Interesting thread. Some people don't mind small dings in their shaft and some do.
I'm one that must have a smooth shaft. If I feel a ding during my stroke, that is a distraction.
One guaranteed way to put dings in your shaft is to loan out your cue. You only have to let a friend play one game, and you are guaranteed a minimum of one ding.
Seriously though, good shaft wood is susceptible to dings. You MUST be very careful where you rest your cue. Somewhere along a wall with an edge or corner to hold it is good. Just leaning against a wall is a recipe for disaster.
When I see guys (even pros) racking the balls with their cue on the table and the butt up on the rail, I want to shout at them, "Hey dummy". It is so easy for that cue to roll off the table, and on the way to the floor the shaft will contact the edge of the side rail. DING!
Many dings occur is such innocent ways. Just setting the cue up against the side of the table and having it fall, is a good way to get a ding in the shaft.
You want a smooth shaft, then take care of your cue.
By the way, both 'cubswin' and 'jigger' have given good advice on how to get dings out of the shaft. To keep my shaft clean, I use scotchbrite, like you get in any grocery store. The green stuff works great. It is amazing how large a ding you can pull out with a wet cloth and a steam iron. And then use a very fine (400 to 800) grey sandpaper to take it down to smooth.
It will take years of the above to take the shaft down any noticeable amount. Like maybe after a few years of play, it will go from a 12.75mm to 12.6mm. You will never notice the difference, in fact you may begin to prefer it that way.
I'm one that must have a smooth shaft. If I feel a ding during my stroke, that is a distraction.
One guaranteed way to put dings in your shaft is to loan out your cue. You only have to let a friend play one game, and you are guaranteed a minimum of one ding.
Seriously though, good shaft wood is susceptible to dings. You MUST be very careful where you rest your cue. Somewhere along a wall with an edge or corner to hold it is good. Just leaning against a wall is a recipe for disaster.
When I see guys (even pros) racking the balls with their cue on the table and the butt up on the rail, I want to shout at them, "Hey dummy". It is so easy for that cue to roll off the table, and on the way to the floor the shaft will contact the edge of the side rail. DING!
Many dings occur is such innocent ways. Just setting the cue up against the side of the table and having it fall, is a good way to get a ding in the shaft.
You want a smooth shaft, then take care of your cue.
By the way, both 'cubswin' and 'jigger' have given good advice on how to get dings out of the shaft. To keep my shaft clean, I use scotchbrite, like you get in any grocery store. The green stuff works great. It is amazing how large a ding you can pull out with a wet cloth and a steam iron. And then use a very fine (400 to 800) grey sandpaper to take it down to smooth.
It will take years of the above to take the shaft down any noticeable amount. Like maybe after a few years of play, it will go from a 12.75mm to 12.6mm. You will never notice the difference, in fact you may begin to prefer it that way.
