Splice crack

[RogiBear]

Yesterday my friend gave me his cue to re-tip as I'm the resident help. When I did the job this morning I noticed the splice had cracked on both sides. Although not the best picture, actually makes it look better. It shows the crack, which then runs up length of the splice. It is the same both sides. I refinished the cue a couple of months back and it was fine then. He does have a tendency to leave the cue in the boot overnight which might be the cause.



So two questions. Firstly would this sort of damage affect play? The last month or so he has been terrible for no obvious reason, usually he makes regular 40-70 breaks and has been struggling to make double figures. I've had a hit with it and it felt quite dead to me but not sure how it felt before.

Second, he has now asked me to fill the crack with epoxy to mend it. Personally I don't feel comfortable with that type of repair. I think it would be better to take the joint off and re-splice so there is wood to wood contact. Any suggestions?

[Dave Walton]

Hard to tell from the pic but is the splice cracked or is it lifting at the edge where its glued? If its just lifting a little epoxy or just superglue put in and sanded back should sort it.

[Jami]

If the cue sounds ok when hitting the ball ,filling the crack should be enough. Ive put some maskingtape on both sides of the crack before filling it with glue. And removed the tapes before the glue has hardened. And i use a sharp blade to remove the excess glue and after that sanded it if needed. Some oil and done. Works for me

[RogiBear]

Hard to tell from the pic but is the splice cracked or is it lifting at the edge where its glued? If its just lifting a little epoxy or just superglue put in and sanded back should sort it.

If the cue sounds ok when hitting the ball ,filling the crack should be enough. Ive put some maskingtape on both sides of the crack before filling it with glue. And removed the tapes before the glue has hardened. And i use a sharp blade to remove the excess glue and after that sanded it if needed. Some oil and done. Works for me

I'm pretty sure it's a crack as it is on both sides. He played yesterday with his 8.5mm pool cue and managed a 55 with it so there must be something wrong with this one. He's decided to get a new cue rather than repair this one as it's a touch short for him anyway.

[j6uk]

i'd put the cue together and be banging the cue with the palm of my hand around the crack and joint to hear for any sounds of a fracture, you know if he's dropped or banged the cue on the table it could of open all the way through the cue. if that's the case yes you'd need to open it up and re glue with a wood glue. but from the pic it looks superficial from maybe the climate. if so then powder and super glue will do the trick.

[Terry Davidson]

If you can get 'Chair Doctor' adhesive from Lee Valley Tools or the same type of adhesive in the UK you use a syringe to put it along the crack and it swells and seals the wood. Any excess can be wiped off at application with a damp cloth or paper towel.

I used this to seal a 6" crack in the ebony on my MW cue and it worked great. The MW is my playing cue

Terry