Chalking Your Hand

[Sonny]

I use linseed oil hence not sandpaper. What do you mean it can wreck your technique?

[reverse_side]

I'd been playing really well for ages (70's 80's etc) and after looking at the John Parris webstie I'd decided to treat the cue with my regular tub of the oil; but I think I used too much (poured into my hand and warmly massaged in). So even though I wiped off the excess and finished it off with damp cloth and dry cloth, at the tournament I played in it felt like I was cuing with a bike pump with your thumb over the end! Kept rubbing it down with my trusty Stella beer towel, pulled out my secret weapon of a wet-wipe in a JR ink refill bottle to clean my hands instead of nipping to the loo..... but still cuing like a dog. Lost 4-0, when before this disaster I'd played 20 frames and lost 2 in my quest to win £200 for the Welwyn Garden City Premier Snooker League title. (They host their results on yellowjersey.co.uk btw; if anyone wants a free website to keep their League results on). So Sonny, to finish off - hacked off with my form and a League match coming up, I got some Pledge wood polish out and it came up a treat; won well for the team and banged in a 90 in doubles afterwards. Live and learn! Clean it, Polish it, Break off! Aint got that Peter Kay ring to it as, "Booked it, Packed it, F**ked off"!

[Sonny]

haha I can't believe you used your hands to apply it! That stuff is well nasty to skin and should treated with care. All it requires is a quick rub up and down using about less than half a teaspoon, just to ensure every part of the main shaft has been in contact with some, and wipe it completely dry. In case you didn't realise (and you probably do) it's for shine on the cue and to give the wood a good finish which only shows it's self after many applications over months - hence the sandpaper method will take off the linseed coating making it pointless in the first place, so I avoid it. Anyway, I guess it should come down to practicality and not how it looks.... it's that old Robert Persig romantic / classical thing again!

[reverse_side]

yeah yeah, thought I was Rick Mears or somethink, 'Dave and the art of cue maintenance'.

One thing I've emailed Mr.Parris about was the grain on my ash 'classic' cue seems to have acquired some bumps. The pic shows the one near the tip, and there's another about 9" away - right where my bridge is in contact with the shaft. In your experience, as Mr.P hasn't got back to me yet - sanding or summat else.
Next: scooping domestos out of a blocked toilet - with your mouth!

[taz147]

I have used extremely fine steelwool on mine with great success. After a long while even with washing it, it still tends to get dirt stuck on it so that's when I use the wool. Have never had lumps tho. After the steel wool I wash with lightly damp and then apply 'Briwax' works great. I also always am burnishing the sides of my tip.

[reverse_side]

Cheers taz, the lumps are where the solid part of the wood remains less worn, but the grainseems to have subsided or worn away a bit - like you say, steel wool or fine grade sandpaper'll level it up - tad less linseed on the horizon though methinks. (Jimmy lickin his palm again last night on Betfred Snooker - eurgh!)

[Sonny]

(Jimmy lickin his palm again last night on Betfred Snooker - eurgh!)

do you think it's because there may be some coke leftovers?

[Mike]

Yeah

Yeah I use this alot people say it wrecksthe cue. Buy a towel simple as/

[mirocri]

do you think it's because there may be some coke leftovers?

What a great love must have been since all there's left is a lot of bitterness ...

[Sonny]

that doesn't make sense

[reverse_side]

I was struggling to make some sense out of it too, but if we have a cantona-esque genius in our midsts, cracking, what's next.... "When Jimmy licks iz 'and, it is because zay think zar pinks will be srone into zuh pockettes"? But does it reduce kicks? I can feel an animated Gif coming! Manage those attachments people.
Coke (allegedly) or brown sauce; palm lickin good. If it helps him concentrate, can't wait for the juniors to pick up on it; or watching your mates do it on a match night.
"Chalking your Hand", full circle, it's Jimmy's way to lick the excess chalk off himself - he'll think it works and bring on the Irish Masters on Eurosport.

[reverse_side]

John Parris got back to me about the dips in the shaft, my wafer method of retipping and what he thinks about making cues have screw-in tips; he says....

"Dear Dave
The dips you mention are probably due to wear & tear on the shaft, the dark grain is much softer than the light wood and tends to wear quicker. I would not recommend trying to sand it yourself, it is quite easy to sand the soft grain more which will make the situation worse. If you can get the cue back to us I will see what can be done to refinish the shaft. With regard to retipping, there is no hard and fast rule. We find that if the top of the cue is level and the back of the tip sanded flat there is no problem, but if your method works for you that is fine. Screw tips don't really work, you cannot get a good quality screw tip and it is never on as solid as a glued tip. Regards John"


A trip over to Forest Hill in London might be on the cards then, nice to get a personal response from such a pro; he liked the pix too! (problee not tell him about my organic methods with Lynne Seed, never much liked her!)

[butt_usman]

Never Heard about That

[silverdragon]

Well, the cone chalk is talc (baby powder is talc with fragrance). My hands get pretty sweaty, so i HAVE to use either glove or talc during summertime when its really humid. Talc can clump up, so i usually wash my hands every hr and wipe down the shaft if i use powder.

[j4m13pl4tt]

Dont chalk your hand

if you chalk your hand the chalk rots your shaft because i looked at a club cue witch had chalk on the shaft and it had bent inwards