Parris Cues

[pearce]

I've got a friend who has a two year old Parris cue. The grain has actually receded back into the cue so that you can feel the grain when cueing. I've heard this can happen and it's hard to remedy because the grain being softer means that if you try to sand it out , the soft grain will sand down more than the rest. My question is does Parris cure his wood as well as the best hand made cue makers because I've never heard of this happening with a Wooldridge or White cue. Because he basically mass produces, are his shafts inferior.

[Terry Davidson]

I don't think his shafts are inferior however in the case of this cue perhaps the finish wasn't done as well as it could be. The secret is to have your friend get some wood filler meant specifically for ash. Before applying the filler mix it with a bit of ebony dust to get it dark as he wants his grain to appear.

Once the wood filler has been applied in a thin coat, allow it to dry as per the instructions and then sand it down with 1,000 and then 2,000 grit ebony paper. This should result in a darker grain or at least a well defined grain and a silky smooth shaft. If the wood filler has been applied really thick ( a common mistake) then start with one of those fine plastic scouring pads to take of the excess.

As I assume there is no lathe available, instruct your friend to rotate the cue 1/8th turn every stroke of the emery so the shaft stays round.

The last bit, once everything is done is to apply a couple coats of cue oil or raw linseed oil. Let the cue dry overnight between coats of cue oil and after that buff the shaft with a soft cloth. Once the cue oil has been on there for awhile it will be safe to use a damp then soft dry cloth to clean the cue. It should come out very, very smooth depending on how much effort is put into the sanding. (the fine grip ebony cloth can be found in auto body refinishing shops if not at your local hardware store)

Terry

[narl]

Because he basically mass produces, are his shafts inferior.

They don't mass produce, John has said in the past they only turn out around 20 cues a week and they're in the works a good while before they're ready.

[svendh]

Sure it`s a genuine parris? There are a lot of fakes out there

[pearce]

Yes, it was purchased direct from Parris about two years ago.

[DeanH]

My pool cue is a JP ash, not sure of age, and I am about to send it to Andy Travis for an MOT, including checking whether some grain filler may be required to smooth out some patches of where it seems that the filler may have dropped out leaving the ridges/valleys.
Cannot wait to see and feel what it will be like when it is back

[svendh]

Than call John, he is very nice and will surely help your mate.