Heat Resistant Case?
- Thread starter migwombat
- Start date
Pray they do not warp....why do you need to leave em in car?
Just wondering if there are any good options for cases that protect the cue from heat/warping (i.e. left in the car trunk for 12 hours in So. California... in May.) If not a case, then some kind of creative insulation solution?
Thanks!
-mig.
Well, our cases are made of a plastic shell which insulates, and the shell is lined with fabric and foam rubber which also insulates. They won't keep a cue at room temperature for 12 hours but they will keep it cooler than the air in side your trunk for quite a while.
I used to leave my cues in the car inside my Instroke cases (when I owned Instroke) in all climates and all weather conditions.
You could also get yourself one of those thermal sleeping bags which are specially made to ward off cold and heat and put your case in that. I bet that you could cut it down to size and make a drawstring that works.
http://www.quakekare.com/browseproducts/Thermal-Sleeping-Bag.HTML
Or make yourself a box with insulation lining it.
Personally I feel that our cases provide plenty of protection when leaving a cue in a car but I would NEVER EVER say that doing so will prevent a cue from warping.
I have traveled around the world with up to 50,000 worth of cues - traveled across country with them in the trunk of the car and in the back of a Ryder truck. Some warped a little and some didn't. The ones that didn't were well known for the cue maker seasoning the wood properly.
Just wondering if there are any good options for cases that protect the cue from heat/warping (i.e. left in the car trunk for 12 hours in So. California... in May.) If not a case, then some kind of creative insulation solution?
Thanks!
-mig.
I think I can help you out here, first you must seal your existing case in plastic and make it water tight. Then go buy yourself a pound or so of Dry Ice and put the case and the Dry Ice in a cooler. It should do the trick, but I have never tried it out!!:smile:
Good Luck
Personally I feel that our cases provide plenty of protection when leaving a cue in a car but I would NEVER EVER say that doing so will prevent a cue from warping.
John, your killing me, totally killing me!!!!!!!
Holy Shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:smile:
Personally I feel that our cases provide plenty of protection when leaving a cue in a car but I would NEVER EVER say that doing so will prevent a cue from warping.
John, your killing me, totally killing me!!!!!!!
Holy Shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:smile:
Well I can only report on my own personal experience. My own personal experience is such that I kept my own cues in my cases in my car in all seasons and all over the country. For more than 20 years this has been my practice and during most of that time the cues have been kept in cases that I designed and our company built.
Why would I ever guarantee that anything I make could prevent a cue that I didn't make from warping?
If any case maker ever makes that claim then I hope that they are ready to pay out a lot of money to people who will swear that the case allowed their cue to warp.
I don't really see what you find funny about this disclaimer.
Should I feel any other way about it? This is my true and personal experience as to how I handle my equipment. I don't recommend it, I don't say that it works for everyone, I am just saying this is how I do it and that I personally have had no problems with my cues storing them in the car under all conditions in cases we make.
Enlighten me as to why you find it funny?
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Just wondering if there are any good options for cases that protect the cue from heat/warping (i.e. left in the car trunk for 12 hours in So. California... in May.) If not a case, then some kind of creative insulation solution?
How about a BIG Cooler ? Or, put them in the passenger compartment and leave the A/C on!
That sounds like a really good idea. Where I live, a lot of people come to find out that cold is also an enemy of cues after they leave it in the trunk of their car overnight in December. But for some people, leaving it in their car is a necessary evil since they are going to league straight from work or something like that. I may recommend this to a friend who could benefit from it. I'll let you guys know how it pans out.
While I don't like the idea of leaving a cue in the trunk all day there are a couple of things that may help. Coincidentally I have what I actually refer to as a "car trunk" cue. This is a less expensive cue from my normal playing cue that, if I have to, am willing to leave in a car trunk all day. I use this cue when I'm traveling so should the airline lose it, should it disappear out of my hotel room or I need to leave it in the car all day it is not the end of the world. If and when it warps, oh well.
You might also try using a car cover. A good one will keep the inside of the car (and the trunk), considerably cooler than without it. It really does make a difference.
You might also try using a car cover. A good one will keep the inside of the car (and the trunk), considerably cooler than without it. It really does make a difference.
I am not sure what you mean by this but a little dessicant is not going to do very much. Silica (Dessicant) absorbs moisture until it's full and then does not absorb more until it's heated to allow the moisture to evaporate.
At one time I thought that dessicant was the holy grail of moisture control when in fact it's not. It is a good way to dry out latent moisture in packaging but only when the package is sealed. The size of the dessicant package has to be in proportion to the amount of moisture it should soak up from the environment.
Putting exposed dessicant packs in a car won't keep the car dry, nor will dessicant packs keep the inside of a case dry.
On top of that a reduction in moisture is not necessarily something that will prevent a cue from warping. What does that is the way it's made first and keeping it in a stable environment second.
We had a box of "Cobra" cues in our warehouse. These were Taiwanese made cues, four pointers with veneers. They had been made around 1990. They had sat in the warehouse of a well known distributor for a decade and then they came to us and sat there for another six years before I stumbled on them.
I went through the box and picked out the ones that were straight and sold them as blanks for both the butt and the shaft. Out of 50 cues probably 20 or so were dead straight and the others had varying degrees of warp to them. The point being is here you have examples of cues with which no particular care was taken to season the wood - all sitting in the same environment - for 16 years and some were dead straight and others were not.
I certainly believe, and my own primitive R&D confirms this, that a cue case can slow down the change in temperature and allow the cue to acclimate a slower pace. I also know that cases act as a moisture barrier, not letting more in and preventing what's inside from escaping quickly. This is dependent on the position of the case and the where the heat source is.
But I do not believe that a case protects against warping to any great degree. To a small degree certainly as anything which is a barrier to a heat or cold source is going to protect the cue that much more from whatever the heat source might do to it.
I do tend to think that it's not a good idea to leave cues in environments which are known to affect wood. I don't think anyone has any hard data on what the effects of keeping cues in hot trunks are. We all have the anecdotal stories of people who left their cues in the trunk and when they opened it later the cues were warped and the inlays popped.
To me that is just an example of the heat making the inevitable happen faster. But that's just my opinion on it. I know for a fact that I have had cues live in the trunk for months with no ill effects while others did not survive a few days.
My advice is still the same - insulate around the case if it's to be kept in the trunk and at least then you know that the temperature of the cues will change much slower and be closer to room temperature when you take the case back into a building.
I've found that moisture plays a notable role in warping all kinds of matierals. It causes areas to contract and expand at different rates and to different amounts. Of course, fast and large changes in temperature is something you'll still want to avoid.
I throw some in my cue case and dry them out every so often, especially if I have to leave it in a car, which has only happened once or twice, but they came out fine.
The cue case acts as a barrier to allow the dessicants to do their job more effectively. Add some stuff around the case to insulate the temperature changes as allowed.
Perhaps my statement was a bit strong, but it sounded like a nursery rhyme so I left it at that. If you don't want to warp it, simply don't risk storing it in your car.
I throw some in my cue case and dry them out every so often, especially if I have to leave it in a car, which has only happened once or twice, but they came out fine.
The cue case acts as a barrier to allow the dessicants to do their job more effectively. Add some stuff around the case to insulate the temperature changes as allowed.
Perhaps my statement was a bit strong, but it sounded like a nursery rhyme so I left it at that. If you don't want to warp it, simply don't risk storing it in your car.
Preparation is the key.
http://www.4lessdepot.com/iwwida.pvx?;item?item_no=P-1740 1?comp=NAL
Pick your poison from these..... O ring seals, waterproff, ports for adding dry nitrogen......and damned near bomb proof......if there is better protection for cues that travel....I have not seen it yet.....Dan http://www.4lessdepot.com/iwwida.pvx?;products_no_tree?cat=CS-LONG?comp=NAL
When flying in a cargohold at high altitude their will be rapid heating and cooling creating moisture......the introduction of dry nitrogen to pressurize the case will all but eliminate any moisture . I know a fellow that destroyed an anvil with a powder puff,,,,,he couldn't even get a good dent in these
http://www.4lessdepot.com/iwwida.pvx?;item?item_no=P-1740 1?comp=NAL
Pick your poison from these..... O ring seals, waterproff, ports for adding dry nitrogen......and damned near bomb proof......if there is better protection for cues that travel....I have not seen it yet.....Dan http://www.4lessdepot.com/iwwida.pvx?;products_no_tree?cat=CS-LONG?comp=NAL
When flying in a cargohold at high altitude their will be rapid heating and cooling creating moisture......the introduction of dry nitrogen to pressurize the case will all but eliminate any moisture . I know a fellow that destroyed an anvil with a powder puff,,,,,he couldn't even get a good dent in these
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I have an old comforter in my trunk. It may or may not be down filled, but it insulates pretty well. I'm comfortable leaving my cue case in there for up to about four or five hours in the hottest weather.