Tweet
There were some strange happenings with cues I posted locally. And the lessons learned I will share with people on this forum so they don't have the same issues I experienced. I stay in Durban in South Africa know for its subtropical climate. Its warm all year round with hot humid summer months and more humid than most places around South Africa. I have a good many cues and mostly I store them on a cue rack with around 50 standing there. I sell cues when someone asks and pays my price and I post them as required. Over the past few years I have had a few complaints from some of my customers complaining of two issues. Splices Opening(actually not opening but very fine hairline openings around the glue lines of cues. And this was not specific to one brand. The second were a crack running from below the badge to the bottom of the butt. A few centimeters in length. I recently had guy named Johnny Pretorius buy a cue of me. This was not the first cue of mine he had off me. However when he received the last cue I had waxed it and polished it nice and shiny bright and sent it off to him. He called me a few days later and showed me a picture of the crack below the badge. I was absolutely sure that I inspected the cue when I sent it to him and I was sure that he did not damage the cue in any way as he absolutely loved the cue to bits. Anyway he glued it up and the crack could not be seen and has since held firm. however I got to thinking that this was not the first issue I have faced with cues. Especially cues sent inland where it is much dryer and colder. In fact all the issues were from inland(Johannesburg area) So reflecting on the small sample of facts and doing some analytical thinking as why these were cracking/splitting along glue lines). I called Johnny back again and had a chat with him with regards to his cue care and he said to me that he used oil on the cue(the first cue) since he got it and it has never troubled him nor has it looked like cracking. The last cue I sent him was oiled only once. when the cue was made. I have since taken to waxing cues because of the serious shine I get to the woods on the butt, and only oil the shafts. This si well and good in Durban with its humid and warm weather. however in dry places like Johannesburg the wood dries out a fraction more and with the hot dry summers they have had the past few weeks with temperatures approaching 100 F the woods dry out even more. This causes the wood to shrink and crack. A hard shot can cause a sudden crack or even splitting of the splices across the glue line. So in short I still do wax the butt end of the cue but I also oil each one and whenever I send out a cue now I oil the cue properly a few times and then send it with a warning to the owner to ensure regular oiling.