JP Cue Splitting???

[Luke Hooper]

Howdy all,

i post this with great concern that my baby (my JP Regal) may be splitting at the tip end. I was wondering, has anyone ever had this sort of problem with any John Parris cues before? ive had mine just over a year now, it has been used day in day out for average 4 hours a day and ive really only just noticed that around the ferrule there seems to be divits of wood missing (only small pieces) and i also notice that it looks like there are cracks going down the shaft...

now im not sure if these "cracks" are actually just deep grains that have become slightly more obvious in recent weeks or whether they are actually cracks..

i dont feel any twanging or anything along those lines when i play my shots but obviously am concerned now and wonder if there is anything i can do to either fill these gaps or fix the problem..

The only reason i noticed this was because in the past 3 days, ive had to retip my cue 3 times due to the tip not staying on!! this is the first ever time this has happene,d ive never had any tips fall off on me, i thought it was the glue maybe because it was old, so ive bought a new one (normally i use loctite supergel but tehy run out and i bought loctite superglue) and that stayed on there for me to play my frame last night and fell off today. I went and got some more gel and it is currently setting for my frame tonight in approximately 2 hours so hopefully it stays on but ive never had this happen before which made me look closer at my cue to make sure it wasnt falling apart, now i dont know whether this is all in my head or not but now im paranoid about trying to save my cue and look after it!

maybe posting this thread is quite pointless but i feel the need to do something! haha any advice???? [/panic]

[blackballgame]

Howdy all,

i post this with great concern that my baby (my JP Regal) may be splitting at the tip end. I was wondering, has anyone ever had this sort of problem with any John Parris cues before? ive had mine just over a year now, it has been used day in day out for average 4 hours a day and ive really only just noticed that around the ferrule there seems to be divits of wood missing (only small pieces) and i also notice that it looks like there are cracks going down the shaft...

now im not sure if these "cracks" are actually just deep grains that have become slightly more obvious in recent weeks or whether they are actually cracks..

i dont feel any twanging or anything along those lines when i play my shots but obviously am concerned now and wonder if there is anything i can do to either fill these gaps or fix the problem..

The only reason i noticed this was because in the past 3 days, ive had to retip my cue 3 times due to the tip not staying on!! this is the first ever time this has happene,d ive never had any tips fall off on me, i thought it was the glue maybe because it was old, so ive bought a new one (normally i use loctite supergel but tehy run out and i bought loctite superglue) and that stayed on there for me to play my frame last night and fell off today. I went and got some more gel and it is currently setting for my frame tonight in approximately 2 hours so hopefully it stays on but ive never had this happen before which made me look closer at my cue to make sure it wasnt falling apart, now i dont know whether this is all in my head or not but now im paranoid about trying to save my cue and look after it!

maybe posting this thread is quite pointless but i feel the need to do something! haha any advice???? [/panic]

I'm thinking in the line's that you should call JP or any other cuemaker and see what they said because if it is cracking you might need to get a new shaft
But someone with more knowledge than me might help you more.

[jrc750]

Whip your camera out Luke as a pic can say a thousand words

[cueman]

Without seeing it its difficult to say what it could be. Is the cue dry or feel brittle in any way. When you say bits of wood are missing it doesn't sound terribly good. As its a year old even with quite a bit of play I would expect it to be in a better condition than you say. Is the ferrule loose at all and when you put a tip on what is the wood like underneath? Is it exposed or does that have any cracks in it?

Some people like to stick a pin into the wood and I hope you aren't one of them as this could cause this very problem. As if the glue has managed to get into the wood then it will damage that area, that is why I don't recommend the liquid based superglue, the gel stuff is much better. Anyway I'm no expert but I would phone JP as usually he stands by his cues, especially if you still have the receipt.

[sunny3909]

If the wood below the ferrule is split then nothing can be done,you will need a new shaft.

[the_paz]

well not necisserily you wont.

it depends how bad it is, sometimes taking half an inch off could solve it, but without seeing it it's difficult to say.

i'd take to a good cue doctor/maker asap to see what they say, and i wouldnt hit another ball with it until you've had it checked out mate.

good luck.

[hotpot]

It is common for cues to wear near the ferrule , pheraps becase of chalk , and wear n tear when changing tips etc . Dont want to guess but it sounds like that you may have a bit of dry grain that needs filling/ treating .

I,ve had a few cues where the tight grain has gone dry and you can put your fingernail in the gaps .

If this is the problem then i dont think you have much to worry about , a few pics would be good to see .

[cazmac1]

Whip your camera out Luke as a pic can say a thousand words

Yes luke lets have some pictures

[Neil Taperell]

How about a trip to JP on Saturday ? I'm sure he would try to rectify the problems , especislly as the cue is only a year old .

[cazmac1]

How about a trip to JP on Saturday ? I'm sure he would try to rectify the problems , especislly as the cue is only a year old .

I wouldn't hold your breath I might be wrong tho. Still it should have been your first option to give John the opertunity to put it right before posting on the forum

[Neil Taperell]

Make you right there Peter . Should really give JP a try first Luke .

[Luke Hooper]

thanks for the replies people...i played with hte cue tonight, it doesnt rattle or anything...i think its more dry grain on second thoughts...although there are small divits around the bottom of the ferrule where i think just bits of grain have come off which i think could be filled...i dont think its as bad as what i was envisioned... maybe i panicked a bit too much....but in a couple of the grains it does feel like you can fit your nail into them and i never noticed that before....

[Neil Taperell]

Let us know what you do Luke . At the moment i'm using my mates 9 year old Robert Osborne cue until my TW arrives . The cue looks brand new with no signs of gaps to grain . You might just need yours re-finished .

[Luke Hooper]

im not sure what to do to tell you the truth! i dont want to take it to john because he will take years to look at it.... i asked him how long it would take to put a personalised name badge on my cue and he told me 3-4 weeks he'd need the cue in for! i was like...wtf? really? maybe not then!

my mate paid a £100 deposit on a cue to be made and was told he would have to wait 6 months before its ready (which is fine...) its been almost 2 years and he still doesnt have his cue!!!

they are fantastic cues dont get me wrong but i cant be without my baby for that long! ill go mad!!

[The Doctor]

The problem your having, without seeing the cue, sounds like it has dried out a bit. This is common more so in ash cues that has an open grain as opposed to maple that has a closed or tighter grain.
The problem arises due to chalk drying out the wood and the wood then becoming brittle.
I would clean the cue thoroughly then re-finish the cue by filling grain and re-oil.