Proper cue storage to avoid warping problems?

Survival of the fittest... keep it in a case and leave it your car year round... If it won't stay straight or the inlays or veneers pop.... off to the chipper with it........:wink:
 
I'm curious about the reasoning behind the belief that storing a cue horizontally will induce warpage. I thought this was the best way to store a cue, since it's supported along it's entire length. A real big no-no is leaving a cue leaning against a wall since that WILL cause warpage, but wouldn't storing a cue upright in a wall rack, but NOT hanging from a cue hanger be a less extreme variation of leaning a cue against the wall?
 
I dunno, my cue must be forged from some sort of wooden Adamantium or something...

I lay it flat... I lean it against walls and tables... I put it in my cheap case and leave it my car trunk... It stays in the trunk when it rains... Stays in the trunk when it's 100 degrees... Stays in the trunk when it's 30 degrees... Over the years I'd wipe it down with damp cloths (now I don't though)... I've taken it to dry climates... Taken it to wet climates..


Short of taking it into the shower with me, I've done just about everything a person just shouldn't do with cue, over and over again. With all that abuse my inexpensive hard working Viking rolls super straight, as straight as it was when I bought it, and plays even better than when I first bought it.

Of course I encourage other people to treat their equipment like it's priceless... But I've definitely been living under the idiom of do as I say not as I do.
 
i think of all the options, I agree w/2) in a good case stored upright. But let me add that it is a bad idea to have any cue stored against an outside wall (whether it's a cue rack, or in a case). The temperature change outside vs, the inside temp will cause warpage.

If your cue is properly cured and dried, and if you experience warpage from storing it against an outside wall, once it is stored against an inside wall upright it should/could snap back to straight. I know this 1st hand from installing my cue rack against an outside wall before I learned differently. Once I moved the rack, the 2 cues that warped went back to straight.

Dave
 
Well the first problem is 314, and no im not a 314 hater, i love them.. But im on my third one in the past two years. They warp! I keep mine in a humidity controlled closet in a tight case standing up at steady 70 degree temp all year around. Ive had two of them warp on me and my first one i had custom ringwork put in it to match my cue. Im on my third one and it is slightly warped and rolls a bit, but not too bad to replace yet. A buddy told me they dont warranty warpage, but i think its BS! .. but i cant shoot without one :\ Anybody else know anything about the 314 warp problems?
 
plfrg said:
I just noticed my predator shaft has a slight warp in it. The tip doesn't come off the table but I can see the wobble when I roll it. First time I've noticed it. It's about 4 years old now. Might be a seasonal thing as I don't make a habit of checking it often.

My question is: do any of the cue experts here recommend the best way to store a playing cue to avoid warping?

Lately I've been lazy and have left my cue laying on my table instead of putting it in the cue rack on my wall or unscrewing and putting in my case. It's not like it's been there for months but a day or two at a time laying horizontal on my table. It's in a good temperature controlled area (my house) so that shouldn't be an issue.

My options are:
1. Keep the cue screwed together and put it in my wall rack

2. Unscrew the cue and store it in a good case - and keep the case vertical

3. Unscrew the cue and store it in a good case - it doesn't matter whether it's vertical or not.

4. Keep it screwed together and lay it flat on the table. The lazy and possibly warp inducing option.


I've seen one reference to hanging shafts vertically from the tip. By tying a string around the ferrule I assume? Not sure I would do that unless it was fast. My wife isn't particularly fond of seeing my pool $hit spread all over the place so I'm not sure this option will work anyway.


I couldn't find another thread that specifically recommended a method. This is not for a collector cue. It's for my everyday playing cues.

Thanks for any advice.
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The correct answer is number 2 the reason not to lay on a table is because if your shaft has a pro taper the tip and joint will be resting on the table and the middle of the shaft will be in the air, which will cause a taper roll from gravity. You dont say which predator shaft you use but im going to guess its one of the 314's as they are pro taper while the z shafts are conical or euro taper which is even taper from joint to tip. It is also important to keep the case upright for the same reason if the case is horizontal you have the same situation as the table the center of the shaft is not supported in any case.
 
bearsafety said:
Well the first problem is 314, and no im not a 314 hater, i love them.. But im on my third one in the past two years. They warp! I keep mine in a humidity controlled closet in a tight case standing up at steady 70 degree temp all year around. Ive had two of them warp on me and my first one i had custom ringwork put in it to match my cue. Im on my third one and it is slightly warped and rolls a bit, but not too bad to replace yet. A buddy told me they dont warranty warpage, but i think its BS! .. but i cant shoot without one :\ Anybody else know anything about the 314 warp problems?
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my pre cat 314 is still perfectly straight.
 
PickPocket said:
I have a cue I will be storing for a long time, in addition too that, I have a couple extra shafts, that I want to remain "unplayed". Right now I have them in box style cases, laying horizontally. I have other cases I'm not using, should I switch them out? store them vertically? :(
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the cues are trash now. start over!;)
 
Grilled Cheese said:
The shaft may have warped for several reasons, not necessarily because it is laid on a table.

Buy a quality case, and put your cue away after each use. A quality case is one in which it's orientation should NOT matter, because the internals of the case are supporting, without force, the shaft and butt. Preventing warping.

My advice, buy a case designed by JB. Whether an Instroke, Sterling Wave or his very own customs. Whitten is excellent also.
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Whitten is a freakn JOKE. Dr. D (Sorenson) showed me her custom Whitten case with the Jackn the Box springs and was so proud as she demonstrated how easy it was to get her cues out. I had to refrain from laughing out loud because I could only imagine her shafts trying to stand up straight while not in use. I guess there is a sucker born every minute as this case was approaching a grand in cost.

I also looked at the Jack Justis cases at Valley Forge, 12 years ago. Maybe they have changed, but the shafts did not have tubes to hang in. Be careful of what you buy.

I know for a fact (because I own 4) that Instroke cases are one of the best, if not the best, for storing cues. Your cue shafts just hang there and DO NOT touch bottom, like in some crappy cases. Their tubes are lined nicely and are designed to keep moisture out. I just stand my case straight up while I am not playing and I have never had a cue warp inside an INSTROKE.
 
I have used this case for almost 30 years, up right or flat has made no difference. Seems to work just fine. I do not like tube cases. I wish this case was still available to buy.


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OneIron said:
I've often wondered if there's any risk to leaving a cue laying on a table. My main playing cue is always put in my case but I have other cues including a nice Schon that stays in my wall case vertical. I'm curious to see more comments. :cool:
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Holy cow this is an old thread :eek:

I have had my playing cue screwed together for...ohhhh, more than 6 months and when not being used it lays on my table all the time. Sometimes I loan it out for people to sight their lasers in :groucho:
 
I leave my cue with shafts in my car through out the year and it doesn't warp, It had gotten a little warped when I had a wrap put on it years ago But I've kept this cue in the car for a few years now and it hasn't warped anymore then it was and this includes the shafts.
 
I bought a Mali cue in 1995 and left it on a shelf in a box case, laying horizontally. I decided to take up pool again in 2017 and when I took the cue out, it was still perfectly straight. Good enough for me.
 
I have a Black Dot shaft which had a slight wobble. I hung it (accidentally, because I tried them) from one of the rubber cue hangers and it pretty much straightened out after a while. They are strong enough to support all cues, the rubber is really tight around the top 3 or 4 inches of cue.

I would not use rubber bands with knots as practically all knots exert a sideways force however small this might be. For longer periods of time this may well make a difference.

I agree with one poster in this thread that there may be a problem if you leave your cues hanging for very long in those rubber thingies as some of the chemicals in the rubber might discolor the cue leak out. I did not experience any of that but my cues are used regularly and I had them hanging for over a year now.
 
Meucciplayer said:
I have a Black Dot shaft which had a slight wobble. I hung it (accidentally, because I tried them) from one of the rubber cue hangers and it pretty much straightened out after a while. They are strong enough to support all cues, the rubber is really tight around the top 3 or 4 inches of cue.

I would not use rubber bands with knots as practically all knots exert a sideways force however small this might be. For longer periods of time this may well make a difference.

I agree with one poster in this thread that there may be a problem if you leave your cues hanging for very long in those rubber thingies as some of the chemicals in the rubber might discolor the cue leak out. I did not experience any of that but my cues are used regularly and I had them hanging for over a year now.
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can you post a pic of those hangers you used?
 
The proper long term storage for a shaft is the same as the proper intermediate storage for a shaft that is still being made:: hanging in a closet (low ventilation low temperature change room) from the ferrule end -- hanging straight down.

As for the butt:: I don't know.
 
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