Cue warp

[willytan]

Hi,

Just wanna ask all the experts here on snooker cue.

Have you ever notice that some cues (ash or maple) will warp very slightly due to age n weather. Is it because the cue wasn't dry properly or shaft wasn't treated properly.

Please advise

[unclevit]

Hi,

Just wanna ask all the experts here on snooker cue.

Have you ever notice that some cues (ash or maple) will warp very slightly due to age n weather. Is it because the cue wasn't dry properly or shaft wasn't treated properly.

Please advise

Both + the way you store your cue. But mostly climate.

[Freddie Ng]

How can we prevent this from happening ?

[poolqjunkie]

Of course the way the wood was treated matters, but I think there is no foul proof method of treating wood so it will stay straight for ever.
Plus there is storage and handling issues, as well as climatic factors. It is almost impossible to pin point what causes a particular piece of wood to warp in my opinion, and it is not necessarily because the cue maker did something wrong or the wood was bad to begin with.
What do you think?

[flame]

you could really go in depth about this subject, but put simply it is the nature of wood,even the straightest grained piece will react to it's own make up and environment.

[willytan]

Still learning from everyone here.

[brendan147]

Even the steel will bend slightly...over the time...

[Acrowot]

I had had my Ye Olde Ash cue for quite a few years. One day, took it out if its case for some reason and stood it in a corner of the room, almost vertical and for only a few minutes, but forgot about it until next day and it had warped quite near to the top (probably about 8 or 9 inches). It still played just the same. It is possible that it was left for more than one day, but after so many years, how can one remember everything?
:snooker:

[willytan]

I had had my Ye Olde Ash cue for quite a few years. One day, took it out if its case for some reason and stood it in a corner of the room, almost vertical and for only a few minutes, but forgot about it until next day and it had warped quite near to the top (probably about 8 or 9 inches). It still played just the same.
:snooker:

WOW that is FAST!!!

[Chris Patterson]

WOW... haha!

[sbsnooker]

cues that are mass produced and taken down to cue shape on a lathe will most likely wrap . cues that are hand plained down to cue specs over time will not , a lot of the cues being imported into england are mass produced along with some enghlish cues, if your buying a cue make sure its hand plained down to size over a few months. there are only a couple of english cue makers that do this , they cost a few hundred more but a cue is for life so i advise you to pay the extra and get the better cue. dont be fooled by cues being hand spliced that does not mean there hand made or hand plained

[Freddie Ng]

But climate changes does affect the cue condition. Wood tends to dry alot faster in hot weather contries. For example : bringing cues in and out of air conditioner room(often), where room temperature is hot could also be the factor.
Besides, I think all cue makers make sure their product were well developed before they market it. Even some good cheap/low-end cues plays very well.

[Acrowot]

My cue was not a cheap cue, and they did not import cues back then.
:snooker:

[golferson123]

north american ash is incredibly dry, thats why its pingy, compared to european ash used in older cues . generally speaking thats why cuemakers like to aclimatise shafts during manufacture. back in the eighties i used to soak cues in the bath to try and induce density back into the wood, but it was very hit and miss. i take my hat of to current cue makers, i made thousands of cues with north american ash and would not play with any of them!.find an old cue with a good shaft thats not bone dry and have it rebutted, just like the big boys do!

[Terry Davidson]

Here's an example of why you can never tell.

The cue I use is an Aurora hand-made 1-piece and is an excellent cue. However in checking it the other day I could see a very, very slight warp about 18" down the shaft. Nothing to be concerned about (at least for me but I know there are some who demand an ABSOLUTELY straight cue, which is impossible in my eyes).

I keep my cue in the house (which is fairly dry) and lay it on the table when I'm not using it. I only carry it in a cue case in the car so it isn't exposed to any severe temperature variations.

The cue was made in Vancouver, which would have a generally higher humidity than where I am in Ontario.

On the other hand I have a cheap Chinese cue (Dark Horse) which I paid about $160 for, including delivery, case and 2 extensions and this has been sitting on my pool table (only used for storage these days) for the past year and for some reason this cheap cue, made with North American ash they say) is still perfectly straight.

It goes to show it all depends on the individual piece of wood, although you can minimize the chance of a warp by treating your cue carefully and not exposing it to severe humidity or temperature changes (especially cold to warm where you will get condensation)

Terry