in the everglades or the phillippines.
 
Floppage said:
Not wanting to kick off a jump cue level religious argument but...

It seems like some people experience a lot of impact from temperature and humidity and other players haven't. Is it possible the difference is in how the shaft was made?

Is it possible that shafts made from more pieces are less susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity?

Could a shaft turned from a single piece of wood experience more cupping than one made from multiples pieces because the grain is only going one direction?

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My opinion is that cues are supposed to be made of stress-relieved wood and that by itself makes it resistant to warpage. I would guess the other parts are tolerances and ability of moisture to get in and out of the wood.

All I know is that I have seen cues in the same conditions react very differently. Some stayed straight and true and others developed issues. I think that the ones that developed issues would have developed issues sooner or later anyway.

I can tell you that Fury Cues, for example, now guarantees their cues for life against warpage. I was told by the owner that they deliberately left a cue outside leaning against a building for 2 months in all weather just to test it and see what happens.

Their cues are made of a combination of stress-relieved slowly turned wood AND some sort of chemical stabilizer that makes the cells not take on moisture. The cues still play well though.

Everyone has a "my cue warped" story. So again, results vary and do whatever you feel most comfortable with. There is no way for the consumer to know how a shaft was made or how the butt was made so maybe better safe than sorry. Just not how I roll though. :-)
 
JB Cases said:
My opinion is that cues are supposed to be made of stress-relieved wood and that by itself makes it resistant to warpage. I would guess the other parts are tolerances and ability of moisture to get in and out of the wood.

All I know is that I have seen cues in the same conditions react very differently. Some stayed straight and true and others developed issues. I think that the ones that developed issues would have developed issues sooner or later anyway.

I can tell you that Fury Cues, for example, now guarantees their cues for life against warpage. I was told by the owner that they deliberately left a cue outside leaning against a building for 2 months in all weather just to test it and see what happens.

Their cues are made of a combination of stress-relieved slowly turned wood AND some sort of chemical stabilizer that makes the cells not take on moisture. The cues still play well though.

Everyone has a "my cue warped" story. So again, results vary and do whatever you feel most comfortable with. There is no way for the consumer to know how a shaft was made or how the butt was made so maybe better safe than sorry. Just not how I roll though. :-)
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I DO NOT have a "my cue warped" story. I have an I was sold a warped cue story or two.

Btw, none of my shafts have ever been LD, can't play with them - never have never will.
why buy a custom then change the shaft??? if i wanted a OB etc thats what i would buy.
 
I had a Meucci Originals cue that lived in my car full time in SC for a couple years that didn't warp or fall apart, but a friend forgot his Olivier cue for a couple hours in the trunk and the finish bubbled up horribly on the butt sleeve. There's too much uncertainty in wood and construction quality for cues even in the best of conditions. Ultimately, it's going to come down to how comfortable you are with the possibility of damage occurring.
 
jasonlaus said:
I DO NOT have a "my cue warped" story. I have an I was sold a warped cue story or two.

Btw, none of my shafts have ever been LD, can't play with them - never have never will.
why buy a custom then change the shaft??? if i wanted a OB etc thats what i would buy.
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Because you want the best of both worlds, pretty inlays on the butt and low deflection in the shaft.
 
I guess it come down to a personal choice; however, I would never leave my cue in the trunk of a car or inside a truck cab. I live in Texas where temps inside vehicles can hit high temperatures.

As a cuemaker, I could build another cue if my favorite did warp but I take care of it because it is a faithful companion. I wouldn't leave my wife, my dog, or my cat in a hot or very cold vehicle so I darn sure will not treat my cue in that manner!
 
pwd72s said:
Long ago, I watched a video interview with cue maker Jack Madden. He said that if you are comfortable, your cue is comfortable....
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When I first started playing I was told this very thing by by a guy that was a pretty good player, I've lived by that ever since. It's rare that my cues spend a significant amount of time in a car. Even traveling, if the drive is a long one that will require diner stops, I'll bring in the cues and put them together, not sure why, it just seemed like the right thing to do and I always have. That being said I know guys that have never taken their cue and cases out of the car regardless of the weather and have never had a problem. I know if it was me and I left my cues in the car they'd likely be pretzels inside of a month, I figure why take the chance, you know.
 
I was born and grew up in upstate NY but I lived, worked and played (almost everyday) in the Philippines for many years. I always used Meucci's (circa late 80's/early 90's) 85-95 degree heat with very high humidity year round. My cues always stayed in the back seat (covered) or in the trunk. They never warped. Now back in New York, I bought 2 McDermott for my brother and wife, within 6 months both have warped shafts.
 
Thanks for all the comments:

To sum up the comments - it's about the risk of damage, and a lot of people have had no problems, high humidity and heat increase risk, and a good case or blanket cover/wrap could reduce risk.

Seems like if I minimize car-time for my cues to incidental occurrences, and not during heat-waves, then I should be ok. If I need to shoot pool after work in August, my cue can come in to work with me, or I can just use a house cue.

Thanks to everyone for the posts! :smile:
 
I think the biggest worry is theft...This past session of league we had several players who had cues stolen from car...I was at a party New Year's eve and a player said he had his stolen last Tuesday...One had their cues stolen in front of a bar and another from a pool room..Another in front of his house...
Be careful....
 
A good number of years back a friend of mine drove down from Alaska to visit. While he was here we went to a pro tournament in Burbank Ca. They raffled out a Ginacue and he won it.
He drove back to Wasilla, Alaska and left the cue in the trunk of his call all winter. I don't know what kind of case it was in but when he took it out it was warp damaged. He did get it repaired but it was never the same..
 
dabarbr said:
A good number of years back a friend of mine drove down from Alaska to visit. While he was here we went to a pro tournament in Burbank Ca. They raffled out a Ginacue and he won it.
He drove back to Wasilla, Alaska and left the cue in the trunk of his call all winter. I don't know what kind of case it was in but when he took it out it was warp damaged. He did get it repaired but it was never the same..
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I think that would be considered torture. So sad that a Gina was put in the hands of someone that didn't appreciate it. :-)
 
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