Warped / crooked cues

[kgene]

Having a hard time finding good 3/4 cues in Canada. One of the importers / resellers no longer brings in the good English cues as they claimed they were straight when they got here but would warp fairly quickly because of our climate. Anyway the Canadian brand I could find but they ALL had bends in the shafts. I bought an ash one that had some decent grain but it was not straight. Not knowing of any cue doctors in my area (Ontario, Canada) I am attempting to straighten it buy hanging weights on it. Wasn't an expensive cue so mimimal loss if it doesn't work out.

Do cue Doctors in UK straighten out cues or has anyone else out there has experience with warped cues?

[andy carson]

a slightly warped cue will not affect your game one bit, only a heavbily warped cue

if its only a minimal bend in teh shaft then dont touch it... otherwise let a proper skilled cue doctor sort it out

[trigger666]

use steam to correct the warped shaft

[sneaky_russian]

Where are you in Ontario???
Send a PM to Terry Davidson (on the forum here) he's got a few descent cues for sale!!!! =) They seem to be pretty damn straight to me. =)

[poolqjunkie]

Even in the UK, I am sure some cues will warp after a while. Warpage is very hard to prevent, especially if you are transporting a cue from one island to another continent.
I think the problem is made worst by the drastic difference in moisture and temperature between indoor and outdoor during winter.
You can try to find out where the warp is, and try to expand the part that is convex. The idea is to use moisture and heat to try and expand the shaft region which has the convex shape of a "U" so it will expand (i.e. using heat and moisture to turn the "U" downward).
Hope this helps.

[Slasher]

Move to a quality piece of maple, you will never go back. It' smooth has tons of feel and stays straight. Maple done right, properly cured and stabilized will stay straight for years.

[kgene]

Thanks for the replies. The shaft is unplayable as it has a pretty bad warp when you roll it on a table. I've figured out 2 spot where it pivots or "convex" points. I'm going to take a shot at using weights to get it to bend back straight. I'll try to post some pictures of what I'm doing. Not sure how to apply steam. I've seen it down with furniture and bent cane chairs but I sure don't have the pressurized steam machine.

Sneaky Russian, Terry Davidson said we're from the same area. We'll have to meet up and play a few games.

[RGCirencester]

Do not roll a cue on the table to check if it is straight!!!
Hold the cue at the end look straight down the length of it from butt to tip and slowly rotate the cue.
Rolling it on the table can make a warped cue seem straight and a straight cue seem warped

[brendan147]

Do not roll a cue on the table to check if it is straight!!!
Hold the cue at the end look straight down the length of it from butt to tip and slowly rotate the cue.
Rolling it on the table can make a warped cue seem straight and a straight cue seem warped

I am totally agree with this. I often see many club players in my place doing this method before the use they using the house cues, which is absolutely the wrong way to check whether the cue is straight/not. Often done by "just having fun" type of players by the way.

[brendan147]

Sneaky Russian, Terry Davidson said we're from the same area. We'll have to meet up and play a few games.

You are very lucky since he is a certified snooker mastercoach now. Grab this opportunity to learn from him as much as you can. All the best to you, your cue and your games.

[kgene]

The stand to hold the shaft. The round paper stickers are the spots I want to bend. The one on the right is 9 inches from the joint has a slight bend. The one closer to the tip has a serious bend in it. These set of pictures show the straightening of the right sticker part.




Using the right bracket for the bending. The shaft is actually balancing on the right bracket and taking all the pressure at the one spot. 95 pounsd on right side and 80 pound on left side. Started at about 30 pounds each side and adding 10 pounds each day per side and checking if it is straightening after removing all the weights. Just starting to get some "flex" on the shaft with this amount of weight. Put a straight edge of a ruler on the top part of shaft to check how much bending is occuring. It has started to straighten out. Will now be adding less weight and/or giving it more time to bend.



Shows the how the tip part of the shaft is bent upwards at the worst position. I'll tackle the thinner shaft section later.

[poolqjunkie]

Wow, that is one serious set up!
I am speechless..........

[Lux]

Here are my 2 cents (pence?)

Finding a decent cue in Canada is a bit of a chore. I had to spend some time until I had settled on a surprisingly average-looking Dufferin cue. The general consensus between myself and some friends is that Canadian-made cues are made from timbers that grow in the aggressive Canadian climate, making them more resilient. Even then, there is still a wildcard factor because not all cues are made equal -- this is significantly less of a factor when buying custom cues.

The interesting thing about Dufferin 3/4-joint ash cues is that the shafts are interchangeable. So, if you have a heavily warped shaft or the grain is not in line, then you can simply screw on one that is. It's also useful for screwing on different lengths of shafts to suit your style. It's an affordable solution to upmarket British cues that can't withstand our climate.

[kgene]

That is a Canadian made Dufferin Ash 3/4 Spirit Cue that I'm straightening out. The same model that I bought about 5 years ago that started to warp in the shaft. Went back to Dufferin to get a replacement shaft but they were all warped. Something about the Canadian climate I guess. Yeah I've had better luck with the 1/2 maple cues. The one I"m working on I bought because I liked the grain on the shaft and got a big discount because it was warped. Although I would really like to buy a good quality English cue, I'm worried about it warping because of our climate. Now at least if I do get one I know how to straightening it if it starts to go.

Update on the shaft straightening:
the bend at 9 inches from the joint appears to be straight although it may spring back in a couple of hours. Last set of weightings was 95 pounds on one side and 80 pounds on the otherside.

Now working on the bend at 15.25 inches from the tip which has a big bend. Current have 35 pounds on one side and 30 on the otherside. Going up by 5 pounds each time on each side. Weights are set closer to the bend position (2 inches and 3.5 inches respectively) Not much straightening so far but I'll check it again tonight and keep adding weight.

[trigger666]

why not try putting a wallpaper stripper upside down in a vice and turn the shaft over it , it would make it alot easier to correct the bend