Oiling your cue

[jarcher]

Does anyone know if oiling your cue can have a negative effect on the performance of the cue?

The reason I ask, is that I bought a Parris Classic, one of the old ones... and could always get a lot of cue power and deep screw when I wanted. Recently though, I'm struggling to generate much screw and I'm really having to force shots to get any real cue power. This only seems to have happened over a period of time since oiling the cue a few times.

It's totally broke my confidence in the cue to the point that I'm going to change it this week to a Mastercue Rocket, but I'm now reluctant to even consider oiling the new cue when I get it.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

[jim evans]

oiling wont alter nothing you must be doing something else just relax again and think positive

[CueAntW147]

If done well and its still nice & smooth oiling shouldn't cause any problems really, the only thing that springs to mind is have you changed the tip since oiling it ? reason i ask is if its the same tip you may have got some oil on it which would be a problem, or it might just be the tip needs changing anyway..........

[jarcher]

oiling wont alter nothing you must be doing something else just relax again and think positive

That's what I would have thought... I can generate power and spin with the Rocket cue, another mates Mastercue, and a few others I've tried... I'm even on an 8.9mm tip and theres are 9.5mm ish lol we are all using Talisman M tips... so the only thing I could put it down to was the oiling as that's the only difference between my cue and theirs. Totally confused by the whole thing lol... I used to be able to screw the full length of the table... and even using my 1G balls, I'm just about stunning a shot over the full length of the table never mind screwing it back at all lol

[jarcher]

The other thing about the oils used... I'm currently using Mikes cue oil, which is fantastic... but prior to that, I used to use plain old Raw Linseed... and don't know if this has tightened up the original spring in the shaft.

[jim evans]

The other thing about the oils used... I'm currently using Mikes cue oil, which is fantastic... but prior to that, I used to use plain old Raw Linseed... and don't know if this has tightened up the original spring in the shaft.

just going to add the same ants,i think your just too bloody good screwing back full length of table lol,is the same reaction always same table or another table could be

[Samcheung001]

I have similar experience as well. Oiling a cue does could change the response of a cue. Mine is after oiling, it seems more stiff and could generate more spin.

Then, I have another cue that before oiling, the spin is perfect but after oiling, it seems to be less responsive similar to jarcher but my tip
seems getting moisture also after oiling. Therefore, I'm not too sure if it's related.

Anyway, I believe oiling could to certain extent change the response of a cue especially for new cue that has never been oiled.

[thelongbomber]

I'm convinced that oil does change the response of a cue yes. You see Oil isn't just some liquid that get's absorbed and used by the wood. The wood is dead but it still remains porous and has tiny holes and entry points that you can't see with the naked eye. Linseed oil (boiled or not), eventually dries up otherwise your cue would remain sticky. So then where does the oil actually go?

Take right from Wikipedia, Linseed oil is a drying oil, as it can polymerize into a solid form. In laymen's terms, the oil you apply solidifies. Because it fills the pores, linseed oil protects wood. In the violin-maker world, lemon-scented mineral oil is commonly used for cleaning, then a light amount of linseed oil (or other drying oil) is applied to protect it from grime that might otherwise result in accelerated deterioration of the wood.

So oiling your cue is probably a good thing but it shouldn't be every week. Maybe a light cleaning with a mineral oil and then a Linseed oil treatment twice a year would suffice. Use the oils absolutely sparingly. I might apply something like 5-10 drops onto a cloth and then apply to the cue only a few times a year. All other times, just use a towel regularly when you use your cue. If you like a high gloss finish consider varnish or urethane for the butt.

Regarding Mike's cue oil, I personally would not try it unless I knew exactly what it contained. Does it have mineral spirits? Is it Linseed-based? I say just stick with un-boiled Linseed oil (the boiled dries more quickly).

[Samcheung001]

Thanks for the detailed supplementary. Just want to know, base on your experience, how would oiling affect the cue response. More stiff or the opposite ?

[jarcher]

Oiling your cue

I think it stiffens the shaft, maybe a slow alternative to Viagra haha. My cue just seems to have lost all spring.

I would be interested if Mike could make comment on this as the feel of his oil is totally different to that of the standard linseed oil and is much smoother when finished and not as sticky, so not sure exactly how they differ, but differ they certainly do lol

[jarcher]

Oiling your cue

Judging by thelongbomber's reply, I'm thinking is could be the linseed oil that has maybe finally dried out as I had been using it well before trying mikes oil.

Would really prefer to continue using mikes cue oil as the finish really is the nuts

[MikeWooldridge]

Does anyone know if oiling your cue can have a negative effect on the performance of the cue?

no it will not.

if you have lost cue power, i would say loose ferrule or worse, a ferrule that's about to break off cos the wood is brittle and about to break at the top.

or if you got oil on the tip then the tip will not bite the cue ball so well. hopefully, that is all your problem is.

[jarcher]

Oiling your cue

That's good to know mike. Like I say, I noticed a massive difference between linseed and your oil, with yours being much better. I'm changing my cue tomorrow as I've lost confidence in mine. I know it's not the tip as not only am I careful not to get oil on the tip, but I've changed my tip since oiling with no difference.

Think from now on, the only oil I'll be using will be yours not as sticky and stays smoother for longer

[MikeWooldridge]

it's the ferrule/wood then.

if it gets loose or on verge of breaking you lose all 'feeling'.

[Cue_Seeker]

I thought oiling is for "safe" keeping your cue so it won't alter its shape in storage. However I am not sure its purpose when you oil it often, I have an instinct feeling that will grease up your cue to become smoother but I don't have hand sweats so.. not sure.