Magic Eraser for shaft

[chevybob20]

I've been using a ME on my 314-2 shaft for about six years. I've used it wet with water (rarely) but mostly dry. I run it over the shaft just before I play every day.

I just measured the shaft 1/2" behind the ferrule using a electronic caliper, 12.47mm was the smallest measurement.

 

[ridewiththewind]

All bad advice especially if you have to finsh up with sandpaper no matter how fine. All you need is 3 drops of your preferred cleaner on a folded paper towel. Wipe briskly. The shaft doesn't get wet and the dirt lifts off. No, not all of the dirt will come off but at least you preserve the integrity of the wood without raising the grain or introducing moisture.

And before anybody gets pissed do it exactly as I described then see if I know what I'm talking about.

The ME is abrasive and a damp ME is abrasive plus raises the grain not to mention introduces moisture to the wood that may lead to warpage.

I have found that a shaft is gonna move if it wants to, no matter what. No one is saying you dunk the damn thing in water. You wring as much of the water out as possible...no different than using a damp paper towel after washing your hands at the pool hall.

 

[JohnPT]

I have found that a shaft is gonna move if it wants to, no matter what. No one is saying you dunk the damn thing in water. You wring as much of the water out as possible...no different than using a damp paper towel after washing your hands at the pool hall.

All that time the cuemaker had the shaft hanging to dry went out the window when you wiped it with a damp ME. You then suggest to finish off with fine sandpaper because you raised the grain with your wet rag. Lol.

Keep watering that shaft. It is wood afterall. The wood you took off just might grow back.

 

[KRJ]

All that time the cuemaker had the shaft hanging to dry went out the window when you wiped it with a damp ME. You then suggest to finish off with fine sandpaper because you raised the grain with your wet rag. Lol.

Keep watering that shaft. It is wood afterall. The wood you took off just might grow back.

And the wood I use to take off the bat handle of my bats didn't grow back either, but I liked the way it swung better, even though I shortened the life of the bat.... again, you just buy another one, it's wood, I think the cue makers have more

 

[JohnPT]

And the wood I use to take off the bat handle of my bats didn't grow back either, but I liked the way it swung better, even though I shortened the life of the bat.... again, you just buy another one, it's wood, I think the cue makers have more

Nothing wrong with taking wood off if it doesn't bother you or if that was exactly your intention. But if you want to keep the shaft the way it is because you already like the way it plays or because it's a collectable or whatever then you obviously don't want to shave wood off just trying to clean it.

 

[ridewiththewind]

Nothing wrong with taking wood off if it doesn't bother you or if that was exactly your intention. But if you want to keep the shaft the way it is because you already like the way it plays or because it's a collectable or whatever then you obviously don't want to shave wood off just trying to clean it.

Uh...you don't have to grind away at it to get it clean...usually a few times up and down the shaft does the trick. If you have a lathe...it's one pass. I'm not losing anything off the shaft...as I use a microfine paper to deal with the grain. I have been doing this since the ME came out (and know makers who use it to clean shafts as well), and my shafts have suffered no ill effects or any appreciable wood loss.

This is no different than the drama queens that say that chalk wears down your tip. I play a LOT of pool, and my Milk Dud tips are still plenty meaty. Those tips have been on since '09 on one cue, and '10 on the other...still look and work good as new.

The green scruffies take a lot of wood off.

 

[Ak Guy]

A safe information route is to ask a custom cue maker, if you ask a few of them you will get more then one answer. Cleaning a shaft is like cleaning a gun barrel or skinning a moose. There is more then one way to do it and get good results. I think we all agree that we don't want to accidentally introduce moisture to the wood or change the shaft diameter. I have used a shaft cleaner and the original Magic Eraser and the various shaft sealers that are out there along with the colored shaft sand paper. I have also used Birch Wood Casey's Gun Stock Wax and had good results. After burnishing the shaft with a leather pad I finish it off with one of those silicone impregnated gun and reel cloths. I also try to keep my hands clean. Good shafts are expensive and important to our game and they will last most shooters a long time. I often wonder how long a shaft lasts a pro player that shoots 8 or more hours a day. I would think to them a shaft is disposable and wears out, just like a pistol magazine does if you shoot a bunch and let it drop to the ground when doing a speed load in training.

 

[ScottK]

So you've been using the same bill for 5 years? Must be beat up!

Hehe, just messing with ya.

He's been using the same SINGLE for five years!

 

[macguy]

All that time the cuemaker had the shaft hanging to dry went out the window when you wiped it with a damp ME. You then suggest to finish off with fine sandpaper because you raised the grain with your wet rag. Lol.

Keep watering that shaft. It is wood afterall. The wood you took off just might grow back.

All that time the cuemaker had the shaft hanging to dry went out the window the moment the shaft entered another environment. Wood gains and loses moister constantly regardless.
If you wipe a small amount of moister on a shaft it will not necessarily absorb it it will just evaporate. It is the moisture content of the air around it that determines the moisture content of the wood. It wants to equalize based on temp and humidity.

Here is some interesting stuff on the subject.
http://www.csgnetwork.com/emctablecalc.html

I hang wood in a climate controlled room with 50% humidity and around 75 degrees. This keeps the wood at around 8 to 9% moister content. I can get it lower but as soon as the wood leaves the controlled environment it will equalize to the new environment anyway so I want it to be something general no extreme one way or another.

Again, no one is talking about submerging the shaft in a bath, just a light damp surface wipe that lasts a few seconds. I guess if this worries you don't do it. Also be sure not to breath near you cue either since your breath is around 95% RH. And when you leave the air conditioned pool hall to go to your car be sure to place your cue in a constant climate chamber to limit exposure. I know I am being sarcastic but we are talking about something so Infinitesimal as to be meaningless.

 

[JohnPT]

Uh...you don't have to grind away at it to get it clean...usually a few times up and down the shaft does the trick. If you have a lathe...it's one pass. I'm not losing anything off the shaft...as I use a microfine paper to deal with the grain. I have been doing this since the ME came out (and know makers who use it to clean shafts as well), and my shafts have suffered no ill effects or any appreciable wood loss.

This is no different than the drama queens that say that chalk wears down your tip. I play a LOT of pool, and my Milk Dud tips are still plenty meaty. Those tips have been on since '09 on one cue, and '10 on the other...still look and work good as new.

The green scruffies take a lot of wood off.

I don't care for the Magic Eraser but then again I don't mind the shaft being not pristine either. Sanding the raised grain will shave off wood to some degree not matter how you cut it. How much of course depends on the grit and how much pressure is applied and how much of it is done. Again, nothing wrong with that I just feel it is unnecessary and best disclosed when advising such.

 

[JohnPT]

All that time the cuemaker had the shaft hanging to dry went out the window the moment the shaft entered another environment. Wood gains and loses moister constantly regardless.
If you wipe a small amount of moister on a shaft it will not necessarily absorb it it will just evaporate. It is the moisture content of the air around it that determines the moisture content of the wood. It wants to equalize based on temp and humidity.

Here is some interesting stuff on the subject.
http://www.csgnetwork.com/emctablecalc.html

I hang wood in a climate controlled room with 50% humidity and around 75 degrees. This keeps the wood at around 8 to 9% moister content. I can get it lower but as soon as the wood leaves the controlled environment it will equalize to the new environment anyway so I want it to be something general no extreme one way or another.

Again, no one is talking about submerging the shaft in a bath, just a light damp surface wipe that lasts a few seconds. I guess if this worries you don't do it. Also be sure not to breath near you cue either since your breath is around 95% RH. And when you leave the air conditioned pool hall to go to your car be sure to place your cue in a constant climate chamber to limit exposure. I know I am being sarcastic but we are talking about something so Infinitesimal as to be meaningless.

So why does the grain raise when wiped with something damp?

 

[Black-Balled]

So why does the grain raise when wiped with something damp?

Coz it swells as it absorbs water.

 

[poolguy4u]

All my customers love my Magic Eraser shaft cleaning job.

No need to use sandpaper.

And if it takes anything off the shaft, my shaft sealer and wax will make up for any lose in the diameter.:thumbup:

 

[macguy]

So why does the grain raise when wiped with something damp?

Because the wood is not ever really smooth in the first place. If you look at it magnified it is actually pretty rough. Even glass if magnified enough will not look smooth. All those little surface fibers you feel when you clean the shaft were lying flat and and now are sticking up. When you burnish the wood you flatten them down again. In fact on a microscopic level the wood is completely made up of rough fibers, we make it smooth.

The moisture did cause them to pop up because they are so fine they will react to the small amount moisture especially it they are disturbed by scrubbing. But again, it is so Infinitesimal as to be meaningless. By the way, most people who use ME don't use water. Many like alcohol that can be as little as 1% water. It sounds like it is not for you, nothing wrong with that.

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

Hey, I didn't tell you to buy Febreeze stuff. Hahaha, at least you will have a purdy smelling shaft. But like Lisa said, I wouldn't put any chemicals on it. Most likely won't hurt but when unsure, err on the side of caution.

Using water with ME will or can tend to raise the grain. Water doesn't evaporate quickly, hence the reason that people use alcohol. I use 99% Isopropyl as that is all I can get where I am.

Its just fine.

The alcohol won't hurt a Lam shaft. About the only thing that will kill it is using Acetone on it.

Some other cleaners I wouldn't trust so much. There is lots of stuff that you can use safely so if yer not sure, don't use it.

( I use one of my guitar waxes).

I love the smell of a good wax. After I finish a shaft and before I put the lid on, I have a good whiff.

Maybe thats why I used to like building models when I was younger.

 

[pocket]

Hey, I didn't tell you to buy Febreeze stuff....

Thanks very much for the suggestion Blue.

Went out and bought the regular kind. I did notice that the febreze one was a difference texture than the original.

The pads are far softer than I had imagined. If it's removing any material its a tiny amount. So, yeah, if you cracked out the magic eraser after every session you would be damaging your shaft. But using it judiciously for deep cleaning, no way it has a significant effect on the shaft.

With the 99% alcohol, it did a fantastic job, better than I imagined. Worked on a couple older house cues just to see how it would work.

Will continue the work in the morning.

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

People say that it is or has some grit in it. You could use it for a long period and not have to worry.

The Q Whiz is a very fine grit and would have to say that you could use that for hours at a time and not do any damage.

Bit of an exaggeration but you know what I mean.

I initially will use 400 grit on a dirty shaft to take the finish and dirt off. No saw dust comes off, just the original finish, dirt and blue. That is to just bare the wood a bit so I can get at the underneath with the ME.

If I saw saw dust coming off the shaft with 400, I wouldn't be doing it. You can start off with 600 as well. You would have to do a lot of sanding on your cue with 600 or 800 before you would notice a difference in shape on your shaft.