Straightening Cues

[keith auld]

Just recently I've been asked by a number of people to advise about the straightenening of cues. I have the following story to to pass on, I hope you enjoy reading it and the warning at the end.
I was visiting a local snooker hall just recently and chatting to the owner who I know very well when a rep from one of the cue companies arrived to check to see whether he needed any new cues to add to those that he stocks on a sale or return basis. One of the players approached the rep and said that a cue he'd bought recently from the rack was bent. The rep said 'no problem I'll just sraighten it for you', he went over to a snooker table, rolled it, look to see where the bend was and then proceeded to bend it in the opposite direction to the initial bend, looked down the cue again and said 'there you are its straight'. I said to him 'what do you think you're doing' he replied 'straightening the cue', I said ' you can't do it like that, not only did you take a chance of damaging the cue, but it be back to where it was in half an hour, you need a fixing agent to straighten a cue and keep it straight'. He said 'I won't be here in half and hours time anyway, I'll tell him if he has any further trouble to steam it over a kettle and then straighten it', I said 'that's even worse, you can't introduce wet heat to the cue without doing it irreperable damage'. He then said 'well how do you do it' I replied I'm a cuemaker and the technique I use was taught to me by an old guy who regrettably is no longer with us; it's the only failsafe way I've ever known for straightening cues that's 100% effective, doesn't damage the cue and prevents the bend from returning and is not something I'm prepared to disclose to anyone'
Just today I've straightened 5 cues - 3 are old Riley 1 piece cues with original tombstone Riley of Accrington badges, one of which bears an 'E.J. Riley' signature and all of which must be worth a great deal to a collector; 1 Burwat Champion and 1 unnamed cue very old with a flared butt
All are now perfectly straight and stable
So please if you have a bent cue and want it straightened, make sure that the person doing the straightening knows what they are doing, ask them:
1) to give you a guarantee that the same bend won't return
2) check that your cue is not going to be physically altered (ie. be planed along one side to make it look straight)
3) that the person doing it has done this kind of work before
4) that they accept full responsibilty for your cue whilst in their possession
5) Ask whether there are any other bends in the cue that could effect it later and if so have them done at the same time, so whoever is doing the work can't at a later date turn round and say that it's a different bend that they've now got (ie. if the bend is in the shaft, check that no bend exists at the butt end, and if so have that done at the same time)

Remember that a much loved or valuable cue (especially old or antique cues that invariably over the years have developed a bend or even an 'S' bend) isn't irreperably damaged by ineptidude or ignorance; also just because someone may be a cue maker doesn't automatically mean that they have the knowledge to straighten cuesI hope this helps

[shafter]

Very good info that.
A lad i know throws them round his knee then 30 secs later says job done!
I always thought it looked a bit dodgy! :snooker:

[Semih_Sayginer]

the cue rep who rolled the cue on the table to check for a bend obviously didnt know his @rse from his elbow. there was no need to read further to find that out.

Just recently I've been asked by a number of people to advise about the straightenening of cues. I have the following story to to pass on, I hope you enjoy reading it and the warning at the end.
I was visiting a local snooker hall just recently and chatting to the owner who I know very well when a rep from one of the cue companies arrived to check to see whether he needed any new cues to add to those that he stocks on a sale or return basis. One of the players approached the rep and said that a cue he'd bought recently from the rack was bent. The rep said 'no problem I'll just sraighten it for you', he went over to a snooker table, rolled it, look to see where the bend was and then proceeded to bend it in the opposite direction to the initial bend, looked down the cue again and said 'there you are its straight'. I said to him 'what do you think you're doing' he replied 'straightening the cue', I said ' you can't do it like that, not only did you take a chance of damaging the cue, but it be back to where it was in half an hour, you need a fixing agent to straighten a cue and keep it straight'. He said 'I won't be here in half and hours time anyway, I'll tell him if he has any further trouble to steam it over a kettle and then straighten it', I said 'that's even worse, you can't introduce wet heat to the cue without doing it irreperable damage'. He then said 'well how do you do it' I replied I'm a cuemaker and the technique I use was taught to me by an old guy who regrettably is no longer with us; it's the only failsafe way I've ever known for straightening cues that's 100% effective, doesn't damage the cue and prevents the bend from returning and is not something I'm prepared to disclose to anyone'
Just today I've straightened 5 cues - 3 are old Riley 1 piece cues with original tombstone Riley of Accrington badges, one of which bears an 'E.J. Riley' signature and all of which must be worth a great deal to a collector; 1 Burwat Champion and 1 unnamed cue very old with a flared butt
All are now perfectly straight and stable
So please if you have a bent cue and want it straightened, make sure that the person doing the straightening knows what they are doing, ask them:
1) to give you a guarantee that the same bend won't return
2) check that your cue is not going to be physically altered (ie. be planed along one side to make it look straight)
3) that the person doing it has done this kind of work before
4) that they accept full responsibilty for your cue whilst in their possession
5) Ask whether there are any other bends in the cue that could effect it later and if so have them done at the same time, so whoever is doing the work can't at a later date turn round and say that it's a different bend that they've now got (ie. if the bend is in the shaft, check that no bend exists at the butt end, and if so have that done at the same time)

Remember that a much loved or valuable cue (especially old or antique cues that invariably over the years have developed a bend or even an 'S' bend) isn't irreperably damaged by ineptidude or ignorance; also just because someone may be a cue maker doesn't automatically mean that they have the knowledge to straighten cuesI hope this helps

[MikeWooldridge]

and is not something I'm prepared to disclose to anyone'

mmm, didn't you say before you were happy to pass on all your knowledge?

i think a lot of people would be interested to hear how you how you do it.

me also. of course i have my own methods which i am very happy with, but i am always interested in new ideas/techniques.

you need a fixing agent to straighten a cue and keep it straight

eh? an angle iron maybe...

anyway, no you don't. but i'd still be interested to know what you're talking about.

isn't irreperably damaged by ineptidude or ignorance

sounds to me like you're trying to scare people.

there is no mystical art to straightening wood. it is not difficult and there are various techniques, none of which will damage the wood irreparably.

agreed, some might not work, but overall it is a simple job for anyone if they know the fundamentals.

your method works for you and that's cool. others will do it a different way and enjoy the same success rate.

i still see people whose cues i straightened 10, 15, even 20 years ago and they're still straight. so my method certainly stands the test of time.

but nobody can guarantee a cue will stay straight. i usually tell people that if the cue is looked after, there is no reason the cue will bend back. but it's always possible cos wood is a natural product affected by many factors.

also just because someone may be a cue maker doesn't automatically mean that they have the knowledge to straighten cues

i think any genuine cuemaker has the necessary knowledge to straighten cues. it comes with the territory.

BUT, the bloke in the club, the one who knows everything and does the odd 'repair' here and there - that's the one who guys with bent sticks need to be wary of...

for anyone interested in general 'straight' cue info, click here:

http://www.handmadecues.com/info/40-straightcue.htm

[MikeWooldridge]

there was no need to read further to find that out.

lol. then why copy the whole post again??

[Semih_Sayginer]

lol. then why copy the whole post again??

it was easier than editing bits out of it

[keith auld]

Hi Mike - heaven forbid - I'm certainly not trying to frighten people - just advise them of the possible pitfalls of using someone who doesn't genuinely know what they're doing.
Like anything, once you know how to do something it becomes easy, and you're then confident that you are in a position to offer a service that you can guarantee. That's why I've suggested that anyone getting their cue straightened should get a guarantee from the person doing the job that it's a permanent, not 1/2 hour fix and an undertaking that they accept full responsibilty should any damage occur, or as I have seen in the past, the cue in an even worse state than it started (ie. started with a single bend and after being 'done' had an 's' bend). The process I use fixes the bend permenantly and the cue will never bend in that place again. As I said in the thread, I only know of one method that is fullproof, you obviously know of another and that's great, particularly as it means that people on this forum will feel confident in sending their cues to either of us to be straightened and know that we're both prepared to offer a guarantee that we accept full liabilty for their cues and that we can guarantee them a perfectly straight cue in return that will remain that way

[ADR147]

I was trying hard not to get involved in more disputes with keith but this post is ridiculous, it is not possible to state it will never bend again in the same place - wood will do as it pleases!

wood is bent and cues are straightened by heat. be it in the form of friction or steam or whatever - fixing agent ?????? what would that be and why would it be required? people have been manipulating wood for thousends of years as a cabinet maker keith is well aware of that.

[keith auld]

Hi Andrew - a fixing agent is anything that you use in order to fix the problem - I used this term because to go into more detail would give away the methods I use so perhaps the term is a bit ambiguous. I'm not suggesting that the cue will never bend again, this generally happens either by outside sources (ie. leaving it against a radiator) or by the way the wood was cut originally. With lathe made cues, you often find that the 1 1/2" square is fitted to the lathe and the tapered cone comes from that, thus if there is an initial bend in the square, even though the lathe will produce a straight taper, the likelihood is that the cue will revert to it's original shape later. What I do is, even if the square is slightly bent, I'll cut that bend out when producing my square taper prior to planing. This means that the wood will have moved as much as it's ever likely to so the taper you then produce for your cues, hopefully should always remain the way you've cut it.
Yes indeed,wood has been bent for thousands of years, but usually at the beginning of a production for a specific purpose, the problem arises when this happens to a finished article that it shouldn't or you don't want it to happen to and then the manipulation you refer to has to take place. As for permanancy, well that's why the guarantee should be obtained from whoever is doing the job. If they can't guarantee that that particular bend won't return then (a) they shouldn't be doing the job and (b) they're taking money under false pretences. I've never had a cue back that I've straightened that has 'gone' in the same place - that may be why so many people entrust their valuable old cues to me to straighten

[Darth_Spud]

Is it me or do I detect a certain animosity towards Keith! Most is unwarranted! It's like this cuemaker has come on here and the other cue makers are defending their territory although I’m sure they will say "No I don't care that there’s a new cuemaker on TSF blah blah blah" really its like he’s the new kid at school - you know... the one that started talking to the girl you liked lol

Give the guy a break! He’s just trying to help us all.

Ok now let the argumentative F*ckers have a go at me now! Run Keith I may have bought you some time! lol

[keith auld]

Thanks Darth - Hopefully there is no animosity against me on TSF - perhaps we should call it creative debate - I've never had any intention of deliberately winding people up and I'm sure that, all the cuemakers on here are just happy to get on with their work and orders and help and give advice where they can.
I must say that the help and good wishes that I've received from TSF members from all over the world during the launch and teething troubles with my new website has been overwhelming, and I'm thoroughly grateful to you all for the help and advice you've given - I wish I could buy you all a pint!
Maybe I'm just big enough, old enough and certainly ugly enough not to let things stress me anymore

[Burwat Champ]

Is it me or do I detect a certain animosity towards Keith! Most is unwarranted! It's like this cuemaker has come on here and the other cue makers are defending their territory although I’m sure they will say "No I don't care that there’s a new cuemaker on TSF blah blah blah" really its like he’s the new kid at school - you know... the one that started talking to the girl you liked lol

Give the guy a break! He’s just trying to help us all.

Ok now let the argumentative F*ckers have a go at me now! Run Keith I may have bought you some time! lol

Glad somebody else noticed this, I was beginning to think it was just in my head.

I find the advice given by Keith to be most helpful (i say the same about Trev,Mike and ADR) but Keith does tend to get a bit of stick from time to time.

Keep posting Keith and good luck with the new web site.

[ADR147]

Is it me or do I detect a certain animosity towards Keith! Most is unwarranted! It's like this cuemaker has come on here and the other cue makers are defending their territory although I’m sure they will say "No I don't care that there’s a new cuemaker on TSF blah blah blah" really its like he’s the new kid at school - you know... the one that started talking to the girl you liked lol

Give the guy a break! He’s just trying to help us all.

Ok now let the argumentative F*ckers have a go at me now! Run Keith I may have bought you some time! lol

there is no animosity from me - i just don't like new kids you can run but you can't hide!

oh i see, the term creates the wrong impression i think. keith i distinctly remember you being critical of mike for being secretive about his methods!

but i will agree with you 100% the reason I would not post a guide on how to straighten a cue is that it is an experience thing and people doing it for the first time could easily make a cock up and i would not want the blame!

[steedee]

used to do a spot of retipping in my time, im happy to share all my secrets!!!!!.

seriously though i would be quite interested in how they are straightened, though i would never attempt it myself, also how much does this type of service normally cost? my cues fine at the mo, but it would be nice information to know

[MikeWooldridge]

Is it me or do I detect a certain animosity towards Keith! Most is unwarranted! It's like this cuemaker has come on here and the other cue makers are defending their territory

this is a public forum. people come on here to voice their opinions, and sometimes learn things.

reading one opinion, then posting your own has nothing to do with animosity or 'defending territory'.

once all opinions are voiced, it is up to forum members to come to their own conclusion as to what is 'right' or 'best'.

although I’m sure they will say "No I don't care that there’s a new cuemaker on TSF blah blah blah" really its like he’s the new kid at school - you know... the one that started talking to the girl you liked lol

yes, and i gave him a good kicking too....

on a serious note, i've got more important things to worry about and i really couldn't give a sh*t who joins the forum. i'm only interested in what people say, and if i have something to say, i will...

Ok now let the argumentative F*ckers have a go at me now! Run Keith I may have bought you some time! lol

not that much time. i'm sure keith will come up with another post soon that will generate more healthy debate...

keep it up keith. the forum's definitely more interesting with you around