A question about a shaft: The story is a little long winded because it has been going on for awhile but basically I want to know what the "gum" is and how to deal with it.
I bought a moderately priced cue awhile back to play with until I get around to making one for myself. I had also been experimenting with Slipstic so I wanted to use it on this shaft. When the stick arrived I cleaned the shaft with Cueman's shaft cleaner, several wipe downs with a barely damp rag, and two times with Slipstic's cleaner which is similar to naphtha, and then applied the Slipstic. The shaft has always gotten gummy after I played with it for an hour or so, particularly near the tip.
I changed tips and ferules last night, also shortening the shaft slightly as I had ordered a long one to see how it played. When I retapered slightly for six or eight inches and sanded down through 2000 grit the shaft appeared very smooth and even.
I wiped the sanding dust off and burnishing the shaft. After maybe ten to fifteen seconds it was like I tried to burnish over wet glue! Sticking everywhere and something gummy and rough all over the shaft. There was also a section that had some glazed looking areas as if varnish had only been partially sanded off of some other type of wood work. Cleaned this off as best I could, sanded a bit more and tried burnishing again. Same result. I decided to see if I could simply burnish until whatever was on the shaft got hot enough to break down and come off. It didn't do that but it did start turning black. This turning black does remind me of granulated sugar which goes from a gummy mess to black as it burns, I believe at fairly low temperatures.
The only somewhat saving grace is this is my shaft and not a customers. Anybody know what this could be? Sugar from the shaft? Nelsonite or something else the shaft maker used? Slipstic?
My only thought as to how to deal with it is to clean it off once again, light sand, and very light burnishing and see how that works. However I am open to ideas and I would like a solution to get rid of whatever this is that seems to be leeching out of the shaft because I think that is also what makes it get gummy while playing.
Thanks for any help or suggestions,
Hu
I bought a moderately priced cue awhile back to play with until I get around to making one for myself. I had also been experimenting with Slipstic so I wanted to use it on this shaft. When the stick arrived I cleaned the shaft with Cueman's shaft cleaner, several wipe downs with a barely damp rag, and two times with Slipstic's cleaner which is similar to naphtha, and then applied the Slipstic. The shaft has always gotten gummy after I played with it for an hour or so, particularly near the tip.
I changed tips and ferules last night, also shortening the shaft slightly as I had ordered a long one to see how it played. When I retapered slightly for six or eight inches and sanded down through 2000 grit the shaft appeared very smooth and even.
I wiped the sanding dust off and burnishing the shaft. After maybe ten to fifteen seconds it was like I tried to burnish over wet glue! Sticking everywhere and something gummy and rough all over the shaft. There was also a section that had some glazed looking areas as if varnish had only been partially sanded off of some other type of wood work. Cleaned this off as best I could, sanded a bit more and tried burnishing again. Same result. I decided to see if I could simply burnish until whatever was on the shaft got hot enough to break down and come off. It didn't do that but it did start turning black. This turning black does remind me of granulated sugar which goes from a gummy mess to black as it burns, I believe at fairly low temperatures.
The only somewhat saving grace is this is my shaft and not a customers. Anybody know what this could be? Sugar from the shaft? Nelsonite or something else the shaft maker used? Slipstic?
My only thought as to how to deal with it is to clean it off once again, light sand, and very light burnishing and see how that works. However I am open to ideas and I would like a solution to get rid of whatever this is that seems to be leeching out of the shaft because I think that is also what makes it get gummy while playing.
Thanks for any help or suggestions,
Hu
Once heat would b created, the moisture ("sap") would ooze out and b sticky. Natural moisture within the wood would contain some sugar content. Never heard of anything like that before, but stranger things have happened. I have used Magic Eraser many times to remove the dirt/grime/chalk from shafts and have never had a problem as u describe. I have also used Q Wax without any problems. The only other possibility would b that the shaft had been "treated" with something prior to u receiving it. However, I would think that your sanding should have removed anything like that unless it was pressure treated. Let us know if u find out about this problem. I'm very curious. 