Press Linen Wrap By Hand Question

HawaiianEye

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Aloha,

I have a couple cues with linen wraps that I would like to press to flatten out and smooth the fibers in the linen. I know how it is done in the shop with a lathe, but I was wondering if there was some way to do this by hand and without a lathe.

I would like it to have the feel like when the lined is waxed or starched and then pressed down flat and somewhat slick.

Thanks for any information.

Aloha.
 
HawaiianEye said:
Aloha,

I have a couple cues with linen wraps that I would like to press to flatten out and smooth the fibers in the linen. I know how it is done in the shop with a lathe, but I was wondering if there was some way to do this by hand and without a lathe.

I would like it to have the feel like when the lined is waxed or starched and then pressed down flat and somewhat slick.

Thanks for any information.

Aloha.
Click to expand...

Well Kinda, i guess it all depends on your dedication to not taking to a cue repair person. But if you really truly have to do it yourself you could technically make a makeshift lathe or (easier but requires two people and is very dangerous and could ed up hurting yourself, someone else or the cue) use a drill.

If you go with the drill idea you just tape the joint pin so you don't damage it and then chuck it up in the drill. Then with one person operating the drill and holding the other end of the cue with a wet rag, the other person acts as if its on a lathe and does the work. Then just get some spray starch, some wax paper and some stainless steel knives. Apply starch then while it is spinning put a knife on either side, press the linen. then use the wax paper on it, then burnish again.

Thats it. You have now successfully saved yourself a whopping ten bucks, minus 6 bucks for the starch, so you saved yourself 4 bucks technically. You also put yourself in jeopardy of getting hurt, whoever was running the drill in jeopardy of getting hurt, and risked damaging your cue. All to save four bucks? Im thinking you are better off finding a cue repair person in your area to do it. Just saying...
 
cammel8 said:
Well Kinda, i guess it all depends on your dedication to not taking to a cue repair person. But if you really truly have to do it yourself you could technically make a makeshift lathe or (easier but requires two people and is very dangerous and could ed up hurting yourself, someone else or the cue) use a drill.

If you go with the drill idea you just tape the joint pin so you don't damage it and then chuck it up in the drill. Then with one person operating the drill and holding the other end of the cue with a wet rag, the other person acts as if its on a lathe and does the work. Then just get some spray starch, some wax paper and some stainless steel knives. Apply starch then while it is spinning put a knife on either side, press the linen. then use the wax paper on it, then burnish again.

Thats it. You have now successfully saved yourself a whopping ten bucks, minus 6 bucks for the starch, so you saved yourself 4 bucks technically. You also put yourself in jeopardy of getting hurt, whoever was running the drill in jeopardy of getting hurt, and risked damaging your cue. All to save four bucks? Im thinking you are better off finding a cue repair person in your area to do it. Just saying...
Click to expand...

LOL. Thanks for the input. Cue repair persons here in Hawaii are far and few between now days.
 
The most basic way to work your wrap over by hand is actually very simple.

Take a pretty good sized piece of wax paper and fold it over several time. Then wrap it around the wrap and work it over with as much pressure as you can give it. If you can feel some heat through the wax paper, it's good.


Royce
 
Just posted the below reply on another thread about Cortland Linen........

Today, 04:24 PM
I'm a big fan of Cortland Linen; some might even think of me as a Cortland zealot,. I do not have the equipment that others have nor do I install my wraps.
I rely upon others to perform that kind of work, including my cue's tips. Thereafter, the maintenance of the cue's overall finish, etc. is my responsibility.

The only thing I've done to my Cortland wraps over the years is to wipe the wrap with a damp white face cloth and then dry wipe it with a clean white towel.
I let the wrap sit for a short period since there's still a tiny amount of dampness in the wrap, usually no more than 5-10 minutes. Then I take a glass beer stein
(mug) and after laying the cue butt on a flat surface underneath a towel, I use the flat barrel outside of the mug to rub the wrap very fast with application of
pressure as well. I gradually increase both speed & pressure application and heat rub the wrap rotating it as I perform this treatment using a round, straight
heavy glass.The surface feel of the wrap noticeably changes after being dampened and air drying. The wrap cleaning creates some loose fibers of the woven
flax or linen strands that you can feel, however, the heat rub apparently presses the strands flat & the sheen look of the linen & a softer feel is restored again.

It takes multiple treatment of the wrap with heat rubbing using a glass object and I found a beer mug or heavy 16-20 oz. thick glass works great. I press so hard
when I rub that I've actually broken a mug a couple of times but the handle portion that I hold has never come close to breaking. This works.....I dunno why but it
really does work, I wish I had a lathe because that would make this so much easier. I also found it's helpful to damp wipe and dry rub the Cortland Linen in the
same direction it was spun onto the wrap. Always rub in the same circular rotation that the wrap was spun onto the wrap is what I was told a long time ago and
I've just stuck to that.

I'd read where some Azers have used a steam iron to actually press the wrap but I've never attempted that and the idea doesn't appeal to me, especially since
my technique produces acceptable results for me. There's rings and inlays that are very close to my cues' wraps and I'm not saying exposing them to the heat
would be injurious to my cue. I'm just saying I don't feel comfortable even doing that and so why take the risk. I'll stick to what I do since it produces acceptable
results but keep in ind I'm not trying to clean up a cue wrap with years of dirt, grit and grime accumulation like might be the case if you bought a used cue. That's
simply because I attend to my wraps every couple of months so there's not much build-up of dirt so to speak.

Anyway, that's what I know about cleaning Cortland Linen, or any Irish Linen, pool cue wrap.

Matt B.
 
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