Delrin Butt Plate

Lexicologist71

Lexicologist71

Rabid Schuler fanatic
Silver Member
I have seen other cue maker's (Schuler in particular) that use Delrin for butt plates and they have been at least satiny. What is the best way to get this? Sanding just seems to make it gray. Do I need to move up to micromesh? Alternatively, is there a way to reliably get finish, epoxy in particular, to stick? I'd rather go that route, but most things just peel off of the stuff like egg off of teflon. I like the weight and toughness of Delrin and it's great machining something that doesn't require a respirator of some sort.
 
Lexicologist71 said:
I have seen other cue maker's (Schuler in particular) that use Delrin for butt plates and they have been at least satiny. What is the best way to get this? Sanding just seems to make it gray. Do I need to move up to micromesh? Alternatively, is there a way to reliably get finish, epoxy in particular, to stick? I'd rather go that route, but most things just peel off of the stuff like egg off of teflon. I like the weight and toughness of Delrin and it's great machining something that doesn't require a respirator of some sort.
Click to expand...



I know of no adhesive that will stick to Delrin and that is why the butt cap is secured to the cues butt by the weight bolt. Now I am not saying not to apply epoxy, but I am saying that after this application the weight bolt will be your back up when and if the epoxy fails.

Finish also in most cases will not stick to any surface that is made from Delrin. So cue makers hand finish the surface with varying grades of sand paper and then for the final treatment wet sand starting 600 and ending with 2000. Last use the same polish you would use on the cues finish to bring out the satiny look.
 
Epoxy does not grab on Delrin all that well.
They are very easy to thread however.
No need for wight bolts to hold them if you thread them.
I've never had one come loose.
Use T-88 epoxy. I've even mocked-up one with Gorilla glue. GG filled the threads and the Delrin would not move after I hammered it.
I've even made a ring jig ( picture attached ) so I can bore 1 3/8 rings a bigger hole than .750" ( and a smaller one for .625+ holes ). .
( Thanks DZ for sharing the idea ).

Just sand it up to 2000 grit and use Novus plastic polish.
The only way I made one grab finish was to coat the Delrin with thin CA first .
Some 3 coats then scratched it with 320 grit.
But, if you undercut about 2 thou thicker than your finished rings , you can wet sand them at the same time and level and polish them.
 

Attachments

  • ring jig.JPG
    ring jig.JPG
    29.7 KB · Views: 593
Last edited:
Lexicologist71 said:
I have seen other cue maker's (Schuler in particular) that use Delrin for butt plates and they have been at least satiny. What is the best way to get this? Sanding just seems to make it gray. Do I need to move up to micromesh? Alternatively, is there a way to reliably get finish, epoxy in particular, to stick? I'd rather go that route, but most things just peel off of the stuff like egg off of teflon. I like the weight and toughness of Delrin and it's great machining something that doesn't require a respirator of some sort.
Click to expand...

Nothing will stick to delrin that I know of, at least not for very long and this includes all glues and finishes. Trying is just futile. It needs to be mechanically attached to the cue. When I make them I make a 5/8 tenon so that it doesn't show through the semi-transparent delrin. I make it about 3/4 inch long and thread it. I do the same to the butt cap and then shorten the tenon a little along with the butt cap as they don't need to be that long but doing it with the longer tenon it is easier to thread. I do use a little epoxy when installing so as to lock the threads.

They are kind of a pain to make so when I make them I make 8 or 10 as that way I can do each step on all of them which greatly speeds up the process.

You aren't using fine enough abrasive. I sand the butt cap down to at least a 1000 and then sand my rings in front of it down a little deeper so that there is a slight lip on the Delrin. I then cover with tape before shooting so that just a very slight amount of the delrin get's sprayed with the finish. Before rubbing out I remove the tape and rub the cue out normally, wet sanding the finish down and butt cap so that it is even with the delrin. I wet sand my finish and the butt cap together down to 3000 grit then go to my compounds. It won't be as shiny as the finish but it will still look good and is much stronger than any other butt cap as far as chipping or cracking.

Dick
 
Dick is right. thread and face the cap and tenon. assemble tightly, and turn it down. My tenon goes all the way through and has the center hole I turn with. When you are very close, .007" or so clean cut the dellrin and remove it while you finish turning the cue to final size.

File a deep groove in the threads of the delrin that doesn't show at the end of the cue and epoxy the cap onto the cue, Spray finish on everything let it cure and sand and rub out . The finish will sand off the delrin and it can be fine sanded and rubbed out with rubbing compounds. The epoxy keyway will hold the delrin in place.
 
Others have given correct advice on how to get the Delrin butt plate to stay on the cue if using a weight bolt or threading. If you don't have threading ability, then take a grooving tool and make circlar grooves around the inside of the butt plate hole and on the outside of the wood tenon. Then carve a couple of slots lengthwise in the delrin to keep it from ever rotating. To get it polished up nice just sand it down to at least 2000 grit just like you do a finish. And then use buffing compound on it just like you do the finish and it works nice. I don't spray the entire delrin butt plate. I tape it off up to about 1/16" from the wood butt sleeve. Then I sand that 1/16" off when wet sanding the finish out. I do stainless joints the same way.
 
Last edited:
As a player/cue owner I really like delrin butt caps. It's a great material.

I really wish more that used it chose to thread it on. I understand it is an additional skill/equipment, but I think it is very worthwhile.

Also, of course, there is the matter of finishing it well. It can look nice and as we have seen in the above posts it actually does not take much in the way of specialized knowledge or skill to accomplish it.

Just my thoughts as somebody that owns cues and has dealt with delrin issues as a cue owner.


.
 
Have you tried, Bond, James Bond? The ladies seem to stick to him pretty well.

Doc, I have two old PH Brunswick bumperless sneakys. Both have Delrin butt caps One with a Hoppe ring and the other with an extended white Delrin cap to make it look a bit Taddish.

I loves my Delrin butts thats fer sure.
 
I cut a tenon on my butt plate, mate it to the tenon on the handle, and cover the junction with my butt sleeve. I use a bolt through my butt plate to pull everything towards the handle. I leave a couple 0.001" clearance for epoxy filling.

Thank you everybody for the finishing advice. I was a little worried about getting a decent look.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top