Tip needed to get rid of a deep mark on my shaft

nfuids

nfuids

eh?
Silver Member
Hi,

I've been practicing my break using my break rak and twice, I applied too much force and I kinda felt toward the table and my cue went up right onto my light's structure, that is in metal and made a deep mark (1mm deep) on my shaft.

Of course, when I stroke, I can feel the mark and I'd like to remove it. I've been told to apply a drop of water overnight so the wood would kinda bump out and then sand it, but it did not really seem to work.

Any proposition here?
Could I buy some stuff to patch wood floor, and fill the mark with it, let it dry and do a regular shaft sanding (with 2000), sealing/polishing?

Thanks
 
DIY??? I would recommend that you take it to a professional cue repair person. So that they can see exactly what damage you have. It can probably be repaired but IMHO it is best done by a pro.
 
Yeah, I guess so, but the point of buying a lathe is to do it myself :)

I mean I cleaned/changed tips a few time without problem, and I just like keeping my shafts in order.

Thanks
 
nfuids said:
Yeah, I guess so, but the point of buying a lathe is to do it myself :)

I mean I cleaned/changed tips a few time without problem, and I just like keeping my shafts in order.

Thanks
Click to expand...

If the shaft hit a sharp edge on the light then chances are very good that the wood fibers have been cut. Using water or steam to raise the grain only works on dents where the fibers are not broken. When fibers are broken or there is a small hole then they must be filled. Try to clean out the cut a little and then take your clear super glue and fill the indentation. Once filled, spray a little water onto it so as to harden the glue. then lightly sand the glued area even with the rest of the shaft.

After this you will see the dent but you won't feel it.

Dick
 
rhncue said:
If the shaft hit a sharp edge on the light then chances are very good that the wood fibers have been cut. Using water or steam to raise the grain only works on dents where the fibers are not broken. When fibers are broken or there is a small hole then they must be filled. Try to clean out the cut a little and then take your clear super glue and fill the indentation. Once filled, spray a little water onto it so as to harden the glue. then lightly sand the glued area even with the rest of the shaft.

After this you will see the dent but you won't feel it.

Dick
Click to expand...

yeah, the fibers are definately broken. Thanks for the tip, will give it a try!

Thanks
 
rhncue said:
if the shaft hit a sharp edge on the light then chances are very good that the wood fibers have been cut. Using water or steam to raise the grain only works on dents where the fibers are not broken. When fibers are broken or there is a small hole then they must be filled. Try to clean out the cut a little and then take your clear super glue and fill the indentation. Once filled, spray a little water onto it so as to harden the glue. Then lightly sand the glued area even with the rest of the shaft.

After this you will see the dent but you won't feel it.

Dick
Click to expand...

this^^^^^^^^
 
I agree with dick and randy. I would however suggest that you clean the shaft very, very thoroughly before you fill any dents with CA.
 
You might want to clean the shaft and try to swell the dent/ tear out with water before you try anything else. Find a thick piece of leather, a pair of water pump pliers, then using s very thickly folded paper dowel that has been wet, , put it inside the piece of leather, inside the pliers jaws and clamp it over the spinning shaft on your lathe. Apply as much pressure with the pliers to make the water steam up keeping the pliers moving across the area. Stop the process, dry the wood with a neat gun, let it dry thoroughly, sand the shaft and see what you have. Then, if necessary, repair what needs doing with the glue. You'll be surprised.
 
Paul Dayton said:
You might want to clean the shaft and try to swell the dent/ tear out with water before you try anything else. Find a thick piece of leather, a pair of water pump pliers, then using s very thickly folded paper dowel that has been wet, , put it inside the piece of leather, inside the pliers jaws and clamp it over the spinning shaft on your lathe. Apply as much pressure with the pliers to make the water steam up keeping the pliers moving across the area. Stop the process, dry the wood with a neat gun, let it dry thoroughly, sand the shaft and see what you have. Then, if necessary, repair what needs doing with the glue. You'll be surprised.
Click to expand...

I'd use a spit wad and a soldering iron if I was going that route. Keeps the work centralized. Yes, as they pointed out, clean the whole shaft thoroughly. Sealer will inhibit the swellingif you don't get it out.

If I was going to use leather on a shaft that was spinning I wouldn't get pliers near it though..... There is zero chance something bad wouldn't happen. I was doing a tip on a Prewitt and didn't put the top back on right away... Left it on the headstock and, at some point it fell over with the end hanging over the back, DIRECTLY OVER THE JOINT RINGS. I put it upright, never giving it second thought....until I got a phone call. In that brief time a drop had fallen out on top of the finish and set. Nothing like having to do a refinish for free after a tip job....

This is how I roll....all....the....time...
 
Paul Dayton said:
You might want to clean the shaft and try to swell the dent/ tear out with water before you try anything else. Find a thick piece of leather, a pair of water pump pliers, then using s very thickly folded paper dowel that has been wet, , put it inside the piece of leather, inside the pliers jaws and clamp it over the spinning shaft on your lathe. Apply as much pressure with the pliers to make the water steam up keeping the pliers moving across the area. Stop the process, dry the wood with a neat gun, let it dry thoroughly, sand the shaft and see what you have. Then, if necessary, repair what needs doing with the glue. You'll be surprised.
Click to expand...

So I use the leather to hold the wet papertowel and apply pressure to heat the water/wood up so it help reduce the broken wood? I'm I getting it right?
 
Yes. The very damp/ slightly wet paper towel is folded up into about a 4"X2" piece which gets put onto the inside of the slightly larger piece of leather, Full, not split cowhide, this in turn gets squeezed on the turning shaft dented area. You just turn on the lathe and squeeze the pliers as much as you feel is proper. Experiment. You won't believe how much of a dent can be removed this way. The heat built up under the pliers is amazing but YOU MUST KEEP THE TOWEL WET OR YOU WILL BURN THE SHAFT.
 
If you have any fine dust from sanding a bit of maple, you can use this to help blend the CA fill as well. Do what the others mentioned first to clean and pull the dent, and if you have to fill it with CA, this trick might come in handy.
 
galipeau said:
If you have any fine dust from sanding a bit of maple, you can use this to help blend the CA fill as well. Do what the others mentioned first to clean and pull the dent, and if you have to fill it with CA, this trick might come in handy.
Click to expand...

nice idea yeah! That way we won't see the glue as much!
 
galipeau said:
If you have any fine dust from sanding a bit of maple, you can use this to help blend the CA fill as well. Do what the others mentioned first to clean and pull the dent, and if you have to fill it with CA, this trick might come in handy.
Click to expand...

Just glue works way better, IMHO.

Robin Snyder
 
The method I've used is with thinner glue. Glue first lightly, then fine dust, then glue again and sand. This was advice I got from a bowl turner.

Have done it both ways in the past.
 
Galipeau-
Using sawdust will guarantee an ugly, visible repair. By using only glue, the repair can be made nearly invisible. The sawdust will darken when saturated with glue and not match the substrate.
For the OP, I recommend following the advice given by Dick, a very experienced cuemaker (not a bowl turner) in post #4. He has done this more than a few times. On actual pool cues. Incidentally, so have I.


Robin Snyder
 
I have used wood putty to fill in large dents.
After it drys.....light sanding on lathe..while spinning.
micro mesh pads 1500/1800/2400/3200/3600/4000/6000/12000
you don't fell the dent, but you can see the filler.
burnish with leather pad....the whole shaft
seal with wax
buff

It works!


Sax
 
Just use a wet sponge and spin at high rpm's, this will clean the shaft and then use wet sponge on the spot that needs to be repaired and just let it spin until you see steam, this will swell out most if not all of the dent. While still spinning at high rpm fold up some paper towels and dry the shaft. You should see more steam. If needed then fill with super glue and spray with accelerator. Sand spot smooth and seal and wax shaft. Some of the other suggestions will work as well, this is just how I do it. The reason I use the sponge, is I don't have to worry about it drying out and maybe burning the shaft.
 
Normally I just use super glue, but I once had a dent so extreme that even after steaming and cleaning it still looked like the Grand Canyon. I actually super glued a flat maple toothpick in there edgewise, matching the wood color very closely. Trimmed it with a razor, sanded it, put CA over it, and sanded it again to smooth. The guy still uses it and has never felt it, and just barely sees it.

(I've also used flat toothpicks super glued in place to tighten poorly threaded tenons when replacing a ferrule. I just sand them first, then run a 5/16 x 18 nut over it to compress. Works great.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top