Joint alignment

[Elevenrts]

Hi. I was playing with my brother today, he mentioned that his joint has gone out of synch, so i said i'd ask on here.

He'd had the cue, 3/4 jointed, for about a year. He's noticed that the flat of the butt doesn't line through exactly with the top of the shaft. It wasn't that noticeable, but when i looked down the cue from the badge, I could see that the joint was turning a hair past straight.

I told him not to worry about it. My joint is out about the same the other way, but it doesn't bother me and will probably move over the years to align.

Anyway, it bugs him. The joint is through the ebony, so i can't see it affecting how the cue plays, but I'm not an expert. My advice was to get used to it, as tinkering is more likely to cause problems than solve them. What do you guys think? Is this something a cue repairer could fix easily? Is it likely to be affecting how the cue plays? Thanks

[narl]

3/4 cues can get out of alignment over time due to the brass faces wearing down, its pretty much entirely dependant on how often the cue is assembled\disassembled. A year seems pretty quick for it to have happened but it won't affect anything.

[DeanH]

because it is only a year old, I doubt it is wear of the joint faces but that one or both parts of the joint has moved within the wood; this can be due to two things; (1) the glue had not fully set and twisted due to use before setting, or (2) the user is heavy handed and wrenches the joint together.

(2) I had a friend who would so heavily tighten the joint it looked like he was wringing a chicken's neck (no animal were actually harmed during this time); so much so that he twisted the joint out of alignment; he twisted the mini extension so much he broke the wood around the butt joint - all on the same cue and in quick succession. Even after I told him to calm down else he will damage his cue (deaf ears :wink
It amazes me how some people think they have to use so much force with these joints

of course the joint can be fixed and realigned by a cue doctor but if the user is a (2)-type person; the same issue could happen again
as we say in IT circles - a "liveware" issue :biggrin:

[Mellow Yellow]

like the lads have said above, if its past straight its a much bigger job than if it was before straight.

Past straight the joint will need removing and reglueing

before straight, can be adjusted by cleaning/sanding the surfaces of the joint to give it slightly more of a turn.

either way there is no need to correct it unless it has moved because its coming loose.

[Ninja.cues]

I would say, check the face of the joints are clean and don't have any crap on them or if the joint had been knocked.
If there is a small dent on the joint, that is something small, that would also do this, also.
Something to check.