whats the best way to fix a warp? ive seen that jacoby thing, but it looks rough on the wood, any other techniques??
warped shaft, how to fix it??
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Buy a new one. It's a for sure fix.
thanks, ur a real help, DICK
I know of one person that tried the cue hanger trick and it worked out nicely. He left it suspended for more than a few weeks as I recall because he simply forgot about it. When remembered, it was straight again.
-Doug
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Warped shafts tend to rewarp when they are straightened. I wasn't trying to be a "Richard" in any way at all, but you are entitled to your own opinion. I hope your shaft stays straight though. Good luck.:thumbup:
While you think he is being a DICK, he might be giving you the best advice. IMO, unless it is like a Szamboti, or other really high end irreplaceable shaft, the best thing is not to screw with it and get another shaft.
I have yet to see anything that will straighten permanently. So doing most stuff is a waste of time or money.
Shafts are cheap, and I will PM you a name of a top cuemaker that will make a shaft that will knock your socks off for $100.
So I guess I am Dick too, but this Dick is trying to help, I really am.
Ken
I'm trying something out right now................
I kind of had an idea using the same concept as the Jacoby straighter. I
found a guide pulley with some bearings, and some paint roller handles. It
works just fine, but if you stay on the same spot and pull down really hard
while stroking, it will leave a little flat spot on the shaft. I was thinking of a
way to glue a rubber sleeve over the guide pulley surface to make it a bit
softer. It would have to be something that would not smudge or leave marks
on the shaft. Anyways, if you roll it lightly with more strokes, it seems to
work pretty well. As soon as I figure it out, I'll have a few of them available.
I bought enough pieces to make 10 total straighteners.
I kind of had an idea using the same concept as the Jacoby straighter. I
found a guide pulley with some bearings, and some paint roller handles. It
works just fine, but if you stay on the same spot and pull down really hard
while stroking, it will leave a little flat spot on the shaft. I was thinking of a
way to glue a rubber sleeve over the guide pulley surface to make it a bit
softer. It would have to be something that would not smudge or leave marks
on the shaft. Anyways, if you roll it lightly with more strokes, it seems to
work pretty well. As soon as I figure it out, I'll have a few of them available.
I bought enough pieces to make 10 total straighteners.
Slim Limpy
New member
**********
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LOL. That's funny. Guys, I don't have any more put together. Just the first
one. I'm still in the testing stage. I'm trying to perfect it before I sell them
off. I don't want more guys telling me it's that it flattens out their shafts
like the Jacoby version. Thanks though. I tried spraying on a few layers
of the spray can rubber, but it was too hard. Still trying some stuff out. I
will definitely put them out if I find a nice harder rubber that won't mark
up the shaft, or start wearing out and leaving bits of rubber.
several years ago i bought a used meucci gambler with a warped shaft.
the warp did not affect play at all but i was thinking about buying a new shaft once i got some extra funds i did not know what to do with.
i was watching a wood working show on diy network showing how they used steam to bend wood for rockers and such.
it dawned on me that if you could use steam to bend wood why not use steam to straighten wood ?
my room mate thought i lost my mind when he came in the kitchen and saw my shaft hanging over a pot of boiling water . i let it boil all the water out ...dried it off with a micro fiber towel. ...set it on my pool table with the high side up. set a thick phone book on top of it with a 20 pound bar bell weight on top of the book.
5 days later i removed the weight and checked the shaft. straight as an arrow. kept the cue for about a year before trading it and the shaft was still straight when i traded it.1st thing the buyer checked was for straightness. lol.
the warp did not affect play at all but i was thinking about buying a new shaft once i got some extra funds i did not know what to do with.
i was watching a wood working show on diy network showing how they used steam to bend wood for rockers and such.
it dawned on me that if you could use steam to bend wood why not use steam to straighten wood ?
my room mate thought i lost my mind when he came in the kitchen and saw my shaft hanging over a pot of boiling water . i let it boil all the water out ...dried it off with a micro fiber towel. ...set it on my pool table with the high side up. set a thick phone book on top of it with a 20 pound bar bell weight on top of the book.
5 days later i removed the weight and checked the shaft. straight as an arrow. kept the cue for about a year before trading it and the shaft was still straight when i traded it.1st thing the buyer checked was for straightness. lol.
I kind of had an idea using the same concept as the Jacoby straighter. I
found a guide pulley with some bearings, and some paint roller handles. It
works just fine, but if you stay on the same spot and pull down really hard
while stroking, it will leave a little flat spot on the shaft. I was thinking of a
way to glue a rubber sleeve over the guide pulley surface to make it a bit
softer. It would have to be something that would not smudge or leave marks
on the shaft. Anyways, if you roll it lightly with more strokes, it seems to
work pretty well. As soon as I figure it out, I'll have a few of them available.
I bought enough pieces to make 10 total straighteners.
thats a really great idea, use leather wraps to cover it instead of rubber.
thats a brilliant little tool, when its ready ill buy it. the leather idea is best, duarable and soft.
This is the right answer!:thumbup:
I am a wood worker and have used steam to bend wood. It allows the fibers in the wood to stretch and then when dry they will maintain the new condition. You can bend wood and get a change but with out the moisture it will be only temporary. Steam gets moisture to penetrate the shaft.
Shafts warp because the wood is not properly seasoned before turning into a cue. It would be great if cue makers could get splits of wood instead of sawn pieces. That is how they get good straight grain for baseball bats.
Nylon guide on a roller handle looks like it has some potential.
I have my own ways using a steam gun as many others do on AZ.
Here is Craig Rittel's method that he posted some time ago. Kind of long but it does work.
Ok as promised this is the method I was taught to straighten a shaft, be prepared it's long post:
“How to straighten a pool cue shaft”
First let me say all warped shafts can not be straightened, the following points of interest are things that may point to internal stress in the wood that has not been relieved, or methods of poor handling that can result in a shaft causing stress to wood objects. However, all or none of what I have listed below could have been the cause of a shaft warping. Shafts warp due to wood that has not been properly stress relieved. Now this internal stress can be natural which is normal for all wood once it is cut and when it is being processed. Or it can be man made by abuse or by improper handling / treatment of the wood by some one using one of the following methods.
1. Turned to finished size to fast. (Such as taking a 1 inch dowel and turning it to finished size in a afternoon)
2. Shafts that have excessive non-straight grain. (Sometimes this can be used to identify a problem and sometimes shafts like this will stay straight forever)
3. Shafts that have been exposed to unstable conditions such as, high temperatures or low temperatures. ( Leaving your cue in your automobile summer and winter can cause a shaft to warp, along with many other problems, but wood is wood and sometimes this will not have an effect concerning a shaft warping. However, it will cause expanding and contraction that will cause inlays to pop, materials to expand or to shrink which will cause many types of damage.)
4. Shafts that were exposed to excessive amounts of moisture for extended periods of time. (This is very easy to understand keep all items that are made from wood dry, moisture will cause swelling and as it dries shrinkage which in most cases will damage any pool cue.)
Things you will need to straighten a shaft:
1. Lead Pencil
2. Flat Surface
3. A single burner Electric Stove
4. A method to hang the shaft with the cues butt attached
5. A method or device that you can use to bend the shaft
The first step to making a warped shaft straight again is finding the highest point of the warp. Now keep this in mind, in some cases when a shaft warps the internal stress will cause it to bend at more than a single location, so you will have to fix one bend at a time. I have seen and fixed shafts that had multiple bends ( 3 or 4) and while this seems like a situation where a shaft can not be fixed that is not always the case, so the key is patients, this is something you will need a lot of LOL. The best way to find the high point is to roll the shaft on a flat level surface such as a pool table, but any flat surface will work. Now this is not the method I would use to check a shaft for straightness, I would recommend placing the shaft between centers on a lathe and spinning it, then using a dial indicator to determine how much movement there is. But most do not have a lathe so rolling the shaft on a flat surface is an alternate method that anyone can do to find the high point of the warp. Next mark the high point of the warp with a pencil so that you can find it before you make your first bend of the shaft ( The first bend should be done without heat so I call it a Cold Bend)
Once you have found the high point of the shaft and marked it you are ready to make your first bend. Hold the shaft flat to the surface you are bending it upon and lift up on the joint side of the shaft, holding the marked area flat to the table. Then roll the shaft and see if the marked high point is still the high point. In many cases it will move a little because what you thought was the high point may not have been, or there may have been more than a single area that warped. It may take a couple of bends until you get the shaft as straight as possible bending it cold, then hang the shaft with or without the butt attached for 24 to 48 hour’s.
After it has hung for one of the times listed above check the shaft for straightness and to see if any of the original warp may have returned. Either way it is time to roll the shaft and again find the high point and mark it with a pencil. Then heat up your single burner electric stove, when it is fully heated holding the shaft about 2 to 3 inches from the mark on both sides place the marked area above the coil of the electric single burner stove, and keep the shaft a good distance away from burner so that it does not mark the shaft. If you are too close you will know it because it will burn your hands, that is why you are holding it two to three inches on either side of the mark. When the wood and your hands start to get warm place the shaft on the flat surface and bend it again. Again this may take a couple of times but the shaft should straighten out for the most part at this time then hang it again for 24 to 48 hour’s. After that time has passed again check the shaft by rolling it on the same flat surface you have been using to check and see if the warp has returned.
If there has been any movement, again mark the high point and get out your Electric stove and heat the shaft as mentioned before, At this point after a few bends along with heating the shaft it should be straight, but to be on the safe side again hang it for a minimum of 24 hour’s. If the wood doesn’t move your good to go, if it moves at this point it is most likely the best it will ever get and to my knowledge there is nothing else that can be done to correct the problem.
I have my own ways using a steam gun as many others do on AZ.
Here is Craig Rittel's method that he posted some time ago. Kind of long but it does work.
Ok as promised this is the method I was taught to straighten a shaft, be prepared it's long post:
“How to straighten a pool cue shaft”
First let me say all warped shafts can not be straightened, the following points of interest are things that may point to internal stress in the wood that has not been relieved, or methods of poor handling that can result in a shaft causing stress to wood objects. However, all or none of what I have listed below could have been the cause of a shaft warping. Shafts warp due to wood that has not been properly stress relieved. Now this internal stress can be natural which is normal for all wood once it is cut and when it is being processed. Or it can be man made by abuse or by improper handling / treatment of the wood by some one using one of the following methods.
1. Turned to finished size to fast. (Such as taking a 1 inch dowel and turning it to finished size in a afternoon)
2. Shafts that have excessive non-straight grain. (Sometimes this can be used to identify a problem and sometimes shafts like this will stay straight forever)
3. Shafts that have been exposed to unstable conditions such as, high temperatures or low temperatures. ( Leaving your cue in your automobile summer and winter can cause a shaft to warp, along with many other problems, but wood is wood and sometimes this will not have an effect concerning a shaft warping. However, it will cause expanding and contraction that will cause inlays to pop, materials to expand or to shrink which will cause many types of damage.)
4. Shafts that were exposed to excessive amounts of moisture for extended periods of time. (This is very easy to understand keep all items that are made from wood dry, moisture will cause swelling and as it dries shrinkage which in most cases will damage any pool cue.)
Things you will need to straighten a shaft:
1. Lead Pencil
2. Flat Surface
3. A single burner Electric Stove
4. A method to hang the shaft with the cues butt attached
5. A method or device that you can use to bend the shaft
The first step to making a warped shaft straight again is finding the highest point of the warp. Now keep this in mind, in some cases when a shaft warps the internal stress will cause it to bend at more than a single location, so you will have to fix one bend at a time. I have seen and fixed shafts that had multiple bends ( 3 or 4) and while this seems like a situation where a shaft can not be fixed that is not always the case, so the key is patients, this is something you will need a lot of LOL. The best way to find the high point is to roll the shaft on a flat level surface such as a pool table, but any flat surface will work. Now this is not the method I would use to check a shaft for straightness, I would recommend placing the shaft between centers on a lathe and spinning it, then using a dial indicator to determine how much movement there is. But most do not have a lathe so rolling the shaft on a flat surface is an alternate method that anyone can do to find the high point of the warp. Next mark the high point of the warp with a pencil so that you can find it before you make your first bend of the shaft ( The first bend should be done without heat so I call it a Cold Bend)
Once you have found the high point of the shaft and marked it you are ready to make your first bend. Hold the shaft flat to the surface you are bending it upon and lift up on the joint side of the shaft, holding the marked area flat to the table. Then roll the shaft and see if the marked high point is still the high point. In many cases it will move a little because what you thought was the high point may not have been, or there may have been more than a single area that warped. It may take a couple of bends until you get the shaft as straight as possible bending it cold, then hang the shaft with or without the butt attached for 24 to 48 hour’s.
After it has hung for one of the times listed above check the shaft for straightness and to see if any of the original warp may have returned. Either way it is time to roll the shaft and again find the high point and mark it with a pencil. Then heat up your single burner electric stove, when it is fully heated holding the shaft about 2 to 3 inches from the mark on both sides place the marked area above the coil of the electric single burner stove, and keep the shaft a good distance away from burner so that it does not mark the shaft. If you are too close you will know it because it will burn your hands, that is why you are holding it two to three inches on either side of the mark. When the wood and your hands start to get warm place the shaft on the flat surface and bend it again. Again this may take a couple of times but the shaft should straighten out for the most part at this time then hang it again for 24 to 48 hour’s. After that time has passed again check the shaft by rolling it on the same flat surface you have been using to check and see if the warp has returned.
If there has been any movement, again mark the high point and get out your Electric stove and heat the shaft as mentioned before, At this point after a few bends along with heating the shaft it should be straight, but to be on the safe side again hang it for a minimum of 24 hour’s. If the wood doesn’t move your good to go, if it moves at this point it is most likely the best it will ever get and to my knowledge there is nothing else that can be done to correct the problem.
He's trying to save you aggravation and disappointment. For about $100 you can have your rings put on a new shaft by Ryan at Meullers. Then you have a great shaft, straight, and will probably stay that way a long time.
There is no way to effectively and permanently straighten a shaft prone to warping. It's a long story but in most cases the wood it was made from was improperly stacked or supported during it's cure or it's just wood that warps at the cellular level. A cue maker can turn it straight, but the cells are not expanding and contracting equally as moisture is added or subtracted.
Also, don't leave it in your trunk.
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I thought about leather, but the curvature of the roller was stumping me.
I couldn't figure out how to make it fit. I think I have an idea...............
To be continued...............
Same post as in Ask The Cue Maker:
Well I have been somewhat successful with a technique of stressing the woods fibers in the opposite direction as the warp... Yep just another way to describe BENDING the shaft. Now I know this may sound crazy and a bit scary and risky but if the warp is not too bad I have laid the shaft on the table and rolled it till the most light shows under the shaft. At that point I press down on the shaft about 12 inches or so from the tip and lift the collar end up about and inch and a half off the table and hold for about 30 seconds THEN without lowering lift about another half inch more and hold for another 30 seconds. Sometimes it takes a couple times but I usually can get a shaft to roll pretty much perfect. I may have to repeat this a few times stretched over a month or so but the shafts that I have done have stayed straight longer than a year.
The only way I can guess why this may work is the bending may be stressing the wood in the opposite direction more than the wood wants to move the other way... I dunno, it seems to work
....................................DISCLAIMER.... .................................................. ...
The above procedure is not meant to fix or remedy woods natural movement so I am not responsible for anyone attempting this. You do as you will at your own risk..... Ah I feel better :smile:
Well I have been somewhat successful with a technique of stressing the woods fibers in the opposite direction as the warp... Yep just another way to describe BENDING the shaft. Now I know this may sound crazy and a bit scary and risky but if the warp is not too bad I have laid the shaft on the table and rolled it till the most light shows under the shaft. At that point I press down on the shaft about 12 inches or so from the tip and lift the collar end up about and inch and a half off the table and hold for about 30 seconds THEN without lowering lift about another half inch more and hold for another 30 seconds. Sometimes it takes a couple times but I usually can get a shaft to roll pretty much perfect. I may have to repeat this a few times stretched over a month or so but the shafts that I have done have stayed straight longer than a year.
The only way I can guess why this may work is the bending may be stressing the wood in the opposite direction more than the wood wants to move the other way... I dunno, it seems to work
....................................DISCLAIMER.... .................................................. ...
The above procedure is not meant to fix or remedy woods natural movement so I am not responsible for anyone attempting this. You do as you will at your own risk..... Ah I feel better :smile:
Done! Used the suede side. Works awesome. No marking or flattening of
the shaft at all. Takes a bit of practice, but it works really nice.
