This is something I've always wondered about, and I've never really found a good answer. The neck of my guitar is tung oiled, and it stays extremely slick under the use of my grimy hands. Why are shafts not oiled? Anyone have any experiences? I don't have any shafts I'm willing to experiment with. Thanks AZ!
Tung oiled shaft?
- Thread starter spindoctor9
- Start date
I'm guessing your guitar is not subjected to a dirty environment. Playing pool, you get chalk dust all over the place - from the table to your shaft, from your hand to the shaft, directly onto the shaft. In my opinion, the oil will just give something for the chalk dust to stick to and cause it to get grimy.
I'm not even a fan of using wax on my shaft. My shaft seems to stay cleaner and smoother longer since I asked my cue guy to stop using wax. I still have him apply sealer though.
Fatz
Having zero experience with playing a guitar, seems to me all you're doing when you play a guitar is your hand slides on the neck and there's lots of air. When you shoot pool you're basically holding the shaft fully and sliding it through your fingers. It's a totally different action. Might be okay for an open bridge though.
Actually, the concept is similar.
I used to play a bare neck guitar. The hand needs to slide. A finish makes it stick.
There are different schools of thought on shaft finishing so you will find different responses.
This matter is probably best for the cue makers forum. I am sure they will give their vies on the matter.
Personally, I like my shafts "naked" and seasoned only with the oil of my hands. It's worked pretty well on my shafts for nearly 30 years.
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I used to play a bare neck guitar. The hand needs to slide. A finish makes it stick.
There are different schools of thought on shaft finishing so you will find different responses.
This matter is probably best for the cue makers forum. I am sure they will give their vies on the matter.
Personally, I like my shafts "naked" and seasoned only with the oil of my hands. It's worked pretty well on my shafts for nearly 30 years.
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I used linseed oil on my shaft and butt after the epoxy finish crazied and I had to strip it...the color of the wood gets darker. I had to age it to seal the wood.
There's tons of ways to make the cue shaft smooth, and it's been talked about forever. Oil from the hands as you say, burnishing is effective(with different materials), 3m lapping film, simple buffing with a cloth, 2000+ grit sanding cloth. The shaft can look like glass. My friend once tried bacon grease, all it did was make me hungry. Ahhh the eternal quest for a smooth glide. All tung oil or any finishing does is it keeps the shaft from accumulating dirt, totally ineffective for a smooth glide however.
I've applied a tung oil finish to bare wood before (not a cue shaft, pure tung oil, not mixed with solvent) and it leaves a smooth finish that isn't grabby.
linseed oil is traditionally used for ash snooker cues. it gives a very slick finish, slicker than any other kind of shaft sealer/treatment i've come across. there are a few drawbacks though:
oil finishes don't guard against moisture that well, so may not protect your cue as well from warping, etc. some of the tests i've read say that oil finish may actually attract more moisture to wood!
it can take a long time to build up a good oil finish
on the very white maple shafts that are common in the pool world, it looks horrendous. the oil gives the wood a slight yellowish color and will darken over time. it looks like some one pee'd on your shaft! on darker shafts it's not as noticeable.
if you must use linseed oil, don't use the boiled type as it has dryers and will not be as slick as pure linseed oil. raw linseed oil can take a very long time to dry. on my snooker cues, i use a polymerized pure linseed oil finish from "tried and true" that has no dryers, but the polymerization makes the oil dry faster than raw.
oil finishes don't guard against moisture that well, so may not protect your cue as well from warping, etc. some of the tests i've read say that oil finish may actually attract more moisture to wood!
it can take a long time to build up a good oil finish
on the very white maple shafts that are common in the pool world, it looks horrendous. the oil gives the wood a slight yellowish color and will darken over time. it looks like some one pee'd on your shaft! on darker shafts it's not as noticeable.
if you must use linseed oil, don't use the boiled type as it has dryers and will not be as slick as pure linseed oil. raw linseed oil can take a very long time to dry. on my snooker cues, i use a polymerized pure linseed oil finish from "tried and true" that has no dryers, but the polymerization makes the oil dry faster than raw.
Tung oil is excellent!
I have used tung oil successfully on many shafts. A quality tung oil will leave a clear finish that is slick and very resistant to dirt, chalk and moisture. Tung oil, as most know, is most commonly used to treat teak trim on sailboats.
As for applying, be sure to clean and smooth the shaft, but do not burnish. Apply a very thin coat of tung oil (be sure it's pure tung oil and not something that includes polymers, say, tung oil plus polyurethane). Be sure to apply a thin coat. Too thick a coat will be must more difficult to rub off.
Allow the coating to dry at least a couple of hours, or better, overnight. Next, take a cotton rag and start rubbing. Tung oil is difficult to remove, so plan on expending some elbow grease.
But once you get the excess rubbed off, and polish the resulting finish, the shaft will become remarkably slick and the finish is very hard, very durable. The worst thing is, for a week or so, is the surface will be so hard and smooth, it will be slightly tacky until it get microscopically roughed up. I found using talc solved that pretty well.
The shaft will require minimal maintenence. All I've ever done since applying the finish is dampen a rag, wipe down the shaft, burnish and play. The shaft will be resistant to bluing.
I still have 4-5 shafts I have treated 20+ years ago and I've never done anything else to them. There is some yellowing, probably more than natural aging, but it's pretty slight and looks fine. It is not a strong yellow like linseed oil.
Be aware, tung oil in its liquid state is poisonous. Once it dries, that's not an issue.
I'm currently using Mike Gulyassy's "Shaft Freeze" for my new shafts. Mike lives close by, so it's easy for me to get him to treat my shafts. I would say Shaft Freeze does what tung oil does (clean, slick surface and protects the wood). I don't see much advantage one way or the other. But given that I am a lazy sort, it's worth $30 to pay Mike to do it.
I have used tung oil successfully on many shafts. A quality tung oil will leave a clear finish that is slick and very resistant to dirt, chalk and moisture. Tung oil, as most know, is most commonly used to treat teak trim on sailboats.
As for applying, be sure to clean and smooth the shaft, but do not burnish. Apply a very thin coat of tung oil (be sure it's pure tung oil and not something that includes polymers, say, tung oil plus polyurethane). Be sure to apply a thin coat. Too thick a coat will be must more difficult to rub off.
Allow the coating to dry at least a couple of hours, or better, overnight. Next, take a cotton rag and start rubbing. Tung oil is difficult to remove, so plan on expending some elbow grease.
But once you get the excess rubbed off, and polish the resulting finish, the shaft will become remarkably slick and the finish is very hard, very durable. The worst thing is, for a week or so, is the surface will be so hard and smooth, it will be slightly tacky until it get microscopically roughed up. I found using talc solved that pretty well.
The shaft will require minimal maintenence. All I've ever done since applying the finish is dampen a rag, wipe down the shaft, burnish and play. The shaft will be resistant to bluing.
I still have 4-5 shafts I have treated 20+ years ago and I've never done anything else to them. There is some yellowing, probably more than natural aging, but it's pretty slight and looks fine. It is not a strong yellow like linseed oil.
Be aware, tung oil in its liquid state is poisonous. Once it dries, that's not an issue.
I'm currently using Mike Gulyassy's "Shaft Freeze" for my new shafts. Mike lives close by, so it's easy for me to get him to treat my shafts. I would say Shaft Freeze does what tung oil does (clean, slick surface and protects the wood). I don't see much advantage one way or the other. But given that I am a lazy sort, it's worth $30 to pay Mike to do it.
I didn't realize that oil dried. Shows how much I know. From a couple posts here, it's sounding like it might be a good way to go, if the person applying it knows what they're doing.
I finished my gun wooden stocks with Linseed Oil.
For those that want to try it on their cues:
http://sparetimeactivities.net/StockOils.htm
If you have a nice birdseye maple butt on your cue or other wood with a nice grain pattern
that is hidden by stock polyurethane that doesn't penetrate the wood:
http://www.nagelhome.com/gunstock1/
:smile:
For those that want to try it on their cues:
http://sparetimeactivities.net/StockOils.htm
If you have a nice birdseye maple butt on your cue or other wood with a nice grain pattern
that is hidden by stock polyurethane that doesn't penetrate the wood:
http://www.nagelhome.com/gunstock1/
:smile:
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Theres no reason not to really.
But it is basically a 'finish' and generally pool players don't like a finish on thier shafts. Otherwise you could just shoot a satin poly on the whole shaft which believe it or not is quite slick feeling and would last forever with no maintenance.
But it is basically a 'finish' and generally pool players don't like a finish on thier shafts. Otherwise you could just shoot a satin poly on the whole shaft which believe it or not is quite slick feeling and would last forever with no maintenance.
orange oil
I have used orange oil and bees wax.
MMike
I have used orange oil and bees wax.
MMike
You could try it out.
On occasion I use a product, Dr. Wellwood for that old school look.
Its excellent. Similar to linseed etc.
I tried it on a shaft and didn't get the finish I wanted.
Don't get me wrong, it was ok, its just that when I do a shaft, I prefer it to be more than just ok.
I sanded a bit, sealed with sanding sealer, waxed and nothing was harmed in the process. It may turn the shaft a bit darker color.
Give it a whack. Nothing gained, nothing lost. You may get better results by polishing and waxing more.
It just didn't give it the initial finish that I can instantly get by using a sanding sealer, wax and burnish.
I most likely will try it again myself in the future.
On occasion I use a product, Dr. Wellwood for that old school look.
Its excellent. Similar to linseed etc.
I tried it on a shaft and didn't get the finish I wanted.
Don't get me wrong, it was ok, its just that when I do a shaft, I prefer it to be more than just ok.
I sanded a bit, sealed with sanding sealer, waxed and nothing was harmed in the process. It may turn the shaft a bit darker color.
Give it a whack. Nothing gained, nothing lost. You may get better results by polishing and waxing more.
It just didn't give it the initial finish that I can instantly get by using a sanding sealer, wax and burnish.
I most likely will try it again myself in the future.
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Exactly what I wanted to hear, thanks. I've tung oiled many guitars and they stay insanely slick forever with no maintenance... I thought there had to be a reason to keep people from using it on shafts... I'll try tonight and share my experience in a couple days. I've used plenty of methods to keep my shafts slick, but nothing has left that hard shell feeling that tung oil leaves on a guitar. My guitar necks grab less than my shafts sanded down to 2000 grit and polished/burnished (which I find myself doing weekly...dirty bar boxes...:angry
. I think I'll like the tung oil.
Exactly what I wanted to hear, thanks. I've tung oiled many guitars and they stay insanely slick forever with no maintenance... I thought there had to be a reason to keep people from using it on shafts... I'll try tonight and share my experience in a couple days. I've used plenty of methods to keep my shafts slick, but nothing has left that hard shell feeling that tung oil leaves on a guitar. My guitar necks grab less than my shafts sanded down to 2000 grit and polished/burnished (which I find myself doing weekly...dirty bar boxes...:angry
Just curious, have you tried the tung oil yet?