use of trim rings

cueboy007

cueboy007

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've read that metal trim rings tend to expand with temperature change, and will poke through the finish, then does metal rings serve any real purpose? Do they add to playability or it's merely an aesthetic feature.

There are lots of fancy cues with huge amount of silver, gold inlays, won't they destroy the finish eventually? Does the metal make a difference(aluminium compared to silver)?

Thanks,
 
I tend to think that the metal hold its size better than the rest of the cue. It is not such a matter of the metal ring expanding as it is the rest of the cue shrinking and expanding. Most of the woods and plastics will expand and contract alot more than any of the metal in a cue. What usually happens is that the wood shrinks and the metal rings stay the same size, and that is how it looks like the metal rings are growing. If the wood is properly seasoned and stablized to avoid shrinkage then there should be no problem with the metal and the finish down the road. I think that the use of silver and gold is more for looks and design than it is for playability. But every part of the cue is going to affect the way a cue plays in some aspect. hope this helps with your question.
 
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if your wood is aged properly it wont be bad. atleast nothing a refinish cant fix. wood moves more then phenolic phenolic moves more then delrin delrin moves more then metal...ect

maybe not exactly that way but my point is a cue has many different materials and parts. welcome to our world
 
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Princecues said:
I tend to think that the metal hold its size better than the rest of the cue. It is not such a matter of the metal ring expanding as it is the rest of the cue shrinking and expanding. Most of the woods and plastics will expand and contract alot more than any of the metal in a cue. What usually happens is that the wood shrinks and the metal rings stay the same size, and that is how it looks like the metal rings are growing. If the wood is properly seasoned and stablized to avoid shrinkage then there should be no problem with the metal and the finish down the road. I think that the use of silver and gold is more for looks and design than it is for playability. But every part of the cue is going to affect the way a cue plays in some aspect. hope this helps with your question.
Click to expand...

Usually the metal rings are between phenolic rings. Phenolic rings don't seem to expand or shrink. I have tested them with boiling water and then checked them with a mic. they don't change, much less at room temp.
 
Actually, Epoxy coating a cue is going to do little in the way of stopping the problem of expansion and contraction of the elements of the cue if the wood is not properly processed. The epoxy coat is going to act the same way as a clearcoat. the epoxy may be a bit stronger and resilliant, but will eventually yield the same result.
Silver rings are not always sandwiched between phenolic rings, but it does help to do so. I too have experimented with phenolics and have found them to be prone to expanding and contracting. like Mr. Sutton said phenolic moves less than the wood but more than metal. So the shrinkage of the wood is less noticable when the rings are sandwiched between phenolic. If measures are taken to process all the parts of a cue properly over time then there should be little chance of any materials creating finish problems in the final product as long as the cue is taken care of. Thats just my experience.
 
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