How do you remove a ding WITHOUT removing shaft wood

twilight

twilight

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ok I've done my searches and can't come up with anything specific. I need a way to remove a dent. Without ANY sanding. Is it possible?

I read in a thread you can use glass to rub it down, but this just smoothes the dent and pushes the surrounding wood down. Most who suggest a drop of water suggest a tiny bit of sandpaper to smooth out the grain. I have a problem with getting a ding in my cue every month or so and sanding that often will just wear down my shaft too much. The problem is, without using any sanding I just can't get that one spot where the ding used to be as smooth as the rest of the shaft. Oh and I only use micro mesh 6000, 8000, and 12000 grit but even after as little as 2 years (with the highest grit I can find) my cue developed a waistline where the ferrule meets the shaft.
THe ferrule on my shaft measures 13.02mm close to the base but the shaft measures 12.86mm and believe me, 0.16mm is a very noticeable waistline. I just don't know how to completely remove a dent and get that one area as smooth as the rest of the shaft. I don't want to do this to my new cues.
 
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ya see.. when you use a damp papertowel, take the damp part and press down real hard where its dinged... for a few minutes.. what this does is RAISES the grain.. so now you will have a bump instead of a ding and just sand it smooth...

another trick is some elmers white glue, and some wood dust from another shaft that was sanded and mix them together and use it to fill the ding.. when it dries, sand it smooth.. you will still be able to see the dinger but you wont be able to feel it....

chris
 
twilight said:
Ok I've done my searches and can't come up with anything specific. I need a way to remove a dent. Without ANY sanding. Is it possible?

I read in a thread you can use glass to rub it down, but this just smoothes the dent and pushes the surrounding wood down. Most who suggest a drop of water suggest a tiny bit of sandpaper to smooth out the grain. I have a problem with getting a ding in my cue every month or so and sanding that often will just wear down my shaft too much. The problem is, without using any sanding I just can't get that one spot where the ding used to be as smooth as the rest of the shaft. Oh and I only use micro mesh 6000, 8000, and 12000 grit but even after as little as 2 years (with the highest grit I can find) my cue developed a waistline where the ferrule meets the shaft.
THe ferrule on my shaft measures 13.02mm close to the base but the shaft measures 12.86mm and believe me, 0.16mm is a very noticeable waistline. I just don't know how to completely remove a dent and get that one area as smooth as the rest of the shaft. I don't want to do this to my new cues.
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You could just put a wet sock or cloth over the ding and iron it out. Always worked for me


Tony
 
twilight said:
Ok I've done my searches and can't come up with anything specific. I need a way to remove a dent. Without ANY sanding. Is it possible?
Click to expand...

I dip a washcloth into a pot of boiling water and then apply to the ding. Heat causes expansion so the surrounding wood fills the dent.
 
For more minor dents just lay the shaft on a flat surface with the dent facing up and place a drop of water into the dent until it soaks in and then drys out completely. It will swell the wood and pop the dent out. Keep repeating until the dent is fully popped out. If it pops out a little too far you can use a smooth glass to smooth it back down even.

For worse dents you can be a bit more aggressive. Wet the corner of a washcloth and place the corner onto the dent. Use a hot iron and place about the last 1/4 inch of the tip of the iron onto the washcloth directly over the dent. This will force steam down into dent and swell the wood up more and faster than the first method. Again, use the smooth glass at the end to smooth it perfect if needed.

If the shaft is very burnished or smooth like glass it helps to open the pores of the wood first by swiping a scotch pad or VERY fine sandpaper into/across the dent just a couple of times to open up the pores of the wood and allow the water to soak into it.

Neither method works well if the wood fibers are broken, which often happens with deep dents made by a sharp edge or object, or very severe and deep dents. If the fibers are broken nothing works well that I am aware of.
 
What has always worked for me is to just take hot tap water, drop a drop of it on the ding with an eye dropper and let it sit for a minute or two. The water softens the wood in the ding. Then I rub it rapidly with a coke bottle. The friction creates enough heat to swell the ding right out. I do not sand at all.

However, I believe some cue makers object to this, saying the water can damage the shaft. I only apply a drop and it has never harmed my shafts, but perhaps Blud or another cuemaker can come on here and give a better method.

-Jerry
 
Wet a papertowel, squeeze out excess water, then use a rubber band to keep it pressed against the dent. I ussually leave it on overnight or until the papertowel is dry then lightly sand. If you are using 6000 and up grit paper you're not going to remove enough wood to notice.
 
Definately subscribing to this thread. Hell a sticky for this one would be nice....just remember folks, if you have laminated shafts (especially meucci black dots) using the steam method weakens the glue in between the 26-34 layers of wood in those shafts, so do the gentler methods first on this laminated shafts...
 
I have a little clothes steamer that I use while traveling. It works great for removing dings. I just steam the area for 15-20 seconds. It raises the grain a little, so I just use some burnishing papers afterwards to smooth out the shaft.
 
I have found that as mentioned previously a hot wet corner of a cloth on the shaft and then hit it with the iron works very well...(Just make sure the cloth is inbetween the shaft and the iron)

For best results after you remove a ding is to take the shaft to someone with a lath and have them re-burnish the shaft....Doing it by hand is torture....

Also....For whatever reason...I have noticed that brand new shafts seem more likely to get dings just by looking at it......after a shaft has been played a while and gets a little dirty from the oils and chalk...they seem less likely to get dings....

Getting it burnished (sealed) by a lathe also makes them seem less likely to get a ding......(just my own experiences)
 
Like many here, I use the the water/paper towel method. I find it kind of difficult to make surgical strikes when applying the water, so I usually use enough towel to surround the shaft. Kind of like a small band-aid. I touch the towel to the kitchen faucet. There is always enough water suspended there to saturate the paper towel. Wrap it around the area of the blemish, and let it sit until the paper towel is dry enough that it falls off by itself. I usually go with overnight.

I don't want to remove any material from the shaft, so I don't ever sand afterwards. I just use a piece of leather to burnish the shaft. The wood fibers are typically only dented, so you are just using the water to let them swell and return to something close to their previous shape.

It may be necessary to do this a couple of times depending on the severity of the ding. If you really feel you have to sand, make sure you let the shaft completely dry out before you do so. Just as the fibers swell with the water, they are going to shrink as some or all of that water evaporates. If you sand too soon, you may end up removing more wood than necessary.
 
a lot of advice here has been very helpful, but everytime I see this subject there are always replies to lightly sand the bump. This was my method in the past but over time it does wear down the shaft. I don't have any problem swelling the dent, it's just that I have problems returning the bump to the same smoothness of the shaft. I really like the idea of using glass to smooth out the bump. I tried that today and it almost worked perfect. Unfortunately the shaft is extremely well burnished and I just cant get the former bump area as smooth.

I never thought about letting the bump completely dry either, I always thought I should work with it when still soft. I will try to let it dry overnight before pushing the dent down with glass. That seems to work very well.

I guess the only question I have now is how to get that former bump as smooth as the rest of the shaft (without using any sandpaper) I don't have access to a lathe as the one poster commented and it's hard on the arm to spin the shaft fast enough.
 
Hambone said:
Wet a papertowel, squeeze out excess water, then use a rubber band to keep it pressed against the dent. I ussually leave it on overnight or until the papertowel is dry then lightly sand. If you are using 6000 and up grit paper you're not going to remove enough wood to notice.
Click to expand...

I've done something very similar - just took a paper towel, folded it over once, and again (same direction), got it damp. Laid the shaft across my sink, with the ding facing up. Laid the damp paper towel over it, so its own weight kept it in place. Left it overnight. No more ding!
 
Jerry Forsyth said:
What has always worked for me is to just take hot tap water, drop a drop of it on the ding with an eye dropper and let it sit for a minute or two. The water softens the wood in the ding. Then I rub it rapidly with a coke bottle. The friction creates enough heat to swell the ding right out. I do not sand at all.

However, I believe some cue makers object to this, saying the water can damage the shaft. I only apply a drop and it has never harmed my shafts, but perhaps Blud or another cuemaker can come on here and give a better method.

-Jerry
Click to expand...

Good advice!!!
 
dent

if wood is not broken just a ding ,i use a damp cloth.over the area and with wife curling iron rub sloweley over the area untile the grain rises. o.k.:D :D :D :D :D
 
Don't use glass....

I do not agree on using glass in burnishing the shaft. All that does it make the ding larger and spreads it out. That is why the dent feels like it's gone and smoother. This actually DAMAGES the wood fibers, so i don't recommend it. A better alternative is to burnishing and smoothing out the shaft after raising the ding is to use leather to burnish the shaft. I believe tiger products has some type of leather burnishing pad.


twilight said:
a lot of advice here has been very helpful, but everytime I see this subject there are always replies to lightly sand the bump. This was my method in the past but over time it does wear down the shaft. I don't have any problem swelling the dent, it's just that I have problems returning the bump to the same smoothness of the shaft. I really like the idea of using glass to smooth out the bump. I tried that today and it almost worked perfect. Unfortunately the shaft is extremely well burnished and I just cant get the former bump area as smooth.

I never thought about letting the bump completely dry either, I always thought I should work with it when still soft. I will try to let it dry overnight before pushing the dent down with glass. That seems to work very well.

I guess the only question I have now is how to get that former bump as smooth as the rest of the shaft (without using any sandpaper) I don't have access to a lathe as the one poster commented and it's hard on the arm to spin the shaft fast enough.
Click to expand...
 
instead of sand paper a dollar bill or a piece of leather works great to bring the grain back down a little heat goes a long way
 
twilight said:
Ok I've done my searches and can't come up with anything specific. I need a way to remove a dent. Without ANY sanding. Is it possible? ...
Click to expand...
There is a whole long section in the "RSB FAQ" about fixing dings. The text is available at http://www.sfbilliards.com/faq.html and the item you want is number 9. "My shaft has a dent. What now?"

Here are all of the topics covered in the RSB FAQ:

0. What are Frequently Asked Questions About Cue Sports?
1. What does XXX mean?
2. What are the rules for XXX?
3. How do I hit a jump shot?
4. How can I put back spin on the ball?
5. What is a push shot?
6. What is the "Diamond System"?
7. How should I choose a cue?
8. Ok, I've got a cue. How do I take care of it?
9. My shaft has a dent. What now?
10. What kind of pool table should I buy?
11. How much room do I need for a table?
12. Can I build my own table and cue?
13. How can I heat a billiard table?
14. What is good table maintenance?
15. How can I learn about billiard physics?
16. Where can I go for more information?
17. What is the record for X?
18. How does the APA handicapping system work?
19. Where's the TV schedule for cue sports?
10. Where can I buy/sell a billiard thingy?
11. What are the different hardnesses of cue tips?
12. Where can I play Virtual Pool on the Internet?
23. Which rooms are in X City?
24. What is a dominant eye?
25. What are some common strategies in the various games?
26. Where can I find tournament brackets (flowcharts)
27. How well do I play? Am I an A or a D?
28. What are those funny numbers people post to the group?
29. Do billiard balls wear down?
 
hotdogg said:
I do not agree on using glass in burnishing the shaft. All that does it make the ding larger and spreads it out. That is why the dent feels like it's gone and smoother. This actually DAMAGES the wood fibers, so i don't recommend it. A better alternative is to burnishing and smoothing out the shaft after raising the ding is to use leather to burnish the shaft. I believe tiger products has some type of leather burnishing pad.
Click to expand...

For smaller dings avoid wetting/steaming any more area than the ding actually covers. I'll normally lay a wet Q-Tip on the exact spot. It may take several wettings but only raises the ding and not the whole surrounding area. Burnish w/leather and avoid any sandpaper as much as possible.

For the ugly/deeper dings I'll use a wet Q-Tip or larger cotton ball and a soldering iron to pop it back. Dont' burn the shaft! I think it was Varney who suggested using amonia rather than water cause it absorbs into the wood deeper and quicker. The swelled area will often level out after drying with a minimum of sanding, I'll usually just burnish with leather to heat up and polish the shaft. Wish I had a lathe.:)
 
hotdogg said:
I do not agree on using glass in burnishing the shaft. All that does it make the ding larger and spreads it out. That is why the dent feels like it's gone and smoother. This actually DAMAGES the wood fibers, so i don't recommend it. A better alternative is to burnishing and smoothing out the shaft after raising the ding is to use leather to burnish the shaft. I believe tiger products has some type of leather burnishing pad.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. It spreads it and you also risk the chance of splitting the bent fibers. Lots of other good advice, warm water, steam (do not leave long, short intervals and dry quickly before putting back) and iron steam.

.
 
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