Redoing a shaft the old fashioned way

[MilwShooter]

I got a fairly old (roughly 15-20 years?) Riley Snooker cue from a friend who found it in his moms basement. I'm refinishing the entire cue and am working on the shaft. I don't have a lathe but am having a BLAST doing it the "old fashioned" way. Sandpaper and some polish (for the brass), it's slow but will be so rewarding! It definitely gives me a respect for the way cues are made. I reattached the shaft to the cue to show the before and after. I polished the brass and stripped off the old finish because it was chipping as you can see on the butt end. What is a good finish for a top coat on the shaft? What do you think so far?

Here's a comparison of the shaft to the butt, to show the difference;

 

[TxSkin]

It's hard to tell because the pictures are blurry. Doesn't matter, though. Looks like fun anyway. Good luck.

 

[MilwShooter]

yeah... A little hard to see how smooth it is, but you can see how "New" it's going to look when I'm done.

 

[izquik72]

I have heard nothing good about UV type finishes.
Ask the guys in the Cue maker forum they can propbably help you better than us bangers.

 

[McChen]

if you want to do it the traditional way, snooker cues typically are oil finished! makes for a very nice finish that glides nicely in the bridge hand.

 

[MilwShooter]

I have heard nothing good about UV type finishes.
Ask the guys in the Cue maker forum they can propbably help you better than us bangers.

Good idea, I forgot about those guys. lol

if you want to do it the traditional way, snooker cues typically are oil finished! makes for a very nice finish that glides nicely in the bridge hand.

Thanks, I'll ask the cue makers what type of oil finish. I asked one of the local guys here in town that does mostly shaft work and he had several good ideas as well, I'll be sure to post more pictures as the work progresses.

 

[Siz]

Use linseed oil

Thanks, I'll ask the cue makers what type of oil finish. I asked one of the local guys here in town that does mostly shaft work and he had several good ideas as well, I'll be sure to post more pictures as the work progresses.

For an ash cue like this, use linseed oil. The basic principle is that you oil it two or three times the first day, then once a day for a few days, then once a week for a few weeks etc. It will never get quite as slick as a maple shaft can be, but on the other hand it should never get really sticky.

Oh, and you might want to stain it before applying the oil finish, but it is personal preference.

EDIT - I should have said: Use raw linseed oil, not boiled. And don't use wire wool - ash cues don't like it.