Irish Linen Wrap

R

Rackin78

Registered
I have a National cue I bought about 15 years ago when I was in High School and thought was a very nice cue. If I remember remember correctly it was discounted b/c the Irish Linen wasn't just right. Well over the years of me playing on and off the wrap is in very sad shape. I took it to a local cue smith who pointed out the made in Taiwan sticker and said it wasn't really worth spending $40 re-wrapping but I could try it myself since I'm a tinkerer, the wrapping is severely frayed and overlapping with parts of the unfinished wood showing, & the cue has very little value so it's not like I'd mess it up. I've seen the single cue spools of Irish Linen (white with black specks) for about $5 online so I'm willing to take a stab at it.

Just wondering if there's any good links or if anyone's got any good suggestions for how / if I should do this.
 
Most everyone that I know does a linen wrap on a lathe of sorts.
I use a Craftsman wood lathe fitted with a sewing machine motor with foot-pedal speed control.
Once the old wrap is removed and the wrap-groove is cleaned-up, a thin layer of Elmers white glue is applied to the wetted wrap groove.
There are at least a couple of ways to start the wrap.
You can drill a small hole at the base of the forearm to stick the end of the linen into and secure it with a toothpick. Break off the toothpick at the surface and rotate the cue while wrapping/applying the linen.
No gaps and keep the linen taught.
Once you reach the end of the wrap groove, you can do the hole & toothpick thing again or use a looped piece of strong thread mtrl. to pull the linen under itself. It's better if someone can show you this because it's hard to describe.
Then there are the pressing and burnishing tools though in their absence I've heard of a shot-glass being employed while the cue is spinning.

It's going to take both of your hands to apply the linen so you might want to have a friend help you by rotating the lathe by hand if you don't have foot-operated speed control.
Wetting the wrap groove prior to applying the glue will thin it and give you a little more working time. You're going to have to move quick though because the glue will dry quickly. I normally do a linen wrap start to finish in 20 minutes.

In all honesty, for $35/40 you might be better off having someone do this for you and save the hassle.
 
OK, thanks a bunch for the info! I have a wood lathe & so do my Grandpa, but no foot control so I'll have to get my brother to spin the lathe for me.
 
As for linen, check Atlas. I think their prices are better. Not sure, but I think they sell single application spools for about $5. I bought several last month, so I'm not sure, but I think that's close.
 
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