Shaft Cleaning Using A Hand Drill

You guys sound dangerous ............or a hazard to cue shafts .

Nothing better then the right tool for the job .and even then there are some who will still screw it up.

The right tool is a lathe , drills turn slow and you really don't need the shaft rotating to clean it ......................................

For solid maple shafts that don't have a clear coat on them, you know the old wooden ones
Lighter fluid , elbow grease and carnauba car paste wax ...........................
And don't spare the lighter fluid.

Shaft cleaning is like anything else , there is allot of ways of doing it ...

I've used rubbing alcohol for deep cleaning, is that bad?
 
Rubbibg alcohol

I've used rubbing alcohol for deep cleaning, is that bad?

Solid maple shafts only

I don't think using rubbing alcohol is bad ,,,, not If you are using a petroleum based carnauba car paste wax on after cleaning the shaft .

The only issue is you don't want the wood to get dried out of its natural oils .
This one reason I think lighter fluid and certain waxes actually help condition and preserve solid maple shafts.

IMO if you like denatured alcohol to clean your shaft then you should give lighter fluid a try.

When I was first told about lighter fluid ,, personally I thought the person belonged in a rubber room..
Only because I was pretty much forced into using lighter fluid is the only reason I tried it ......................I made a thread about cleaning shafts and someone PMed me and said it works.
I tried it on some old broken cue I had first.
Lighter fluid doesn't work unless you really poor it on .
It does a hell of a job ....Its the only thing I use to clean all the solid maple shafts in for re-tipping and cleaning a shafts that come into my shop .

I can clean about 20 shafts with one small can of lighter fluid ,
 
I don't think using rubbing alcohol is bad ,,,, not If you are using a petroleum based carnauba car paste wax on after cleaning the shaft .

The only issue is you don't want the wood to get dried out of its natural oils .
This one reason I think lighter fluid and certain waxes actually help condition and preserve solid maple shafts.

IMO if you like denatured alcohol to clean your shaft then you should give lighter fluid a try.
Rubbing Alcohol contains water. Not good for wood.

Denatured Alcohol is not the same as Rubbing Alcohol.
Denatured Alcohol is Ethanol that has additives to make it poisonous, bad tasting, foul smelling or nauseating, to discourage recreational consumption. Not Good for Wood.

Lighter Fluid (Naptha) Does Not Contain Any Oils, which is Good for Wood as a Cleaner.

Petroleum based cleaners, waxes, oils are bad for wood. Would you use WD-40, Mineral Oil or Motor Oil?

Pure Carnauba Wax is good for wood.
 
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I saw this video on YouTube and figured I'd share it.
Anybody know where you can get the attachments for different size joints?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZO42dTAB80
Why use a powered device to just clean a shaft?
Even using a Lathe you are "going against the grain". Fine for rough work but for the final step you need to sand, polish, burnish with the grain.


Wash your hands before using any fine instruments. Guitar, Piano, Violin, Cue.
Wipe the shaft clean each time you finish using it. The wrap and the butt also.
Don't wait until it's so filthy that you have to resort to brute force to clean it.

***Once clean, Seal It! The dirt will have a harder time staying in the crevices.***
Makes it easier to wipe down the cue before putting it back in your case.
 
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I don't have an issue w exposing wood breifly to water and the wood doesn't either. At least not my cue I've used exclusively for 9 1/2 years.

I currently use a non wax furniture polish and a cleaner called poly clean, basically a non-toxic non-abrasive finished furniture cleaner, which contains a lot of water.

I clean it, then use the non wax polish. The polish makes the shaft extremely slick. I do this maybe once every three months when I'm playing regularly.

If the shaft loses some slickness and I'm out playing somewhere, I go wash my hands, dry off w the paper towel, take the paper towel to the shaft and the slickness is brought rt back.

I used alcohol only once because the cleaner mentioned above isn't penetrating enough to get the chalk out.

I have a black dot laminate shaft. Perfectly straight.
 
strmanglr scott;5938063 I currently use a non wax furniture polish and a cleaner called poly clean said:
Is it this stuff?
Usually a "Poly" product is for "Polyurethane" finishes, as the name implies.
Unless you have Cuetec sealed shaft I would think twice.
 

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If you could entertain one more "dfq" on this subject. Does the naptha (lighter fluid) remove the blueing on the shaft. I clean and wax my shaft often but was using alcohol and Q-wax occasionally. This doesn't help the blue. Thanks
 
Why use a powered device to just clean a shaft?

Because it's quicker, easier and you get as good if not better results than fiddle farting around with it by hand until your wrists are numb.

That's why.
 
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Is it this stuff?
Usually a "Poly" product is for "Polyurethane" finishes, as the name implies.
Unless you have Cuetec sealed shaft I would think twice.

No, don't think so, maybe. :grin-square:

I work for a large furniture retailer. When I started we had a kit we sold for $30, got free refills on it for life, it was two bottles, a cleaner and a polish.

It's intended purpose was for v similar reasons as that product. Where it really shines is high gloss black furniture of the early eighties, think piano black high gloss. Or, basically the butt end of the stick.

I started using it long before I bought a cue.

It claimed to be anti static. So I used it on my gsxr 750 and the finish never looked so good. It sat under a carport and didn't get the dust build-up in a week that would usually happen over night after a detail. Front of the bike didn't have as many bugs either, the stuff produces a really slick surface.

So when I got my cue I knew it would work great on the bottom and I knew the shaft would be slick, so that's what I use.

They changed the formula about a year ago. So it's completely non-toxic. I spoke w the owner and I think I remember him saying the old stuff had some oil derivatives in it, new stuff doesn't. New stuff has micro-acrylic polymers.
Idk, I never did good in chemistry.

I got a bunch of the old stuff before they ptched it, more than I will probably ever use.

Works great, stick has held up great, including if you haven't seen me mention it before, spending the first four years solid in my trunk in mid-Michigan.
 
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