Lifting points on titlist, easy repair?
- Thread starter PDX
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Probably not if there's enough meat there...
Oh man that sux!!
Not clear from your post if you're in the process of turning it down or if it is a finished product.
If it is in the process of turning, I think I'd soak that whole section in some kind of adhesive - epoxy, CA, ???? and let it cure then continue. Of course, depending on the adhesive, it may color the wood, so then you'd create a new problem as well.
Good luck buddy!!
Gary
Not clear from your post if you're in the process of turning it down or if it is a finished product.
If it is in the process of turning, I think I'd soak that whole section in some kind of adhesive - epoxy, CA, ???? and let it cure then continue. Of course, depending on the adhesive, it may color the wood, so then you'd create a new problem as well.
Good luck buddy!!
Gary
Titlist points
I just did one of these. The blank was about this bad. I heated the cue and the epoxy, lifted the point a little, poured it in, clamped it up and when dry, turned it down. No problems.
Before I started, I carefully inspected the cue for other structural damage and found none. Since the cue was nice and thick the conversion was pretty routine and I was able to end up with perfect points.
Your milage may vary.
This was only my second Titlist conversion, so I'm hardly Mr. Titlist, but if the cue is thick enough, I think it is salvageable.
PS- The finish rendered the epoxy invisible; the repair could hardly be seen.
Robin Snyder
I just did one of these. The blank was about this bad. I heated the cue and the epoxy, lifted the point a little, poured it in, clamped it up and when dry, turned it down. No problems.
Before I started, I carefully inspected the cue for other structural damage and found none. Since the cue was nice and thick the conversion was pretty routine and I was able to end up with perfect points.
Your milage may vary.
This was only my second Titlist conversion, so I'm hardly Mr. Titlist, but if the cue is thick enough, I think it is salvageable.
PS- The finish rendered the epoxy invisible; the repair could hardly be seen.
Robin Snyder
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Not to sound like a sycophant, but this was what I was thinking. Raise it with heat, fill it with tons of adhesive, clamp the crap out of it, let it cure for a while while clamped.... then turn it and pray.
May have been the cost of the blank, sight unseen, then try this repair. Depending on the cost of the blank....? I know I would have passed, my luck, the whole thing would implode on the first pass after repairing it.....
Dave (have regretted taking on some jobs right after starting them...)
Kim I am with you, it's not worth the trouble.
firewood?
I am offering $50 each for all the firewood available in similar condition. I think this is a very generous offer for firewood.
For me, this was not a tricky repair in any way. In fact, it was absolutely straightforward. In my opinion the diameter of the blank is far more important than a small defect of this type.
A nice fresh perfect blank would be nice, but for me, this simply was not a big issue.
Cuemaking is an art and art is about problem solving. OF COURSE there's risk involved.
Plan your work, work your plan.
Robin Snyder
I am offering $50 each for all the firewood available in similar condition. I think this is a very generous offer for firewood.
For me, this was not a tricky repair in any way. In fact, it was absolutely straightforward. In my opinion the diameter of the blank is far more important than a small defect of this type.
A nice fresh perfect blank would be nice, but for me, this simply was not a big issue.
Cuemaking is an art and art is about problem solving. OF COURSE there's risk involved.
Plan your work, work your plan.
Robin Snyder
Food for thought
This cue isn't worth repairing and here's why.
The glue is breaking-down and loosing it's adhesion/bonding properties.
At present, it's happening just at the tips of the points.
The same glue was used throughout the cue's construction which means that eventually, it will all let loose.
Just gluing the tips of the points down won't stop that. With time, this cue will start making noises.
That would be your first clue that it's coming apart from the inside out. You won't stop it.
"Cheap fix" & "easy repair" are terms that have no place in cue repair.
Do it right or live to regret it.
Whether you put your name on the repair or not won't make any difference.
When the cue comes apart, you'll be remembered as the one who 'fixed it'.
BTW, what's your rep worth? Rep never comes cheap & easy.
I don't shy away from a challenge but this one is suicide.
KJ
This cue isn't worth repairing and here's why.
The glue is breaking-down and loosing it's adhesion/bonding properties.
At present, it's happening just at the tips of the points.
The same glue was used throughout the cue's construction which means that eventually, it will all let loose.
Just gluing the tips of the points down won't stop that. With time, this cue will start making noises.
That would be your first clue that it's coming apart from the inside out. You won't stop it.
"Cheap fix" & "easy repair" are terms that have no place in cue repair.
Do it right or live to regret it.
Whether you put your name on the repair or not won't make any difference.
When the cue comes apart, you'll be remembered as the one who 'fixed it'.
BTW, what's your rep worth? Rep never comes cheap & easy.
I don't shy away from a challenge but this one is suicide.
KJ
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This causes me to ponder something I have mentioned before but nobody has commented when I spoke of it.
All of the cues of that era used the same materials and construction...the same adhesives/glues. We commonly see examples for sale in such condition as the one this thread is about. We know the glue is old, we know it is the same in the ones that are not falling apart, yet a serious premium is paid for cues that are in better condition. When those cues are converted my big name makers the prices can be huge. Cue makers here go on about modern glues and how important that is as well as what an advancement it is yet they seem to think nothing of using a 50-75 year old spliced blank. Any disadvantage in the age of the blank is never mentioned at all.
Wouldn't it be more realistic to say that the cues without lifted points simply have not lifted yet, that the cues that are not falling apart simply haven't fallen apart yet?
Take a blank that has sat somewhere for the better part of 50 years and machine it, submit it to environmental changes, and start playing pool with it, meaning stress it...what will happen to it eventually?
I don't really know, it's just something I have mentioned before and I don't remember any cue maker ever directly commenting about it. It seemed to just carry off on the wind.
I have a Brunswick, maybe an early conversion, that is about 100 years old. Seems very solid. But are its days actually numbered? Is it doomed to come apart at the points?
Personally, I think I would be fine with it if a cue maker repaired such lifted points. It seems to me it would be at least as reliable as the original assembly. But that's me....and I am not a cue maker.
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Well built and well maintained furniture from 200+ years ago doesn't come apart on its own and the glues don't fail. It takes a lack of care on some scale, be it too humid, too dry, too hot, physical abuse or something else, to produce the sort of glue failure seen on the OP's cue. If a genuinely solid cue is is converted properly, there is no reason why it should fail just because of the passage of time.
The original cue in this thread is something I wouldn't admit touching. If forced by circumstances to help a dear friend, I would tell him that I know a reclusive, eccentric genius, who might be able to help but no one can ever know who he/she is or where they come from. Perhaps this mystery person might wrap the point section of the cue with some strangely colored lined, i.e purple with white speck leaving a little space between turns of the wrap then soak the entire front of the cue in very thin super glue. Later on the front would have to be turned clean and maybe used for pool or roasting marshmallows, depending on the results.
The original cue in this thread is something I wouldn't admit touching. If forced by circumstances to help a dear friend, I would tell him that I know a reclusive, eccentric genius, who might be able to help but no one can ever know who he/she is or where they come from. Perhaps this mystery person might wrap the point section of the cue with some strangely colored lined, i.e purple with white speck leaving a little space between turns of the wrap then soak the entire front of the cue in very thin super glue. Later on the front would have to be turned clean and maybe used for pool or roasting marshmallows, depending on the results.
That's GOOD!!
That may even add to the value of the cue, speculation as to who did the repairwork....