Linen wrap durability and difficulty to change

[M4verick]

Hi,

I was always a wrapless player but recently I have been thinking about switching to cue with linen wrap (mostly balance wise reasons, as the linen wrapped cue should be more forward balanced, what I like).

What was always worrying me was the linen soaking all the dirt and moisture and being "sweaty" and unpleasant. I also imagine the sweat contacting bare wood underneath would be bad to the cue.

Am I overreacting here ? Also, what would be the durability of linen wrap ? How often do you have to change it ?

I don't have any lathe at home (and I live in Poland, so not much cuemakers there) will I be able to replace it "freehand" ?

 

[Tommy-D]

I chalk up with my grip hand,so it gets dirtier than some. My hands sweat at times.

I've always done things to my wrap to try and keep the feel the way I like it,so it's been cleaned,repressed,sealed,etc several times each.

I've still only replaced the wrap on my Schon 8 times in 21 years.

Removing it can be a pain,esp if it's been wet to the bone repeatedly so to speak,and the linen will come apart on you,in pieces that can vary from an inch or 2 before it rips again,or 2-3 feet at times.

If it comes apart well enough to let you go from end to end,you're lucky.

It's not terribly hard,but takes plenty of experimentation to get your equipment set up right to do linen wraps with consistency and efficiency,unless your lathe is one of the more advanced cue-specific machines,or a full sized machine lathe.

It also takes patience and a good bit of hand skill.

I haven't done many,but am fully capable now.

Learn from one of my mistakes,unless it comes directly from Atlas or Prather's,don't trust a single cue spool of linen,spend the money if at all possible and buy a full roll. Tommy D.

 

[pdcue]

Hi,

I was always a wrapless player but recently I have been thinking about switching to cue with linen wrap (mostly balance wise reasons, as the linen wrapped cue should be more forward balanced, what I like).

What was always worrying me was the linen soaking all the dirt and moisture and being "sweaty" and unpleasant. I also imagine the sweat contacting bare wood underneath would be bad to the cue.

Am I overreacting here ? Also, what would be the durability of linen wrap ? How often do you have to change it ?

I don't have any lathe at home (and I live in Poland, so not much cuemakers there) will I be able to replace it "freehand" ?

None of the above is a problem.

Unless you abuse it, a linen wrap done within the last 30 years should
last a lifetime. The pressing/sealing give more than adequare protection.
You need a lathe to do a high quality wrap.


Dale

 

[eddie0776]

If the cue does not have the handle cut for a wrap yet I dont think you want to do this by hand. I would spend the money and send it to a cue repairman. There are plenty of us that do this cheap enough that its not worth the aggravation of trying it without a lathe. Good luck.

 

[AtLarge]

Hi,

I was always a wrapless player but recently I have been thinking about switching to cue with linen wrap (mostly balance wise reasons, as the linen wrapped cue should be more forward balanced, what I like). ...

A linen wrap replaces a roughly equivalent volume of wood. It sounds like you are assuming that the weight of the wood removed is considerably more than the weight of the linen added, thereby moving the balance point forward. I doubt that there is a significant enough difference in weight between the wood removed and the linen added to achieve that objective. Maybe some cue makers will know more precisely.

Regardless, by switching cues you'll certainly be able to find one that is more forward balanced (for reasons other than the wrap) than your current cue.