snookered_again
Well-known member
so to define that,,
Coefficient of friction (COF) is a dimensionless number that is defined as the ratio between friction force and normal force (Eqn (2.1)). Materials with COF smaller than 0.1 are considered lubricous materials. COF depends on the nature of the materials and surface roughness.
what Im referring to specifically is the way the pool cue slides through your hand as you bridge.
I see a lot of beautiful cues with finishes such as epoxy and also people scrubbing their cues trying to reduce friction.
If you wear a glove, this is a way around the issue, but many don't prefer to. our skin of course naturally produces perspiration so its worse in hot humid weather. yes you can use talcum powder and things like that to help.
in wood finishing there are basically two types of finish, an oil finish such as linseed , tung or similar oil can soak int the wood and after several applications, fills voids in the wood producing a beautiful finish, this is an under the surface or in the wood finish. it tends to look better than a clearcoat because the light isnt' passing through the coating twice before it hits your eye. you can actually see the wood itself and the ribbon or chattoyance. It is not clouded by a coating. traditional shellac based french polishing also fills voids without much build upon the surface so is related.
I personally love finished like this on furniture, it tends to be a silky smooth finish but if you run your fingers over it it feels like wood , not like some sort of plastic coating.
the absorption of linseed oil into the fibers also helps the surface of the wood by hardening it, when those pores are filled with linseed oil and it hardens it acts like a glue and bonds the fibers together making the surface stronger. I have fir floors so I used that to harden the floor and bring up its beauty and followed that in some spaces with a poly coating which forms a hard shell over the floor, but that's on a floor, not a cue.
a gun stock can be immersed in a bucket of linseed oil to allow it to soak right in this helps protect against weather without building upon the wood itself.
a top coating can scratch then it needs refinishing to correct, but an in the wood finish such as linseed oil is easily repaired, t is maintained by putting more on , letting it sit 15 mins and then removing all but what soaked in with clean fresh cloths, this can be repeated. i like to use fine sandpaper to scrub the finish in , this removes high spots and the dust moves around in solution helping to fill any voids. the linseed oil does harden, it takes time, but it hardens up very hard. If you were to apply a finish such as this you may wan to let it sit a while to harden before putting it to use. you might pit it on every week for a while and set it aside.
a shiny surface is simply a microscopic level of the surface, so it's not porous basically. if it is spinning on a lathe then that's an easy way to apply such a finish or to work it in as the spinning helps.
I feel that the feel and touch of an oil finish is just a more natural feel than a plasticized coating and its a thing we handle a lot, so it has the efect of a handrail in an old building, the oils from your skin and friction of being touched often help to improve the finish over time. it still has the feel of wood , not a plastic coating.
the plastic coating could be epoxy or polyurethane or a specially hardened water base UV finish. those topcoats are non porous they feel more like plastic or glass than wood , this is because on a microscopic level they are sealed so the perspiration acts and creates friction , so the cue starts to squeak through your hand rather than easily sliding. this is where the term coefficient of friction comes in , call it what you like, its a fancy term but you get it.
the carbon shafts have some good properties that are desirable but they cant; have the feel of real wood. I dont know if others think this way.
I have an appreciation for things like old hand tools which have a finish from hand use, a vintage hammer with an oil finish applied periodically is a lot nicer to use in my mind than a fiberglass one for example.. or some sort of rubber handle.
I feel that the need to wear a glove to handle a cue that is designed with a shiny finish is something that doesn't attract me, but some like that and that's fine of course. it's a personal preference.
no i do not make cues and I am not an expert on the subject, so I'm trying to learn by asking here . I'm not stating that this finish is better than that or what people should do or use. I think I'm questioning why I see so many cues finished in a way that they have a high coefficient of friction and if there are better ways. Would a linseed oil or similar in the wood finish be appropriate for a cue?
the other factor here is that an in the wood finish does structurally change the cue and I don' know if that's preferable, I dont see why making it stronger in this way would have an ill effect but maybe it changes something that affects it's whip etc. ( performance) There are experts that might have further opinions or facts about all this.
Coefficient of friction (COF) is a dimensionless number that is defined as the ratio between friction force and normal force (Eqn (2.1)). Materials with COF smaller than 0.1 are considered lubricous materials. COF depends on the nature of the materials and surface roughness.
what Im referring to specifically is the way the pool cue slides through your hand as you bridge.
I see a lot of beautiful cues with finishes such as epoxy and also people scrubbing their cues trying to reduce friction.
If you wear a glove, this is a way around the issue, but many don't prefer to. our skin of course naturally produces perspiration so its worse in hot humid weather. yes you can use talcum powder and things like that to help.
in wood finishing there are basically two types of finish, an oil finish such as linseed , tung or similar oil can soak int the wood and after several applications, fills voids in the wood producing a beautiful finish, this is an under the surface or in the wood finish. it tends to look better than a clearcoat because the light isnt' passing through the coating twice before it hits your eye. you can actually see the wood itself and the ribbon or chattoyance. It is not clouded by a coating. traditional shellac based french polishing also fills voids without much build upon the surface so is related.
I personally love finished like this on furniture, it tends to be a silky smooth finish but if you run your fingers over it it feels like wood , not like some sort of plastic coating.
the absorption of linseed oil into the fibers also helps the surface of the wood by hardening it, when those pores are filled with linseed oil and it hardens it acts like a glue and bonds the fibers together making the surface stronger. I have fir floors so I used that to harden the floor and bring up its beauty and followed that in some spaces with a poly coating which forms a hard shell over the floor, but that's on a floor, not a cue.
a gun stock can be immersed in a bucket of linseed oil to allow it to soak right in this helps protect against weather without building upon the wood itself.
a top coating can scratch then it needs refinishing to correct, but an in the wood finish such as linseed oil is easily repaired, t is maintained by putting more on , letting it sit 15 mins and then removing all but what soaked in with clean fresh cloths, this can be repeated. i like to use fine sandpaper to scrub the finish in , this removes high spots and the dust moves around in solution helping to fill any voids. the linseed oil does harden, it takes time, but it hardens up very hard. If you were to apply a finish such as this you may wan to let it sit a while to harden before putting it to use. you might pit it on every week for a while and set it aside.
a shiny surface is simply a microscopic level of the surface, so it's not porous basically. if it is spinning on a lathe then that's an easy way to apply such a finish or to work it in as the spinning helps.
I feel that the feel and touch of an oil finish is just a more natural feel than a plasticized coating and its a thing we handle a lot, so it has the efect of a handrail in an old building, the oils from your skin and friction of being touched often help to improve the finish over time. it still has the feel of wood , not a plastic coating.
the plastic coating could be epoxy or polyurethane or a specially hardened water base UV finish. those topcoats are non porous they feel more like plastic or glass than wood , this is because on a microscopic level they are sealed so the perspiration acts and creates friction , so the cue starts to squeak through your hand rather than easily sliding. this is where the term coefficient of friction comes in , call it what you like, its a fancy term but you get it.
the carbon shafts have some good properties that are desirable but they cant; have the feel of real wood. I dont know if others think this way.
I have an appreciation for things like old hand tools which have a finish from hand use, a vintage hammer with an oil finish applied periodically is a lot nicer to use in my mind than a fiberglass one for example.. or some sort of rubber handle.
I feel that the need to wear a glove to handle a cue that is designed with a shiny finish is something that doesn't attract me, but some like that and that's fine of course. it's a personal preference.
no i do not make cues and I am not an expert on the subject, so I'm trying to learn by asking here . I'm not stating that this finish is better than that or what people should do or use. I think I'm questioning why I see so many cues finished in a way that they have a high coefficient of friction and if there are better ways. Would a linseed oil or similar in the wood finish be appropriate for a cue?
the other factor here is that an in the wood finish does structurally change the cue and I don' know if that's preferable, I dont see why making it stronger in this way would have an ill effect but maybe it changes something that affects it's whip etc. ( performance) There are experts that might have further opinions or facts about all this.