Hand sanding to reduce ferrule size?

[thelongbomber]

Hi there. Just purchased a maple cue with a 10.2mm tip. Is there a way I can take the ferrule and last few inches of the shaft down to 9.5mm by hand sanding? I plan to rotate the cue on my lap with the my left hand, and use sand paper in my right hand.

Never taken a cue down, so curious on best approach without a lathe.

[JasonOwen]

No, dont do it.
At best youll end up with thin and off round shaft just below the ferrule. The wood is softer than the ferrule so youll struggle to get it all evenly the same diameter.
Best way is to take the ferrule off, sand the top 10-12 inches gradually to pretty much 9.6mm, then fit a 9.5mm ferrule. Then with a long thin strip of fine sand paper, work the shaft and ferrule together.
Wont ever be as good as on a lathe though.

[old school]

I have taken a ferrule down by 0.5mm before using a technique I use for taking tips flush to the ferrule.Only try this if you are competent and remember the ferrule will have thinner walls at the tip end and be tapered in profile.Put the cue between your legs and sit on it ladder back chair is ideal, leave 4"-6" sticking out ( not longer or vibration causes a problem )and support the back of the cue (one piece) or shaft (3/4 or centre cut).Take a piece of emery cloth ( not too harsh a grit grade) about 12" long and LESS than the length of the ferrule in width ( say 12" x 3/16" or so ).This is specifically so you dont abrade the timber below the ferrule.Form a loop over the ferrule and using a downward pulling motion ( alternate hands ) ,work the emery cloth in a loop ,downwards.Rotate the shaft and keep checking ferrule diameter as you go.If you are careful you can make your ferrule taper from front to back ( like a shallow Trapezium), to acheive the desired tip size and leave the wood alone.Please,please dont attempt this if you are not confident, it can go wrong , but if done right ( I have gone from 9.5mm to 9mm ) you only alter the ferrule,with of course the added bonus that if the tip size doesnt suit,you can referrule to the original size because you have not taken the wood down.This method even allows you to try two tip sizes on the same cue , original and altered , without changing the ferrule itself.Hope this helps, but if you try it , please take your time and remember to rotate the shaft as you work or you will end up with an uneven ferrule.

[Gerry Armstrong]

If you like the cue at all and plan on using it to play with, send it to someone who knows what they're doing and pay for it to be done properly.

It's a really easy job for a cue maker/cue doctor to do properly and a really easy way to ruin a perfectly good cue for a keen "have a go" amateur.

[jrc750]

I know its not much use to you in Canada, but Stu Green of Greenbaize only charges about £10 for doing this kind of job, so seek out a cue doctor type person in your area, it will be much less hassle/heartache

[thelongbomber]

I have access to Kevin Deroo and Lance Mason for professional cue repairs. I was curious about doing it myself cause I wanted to "have a go" and learn. Maybe I will learn with a cheap house/rack cue and send this cue to one of the above for a professional job.

[liquidsymphony]

I know its not much use to you in Canada, but Stu Green of Greenbaize only charges about £10 for doing this kind of job, so seek out a cue doctor type person in your area, it will be much less hassle/heartache

did it by myself as we don't have any qualified person in france to do so , i'm pretty happy with the result ( taken down by 1 mm ) but it took me so long to do the job correctly that i probably won't do it again

[Terry Davidson]

longbomber:

I would recommend you take it to either Airin at Aurora or Kevin, but I do this all the time when I get a ferrule size over 9.5mm and here's how I do it. I have always had good results but it's a little hard to describe. First of all remove the tip and take a look at the thickness of the ferrule around its circumference and see if it is even or thicker in one part.

I have a small file meant for metal with fine teeth and maybe 6" long. I stand the cue up and place the file flat against the top of the cue and ferrule (the last 2" or so of the cue) and keep the butt of the cue between my feet I 'flex' the cue by pushing on the file and then I run the file up and down in short strokes while turning the cue constantly. If the ferrule is thicker in one part I concentrate on getting that the same thickness all around so everything is balanced.

This is the only way I can think of to do this sort of thing without a lathe but it's a lot of work if you have to remove more than about 1mm or so.

Terry

[bigandyg]

Remove ferrule fit smaller one,wood is now hanging over ferrule use a tiny hand plane in the palm of your hand going from as far down the shaft you want up to the ferrule.Just before the wood is flush with ferrule then sand by hand and turn the cue all the time.I always used wet and dry ( always dry ) as I prefered the fine grades.Quick rub with oil and retip.

[gazza147]

I would suggest you trying this on a Club/Rack Cue! As very easy to mess it up as a Few of my friends have.

Personally I think you should bring it to Cue Maker/Cue Repairer as they will Only charge you around £10 so not worth messing if you dont know what your doing m8 ok.


Gaz.

[thelongbomber]

Well, I ended up sanding down a different shaft last night by 0.7mm. I rolled the cue back and forth across my lap with one hand and used sand paper with the other hand. Then I used finer grit sand paper, and finally a shaft burnishing kit (this one: http://www.seyberts.com/products/Q_Smooth-11-15.html) for the final smooth clean finish. The shaft burnishing kit is indispensable in a job like this.

I removed the tip before doing this and made sure I had enough in the ferrule (it's a black Macardin ferrule) to even give it a try.

[poolqjunkie]

Remove ferrule fit smaller one,wood is now hanging over ferrule use a tiny hand plane in the palm of your hand going from as far down the shaft you want up to the ferrule.Just before the wood is flush with ferrule then sand by hand and turn the cue all the time.I always used wet and dry ( always dry ) as I prefered the fine grades.Quick rub with oil and retip.

That is the way to do it. Not that difficult and does not require a lathe. But only if you are handy and know what you are doing:-)

P.S. are you a cue maker by any chance? You know too much to be just a regular guy I think.

[old school]

ADR & myself could answer this question , but it is more fun using the " check posts " feature on the members i.d....... p.s. a nice surprise awaits , Airin, enjoy.

[bigandyg]

That is the way to do it. Not that difficult and does not require a lathe. But only if you are handy and know what you are doing:-)

P.S. are you a cue maker by any chance? You know too much to be just a regular guy I think.

Guilty but retired.

[poolqjunkie]

Thanks old school for that hint.
It is a pleasure to meet you here Mr. Andy Gibbs.
Pardon me I had no idea who you were, now I feel so silly. LOL