Last night I went to the poolhall and stayed pretty late, I put my cue case in my trunk and drove home. I guess because I was so tired I forgot to take my case out of my trunk, and I didn't remember until I went to get my case from where I usually keep it in my house and it wasn't there. I ran outside to the car and sure enough my cues were in there, and today the temperature was over 100. I pulled out my main playing cue and the wood feels very warm even though the temperature outside has cooled off because it's evening now. I haven't gone to the poolhall to roll the cue and see if it's still straight, do you all think it's probably warped? I am so angry at myself....
Is My Cue Ruined?
- Thread starter LowEnglish
- Start date
Sweet Marissa
www.Bella-Muse.com
LowEnglish said:
I think we've all done it. It should be fine. (Hate to see what happens when you have kids, though
)
I wouldn't worry too much. Yeah the wood can warp from heat but here's hope for you. I have an old novelty cue I bought in 1978 and kept under my seat for probably 6 or 7 years in 32 - 160 degree inside car temps. I recently fixed that cue up when I noticed it was still straight as an arrow.
Terry
Terry
it depends on the cue,and what you have it stored in. i left my schon,Mace,and my jump cue out in the car one day kind of like in your situation and every thing was fine butts and shafts rolled good and straight but the shaft for my jump cue had a wobble to it, A friend of mine left his cue a KC i think in his truck in a case that he bought from kmart(he couldnt spring for the better walmart case) 
and the shaft was fine but the butt had warped i think it all depends on how the wood to make the cue is cured. but just my 2c, put it on a lathe that will tell you right there.
and the shaft was fine but the butt had warped i think it all depends on how the wood to make the cue is cured. but just my 2c, put it on a lathe that will tell you right there.My cues never leave the car except when I play. I don't know how hot the inside of the car is but ranges from 0 to 100 on the outside. The only problems I have ever have happen in the winter, the cue is warped when you first bring it in out of the cold but in a few minutes it's as straight as a crooked arrow; not really it always comes out straight.
LowEnglish said:
Seriously, slight warpage shouldn't detract from the way the cue plays and there's a chance it was slightly warped before you left it in your trunk (that is, if it's warped at all). If it isn't a boomerang, I really wouldn't worry. Also, it's the shaft that's most vulnerable (warping a butt takes far more skill than anyone on this forum is capable of) and shafts get used, abused and replaced all the time.
drivermaker
Banned
Jude Rosenstock said:
Never ever listen to Jude when it comes to leaving a cue in a car. He's from New Yawk...what does he know?
A. Most New Yawkers don't drive or own cars (I can't figure where all the traffic comes from...must be NJ)
B. After one night of leaving your cue in the car in NY, you'll have to see if it's warped in the pawn shop.
C. If you do own a car in NY, it might not be the cue that's warped, but when you come out the next morning the CAR will sure as hell be warped. (mangled might be a better word)
Jude does play with a warped banana cue though, so he does know warp.
LowEnglish said:
u'll be fine .All my shafts never roll right .
You're supposed to take it out of the trunk?LowEnglish said:
Mike
drivermaker
Banned
1pRoscoe said:
That's because it was made by a Hall Of Fame cuemaker instead of a (cough-cough) custom (really a spec cue) made in someones garage. You would have received it warped from day 1.
Hey, Phoenix was 116 yesterday...what do you think the inside of a car would have been?
B
Bruce S. de Lis
Guest
drivermaker said:
Was 116, and that is Hot. Friend is a Cart Pusher @ Ye local Supermarket, he said the Black Top at 5:00 p/m was 128.
Your Cue is Replaceable unlike the Kid in the Valley an Aunt forgot to take out of a Hot Car for 5 hours after coming home from errands last week.
Kids was DEAD on the Back Seat when the mother ask were is so and so, and the Aunt remember leaving the Baby in the Car.
Aunt is facing Murder Charges....
LowEnglish said:
I should be OK. We all forget stuff occasionally. At my age, more occasionally every year! I was working part time for a billiard retailer a number of years ago. I would set up a booth at large tournaments and sell cues and accessories and do cue raffles. One night at about 2 AM I packed all the stuff up in my car and was driving home when I realized that I had left my own cues and case sitting in the pool hall. After I got my heart started again, I went back to the pool hall fully expecting them to be gone. It was a miracle, but they were still there.
keep my stick in my car...hot weather and high humidity...it's fine. maybe those pie segments help it warp less lol
LowEnglish said:
Some information on abuse
This was a really interesting thread...so i gotta throw my .02 in as well.
The temperature inside a car (in the sun) on a 100+ degree day can reach as high as 160 (this may be subject to debate but I don't think it will matter).
Most of our cues are built around hard maple and joined with two part epoxy (lots of folks like West System because of their extensive research). The kiln drying schedule for hard maple begins at 120F and ends at 160F. WS Epoxy, (thermoset resin) generally becomes plastic (heat deflection temperature (HDT)) between 118 to 123°F, depending on which hardener is used. Testing shows that West System epoxy returns to full strength after cooling to room temperature as long as the temperature of the epoxy has not exceeded 200°F for long periods...
As wood dries it shrinks, upon heating it swells slightly (both vice versa)...the magnitude of movements are quite different laterally vs longitudinally (with the grain, not necessarily the aligned with the cue/shaft). I'm a believer in wax to reduce the speed of moisture exchange. In addition, different materials have disparate rates of expansion/regression (on their way to and from room temperature). Also, wood (in general) does not have real good memory and is pliable. This is, in my opinion, the leading cause of slightly untrue shafts, which, as has been pointed out here, doesn't affect the play a lot. Ambient moisture content (locally different) will be varied significantly by prolonged (2+ hrs) exposure to heat in the ranges discussed here. The resulting internal stresses created by this movement are very powerful...similar to freezing water in a fissure of a stone.
Consequently...when you expose a cue to high temperatures you are effectively resetting the glue joints. It is a good idea to allow the cue to slowly cool in a non-stressed position. Gravity hung is best...laying flat is the wrong thing to do for a shaft as the taper can/will slump. I didn't bother with an anaylsis of clear coating but the prognosis is no better.
I've seen a lot of well made cues diminished (some repeatedly) in this way.
Just my opinion...you be the judge
Hittman
This was a really interesting thread...so i gotta throw my .02 in as well.
The temperature inside a car (in the sun) on a 100+ degree day can reach as high as 160 (this may be subject to debate but I don't think it will matter).
Most of our cues are built around hard maple and joined with two part epoxy (lots of folks like West System because of their extensive research). The kiln drying schedule for hard maple begins at 120F and ends at 160F. WS Epoxy, (thermoset resin) generally becomes plastic (heat deflection temperature (HDT)) between 118 to 123°F, depending on which hardener is used. Testing shows that West System epoxy returns to full strength after cooling to room temperature as long as the temperature of the epoxy has not exceeded 200°F for long periods...
As wood dries it shrinks, upon heating it swells slightly (both vice versa)...the magnitude of movements are quite different laterally vs longitudinally (with the grain, not necessarily the aligned with the cue/shaft). I'm a believer in wax to reduce the speed of moisture exchange. In addition, different materials have disparate rates of expansion/regression (on their way to and from room temperature). Also, wood (in general) does not have real good memory and is pliable. This is, in my opinion, the leading cause of slightly untrue shafts, which, as has been pointed out here, doesn't affect the play a lot. Ambient moisture content (locally different) will be varied significantly by prolonged (2+ hrs) exposure to heat in the ranges discussed here. The resulting internal stresses created by this movement are very powerful...similar to freezing water in a fissure of a stone.
Consequently...when you expose a cue to high temperatures you are effectively resetting the glue joints. It is a good idea to allow the cue to slowly cool in a non-stressed position. Gravity hung is best...laying flat is the wrong thing to do for a shaft as the taper can/will slump. I didn't bother with an anaylsis of clear coating but the prognosis is no better.
I've seen a lot of well made cues diminished (some repeatedly) in this way.
Just my opinion...you be the judge
Hittman
drivermaker said:
I cab everywhere and would LOVE to permenantly close all bridges and tunnels to NJ.
drivermaker said:
Your trunk is public domain. Every New Yorker knows this.
drivermaker said:
It's called Park & Pray. We do it all the time.
drivermaker said:
I haven't had a perfectly straight cue in years but since my stroke is crooked, it all works out in the end.
drivermaker
Banned
Jude Rosenstock said:
Now I KNOW Mawissa got to you and made the conversion...there you go again talking about "behinds". Tsk, tsk, tsk.
