How to keep my shaft perfect?

J

jk36287

Registered
My "new to me" predator shaft is without a doubt, the smoothest, and silkiest feeling shaft I've ever handled. Now my question is,
what can I do to make sure it stays that way for its whole life. Before I play, and before I even take it out of the case,
I wash my hands thoroughly, and after playing, I use my little brownish tweed looking sponge thing that you slide the shaft
through (it looks like you are pleasuring the shaft when you do it). So other than that, are there any methods or products that
will ensure it stays the way it is? I have a lathe that I do tip-work on so would that be of benefit for any methods?

thanks,
JK
 
first of all, THROW AWAY THAT TWEED SHAFT DESTROYER!!!!
you're shaving away wood every time you use it, unless you are on a lathe, you are not acurately sanding away wood in all directions, meaning by sanding away wood by hand with one of those things or with a "green pad" you are essentially changing/ruining the taper of the shaft. not to mention every time you do this you are making your shaft a tiny bit smaller. a few nights a week, 4 weeks a month, etc. it REALLY adds up!


okay now on to methods of taking care of your shaft.
for blueing, i sugguest mr. clean magic eraser, it will clean it up super good without damaging it in any way.

to smooth out your shaft, i sugguest the Q-wiz, look it up, its my favorite shaft product so far, it takes off more dirt than wood, very very very very tiny bit of wood. if youve ever used one you will know what i mean. it gets your shaft smooth and almost glass-like.

i also keep a microfiber towel with me when i play, it is always sitting on the table or bench next to my drink, cigarettes, and cue case. after every turn i go back to my seat and wipe down my shaft before going to shoot, or ill wipe right before i go to the table.

hope that helped
 
JESToner said:
first of all, THROW AWAY THAT TWEED SHAFT DESTROYER!!!!
you're shaving away wood every time you use it, unless you are on a lathe, you are not acurately sanding away wood in all directions, meaning by sanding away wood by hand with one of those things or with a "green pad" you are essentially changing/ruining the taper of the shaft. not to mention every time you do this you are making your shaft a tiny bit smaller. a few nights a week, 4 weeks a month, etc. it REALLY adds up!


okay now on to methods of taking care of your shaft.
for blueing, i sugguest mr. clean magic eraser, it will clean it up super good without damaging it in any way.

to smooth out your shaft, i sugguest the Q-wiz, look it up, its my favorite shaft product so far, it takes off more dirt than wood, very very very very tiny bit of wood. if youve ever used one you will know what i mean. it gets your shaft smooth and almost glass-like.

i also keep a microfiber towel with me when i play, it is always sitting on the table or bench next to my drink, cigarettes, and cue case. after every turn i go back to my seat and wipe down my shaft before going to shoot, or ill wipe right before i go to the table.

hope that helped
Click to expand...

The Q Wiz is very abrasive. It removes quite a bit of wood. Notice how white the abrasive side gets. That's wood powder.

I recommend that after using the shaft clean it with denatured alcohol and a rag, and then burnish with a leather pad.

When the shaft starts to show some blue you can put it in the lathe and us the Mr. Clean Magic eraser followed by just a quick touch up with 4000 Micro Mesh cloth followed by 6000 grit micro mesh followed by leather burnishing.

The shaft will stay as smooth as it is now. This is the process I've used for several years and it works great. I should also say that I'm not an expert nor am I a cue maker... just a guy who has experimented and followed the recommendations of cue makers and would up with this process.
 
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JESToner said:
first of all, THROW AWAY THAT TWEED SHAFT DESTROYER!!!!
you're shaving away wood every time you use it, unless you are on a lathe, you are not acurately sanding away wood in all directions, meaning by sanding away wood by hand with one of those things or with a "green pad" you are essentially changing/ruining the taper of the shaft. not to mention every time you do this you are making your shaft a tiny bit smaller. a few nights a week, 4 weeks a month, etc. it REALLY adds up!


okay now on to methods of taking care of your shaft.
for blueing, i sugguest mr. clean magic eraser, it will clean it up super good without damaging it in any way.

to smooth out your shaft, i sugguest the Q-wiz, look it up, its my favorite shaft product so far, it takes off more dirt than wood, very very very very tiny bit of wood. if youve ever used one you will know what i mean. it gets your shaft smooth and almost glass-like.

i also keep a microfiber towel with me when i play, it is always sitting on the table or bench next to my drink, cigarettes, and cue case. after every turn i go back to my seat and wipe down my shaft before going to shoot, or ill wipe right before i go to the table.

hope that helped
Click to expand...


For a person suggesting a magic eraser you're pretty hard on the guy for using one of those brown pads. The magic eraser is VERY abrasive also.

I have a guy who strips, burnishes and reseals my 314-2 about 6 times a year. For $10 a month it keeps me happy.
 
I need to keep my shaft as clean and smooth as possible. I have sweaty hands and I hate the sticky feel when the cue gets dirty. I have tried everything from Cue Slick to Butchers Bowling Alley Wax. The best thing for your shaft is nothing.

Clean the shaft with a Majic Eraser. Burnish the shaft with a piece of leather immediatly after. I use Porpers leather burnishing leather.

If you absolutely have to sand the shaft, like just after you remove a ding, use very fine sand paper. I use Nick Varners Edge to fill this need.

Wash your hands regularly and keep a towel with you to wipe the shaft often.
 
try a wet towel, not too wet just a little and then rub it dry...looks brand new, tip comes from mr souquet himself :-)
 
jk36287 said:
My "new to me" predator shaft is without a doubt, the smoothest, and silkiest feeling shaft I've ever handled. Now my question is,
what can I do to make sure it stays that way for its whole life. Before I play, and before I even take it out of the case,
I wash my hands thoroughly, and after playing, I use my little brownish tweed looking sponge thing that you slide the shaft
through (it looks like you are pleasuring the shaft when you do it). So other than that, are there any methods or products that
will ensure it stays the way it is? I have a lathe that I do tip-work on so would that be of benefit for any methods?

thanks,
JK
Click to expand...
Shaft Freeze will keep your shaft slick and keep it from turning blue, with no cleaning or sanding. mike@babysproshop.com 864-458-7662
 
jk36287 said:
My "new to me" predator shaft is without a doubt, the smoothest, and silkiest feeling shaft I've ever handled. Now my question is,
what can I do to make sure it stays that way for its whole life. Before I play, and before I even take it out of the case,
I wash my hands thoroughly, and after playing, I use my little brownish tweed looking sponge thing that you slide the shaft
through (it looks like you are pleasuring the shaft when you do it). So other than that, are there any methods or products that
will ensure it stays the way it is? I have a lathe that I do tip-work on so would that be of benefit for any methods?

thanks,
JK
Click to expand...

I use the Q-Wiz cleaning pads and they work really well. I also recommend you give your shaft a more thorough cleaning about once every 2 - 4 weeks, using some Pumice Hand Cleaner. You can buy a small container for a few bucks at your local auto parts store. It's great for getting all of the chalk and grime and the other nasty stuff that accumulates thickly in your shaft over time. http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=200723
 
Mizerak wrote somewhere (I forget) a tip I've used for years. If your shaft feels a little funky when you're about to use it, rub it with some folded over crisp paper money. Very low abrasion, takes off a little of the gunk, and Steve claimed there was something about the ink - don't know about that... But it will leave your shaft feeling glass smooth. Higher denominations don't really do a better job, but you could try...
 
My Grandfather showed me that using lighter fluid keeps the shaft super clean. Not enough to get the wood wet but it cleans well. Then I use about 1000 grit sandpaper and after that rub the shaft down with an index card.
 
This is my basic shaft cleaning check list.

1. magic eraser dampen with alcohol
2. shaft paper
3. burnish with leather or brown paper bag

If magic eraser isn't marketed in your country, go to any place that supply speaker supplies and look for melamine foam. Magic Eraser is melamine foam. Most shaft paper are repackaged 3M brand wet/dry sandpaper in 2000, 4000, 6000 or 8000 grit.
 
I don't mean to go off-topic on the original poster but, does that Shaft Freeze give the shaft that glossy coating? The kind like a cuetec comes with. I am interested in the coating, but if it gives the feel of a cuetec shaft then i am not interested, as that coating is the stickiest thing known to man.
 
First of all, Magic Eraser is not "very abrasive" like a previous poster said. The particles you feel after using it are tiny pieces of the eraser itself, not wood. Used as directed, it is not abrasive at all (people clean their painted walls with this stuff). In any event, it is not something that you should do too often - a couple of times a year, maybe, in order to remove the blue. I follow it up by using the two least abrasive Cue Smooth papers, and it's like you have a new shaft - almost.

To keep the shaft feeling smooth through your fingers, Ray Schuler recommended using a slightly damp rag, followed up by a vigorous rubbing with a dry towel. It does not remove much of the blue but it does make the shaft feel smooth. I never had a problem with a shaft warping with these treatments, but the problem is that it doesn't last all that long before you have to do it again. Most posters on this board will tell you never to use water. Well, what can I say? I never had a problem myself.

I liked the SlipStik product to give it a longer lasting smooth feel, but they're now out of business. However, I did manage to buy a lifetime supply (lifetime, considering that I'm 61) of their combo product and I use that every few weeks. If I didn't have that I would use the Schuler damp rag treatment.

Finally, if you're hands sweat in a game and you need something right away, there's always powder. My hands sometimes sweat, and when that happens I use a little rosin bag type powder dispenser sparingly - just where the cue slides.
 
My dear boy, the right woman will keep your shaft in tip-top shape. I've never thought of using sandpaper on my shaft. Is this a new trend? Doesn't it hurt? And then alcohol? Did I fu@# up and go on an S & M site? You people are sick.
 
Perfect Shafts

I have used alot of things over the years like most of us and have always been curious myself as to what does actually work best ???
After a long trial and error process to find something that actually does what it claims I stumbled across this product last year at the 2008
Valley Forge Expo. This product is by far the best product I have ever used personally to keep your shafts feeling like new with that Ultra smooth surface that I have yet to obtain using anything else without any damage to the shaft. I still clean the shafts on a regular basis with a lathe and shaft cleaner but to keep the shafts conditioned and smooth as glass I only use these now. They are not expensive IMO, can be washed and reused and last a very long time. I highly recommend these to anybody wanting a great product to keep your shafts in Top Shape.

P.S. - I have no affiliation with this Company or product in any way.

http://www.poolndarts.com/p-7942-Magic-Mesh/

Thanks..............Paul
 
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