Parris Cues Maintenance suggestions for shafts

[JoeyA]

During play, if the cue becomes sticky, wipe it down with a slightly damp cloth and buff dry immediately. Never sandpaper the cue, this removes the protective sealer on the shaft leaving bare wood and also gradually wears away the cue shaft.

Occasionally, (3-6 months depending on the amount you play) treat the cue with raw linsead oil. Wipe cue down with a damp cloth and dry. (If cue is very dirty, mild detergent can be used) do not use to much water or this can cause the cue to swell. Apply oil onto cue with a cloth or paper towel, leave overnight to soak in, buff cue with a clean cloth until smooth and dry and no residue is visible on clean cloth. Then wipe with damp cloth and dry and buff.

The above information was copied from Parris Cues website. I was just wondering what the American cue makers thought about using Linseed Oil as suggested above. I think it is linseed and not linsead but please correct me if needed.

Do any of you use raw linseed oil to treat the shaft wood?

If so when or would you burnish the shaft with leather?

Thanks,
JoeyA

 

[rhncue]

During play, if the cue becomes sticky, wipe it down with a slightly damp cloth and buff dry immediately. Never sandpaper the cue, this removes the protective sealer on the shaft leaving bare wood and also gradually wears away the cue shaft.

Occasionally, (3-6 months depending on the amount you play) treat the cue with raw linsead oil. Wipe cue down with a damp cloth and dry. (If cue is very dirty, mild detergent can be used) do not use to much water or this can cause the cue to swell. Apply oil onto cue with a cloth or paper towel, leave overnight to soak in, buff cue with a clean cloth until smooth and dry and no residue is visible on clean cloth. Then wipe with damp cloth and dry and buff.

The above information was copied from Parris Cues website. I was just wondering what the American cue makers thought about using Linseed Oil as suggested above. I think it is linseed and not linsead but please correct me if needed.

Do any of you use raw linseed oil to treat the shaft wood?

If so when or would you burnish the shaft with leather?

Thanks,
JoeyA

Paris cues, of London are one of the most renowned builders of Snooker cues in the world. Snooker cues use Ash instead of Maple for use in their shafts. Ash is a very open grain wood and is a harder wood than Maple. Boiled Linseed Oil, commonly referred to as BLO, is probably the first oil finish to be used on furniture. It soaks in and is supposed to harden the surface and make a protective shield. It is seldom used for a finish for the last hundred years or so though. Through tests, chemists have found that oil finishes actually give very little protection to wood surfaces and BLO, in particular, is the worst. I have a book on finishes that has an article rating about 25 different types of finishes, as far as protection against moisture migration. The best is a sealed coat of paraffin, which was rated at over 99%, all the way down to BLO, which was the worst at -3%. They found that BLO actually attracted moisture. With this knowledge, I believe the use of BLO would be a detriment rather than a benefit. Most cue makers, I believe, use some sort of a thinned padding lacquer as a sealer on their shafts. There are many different types and most cue makers keep their recipe for a shaft sealer close to their vest.

Dick

 

[McChen]

i use linseed oil on my snooker cues and also maple cues. it makes the cue very slick, better than any other finish or even nicely burnished bare wood. i love how it feels and glides. also very easy to maintain, just put on another coat. however, you must use raw linseed oil and not boiled! boiled linseed oil contains heavy metal driers and will make the cue feel sticky. i use something called 'tried and true danish oil'. it is polymerized 100% linseed oil. works the same as raw, but cures much faster. also be aware that oiled wood is yellowish and darkens with age. in terms of relative protection, i don't really know, but i never had any problems with my cues from using it. also, many people apply a beeswax paste as a final finish, which might offer additional protection. i skip the wax though, i find it unnecessary.