9. My shaft has a dent. What now?
Description
This article is from the Pool & Billiards FAQ, by Bob Jewett with numerous contributions by others.
9. My shaft has a dent. What now?
Small dents can be caused by anything from hitting an overhead light
fixture to simply leaning your cue against a table or chair.
If your shaft is made of metal, graphite, or wood covered in graphite,
fiber glass, or some other material, then you may need to return the
shaft to the manufacturer for repair or replacement. If you have a
wood shaft, and especially if the wood fibers are not cut or damaged,
then there are several things that you can do yourself to repair the
damage, safely, and with minimal risk of making things worse.
If the dent is small, then place a drop of water directly on the dent,
let it soak in, and dry overnight; the water softens the wood, and it
may return to its natural shape by itself. If this doesn't work, then
fold a few layers of paper towel or tissue paper to a size slightly
larger than the dent, place the paper against the shaft, and hold it in
place with a rubber band. Wet the paper, and leave it in place
overnight. The wet paper allows the water to soak in deeper before
evaporating, allowing the wood to return to its natural shape slower
than the first method.
If this doesn't work, then more drastic measures are required. Soak
the dented area with water. While the water is soaking into the
shaft, boil some water in a steam kettle or tea pot with a thin spout.
Heat the dented area with the steam from the spout. The steam heats
the water that has soaked into the wood, causing pressure to push out
the dent from the inside. Do not allow the steam to heat the ferrule
or joint; it may weaken the glue joints. Do not allow the shaft to
come close to the stove top, flame, or other heat source. If the spout
from your steam kettle is too wide, then try wrapping aluminum foil
around the spout, and punch a small hole in the foil with a needle or
toothpick. If you don't have a steam kettle, you can use a regular pot
covered tightly with aluminum foil with a small hole in the middle.
You can also use the steam from a clothing iron, or from a hand-held
suit steamer, but take particular care to not allow the shaft to touch
the hot metal. With all of these methods, the water will cause the
wood grain to raise and after drying it will feel slightly rough to the
touch. You should polish the shaft before using it with a couple of
strokes with a leather pad, a clean cloth, or whatever you usually use
for routine periodic cleaning and maintenance. When successful, these
approaches restore the shaft perfectly to its original form, without
the need to use sandpaper.
Some other common suggestions for removing dents are riskier and
should probably be avoided. Some examples include placing a wet piece
of cloth on the dent and using a hot soldering iron to steam the dent,
or using the open flame from a cigarette lighter to expand the dent.
Although these methods may work successfully, the same thing can be
accomplished without the associated risk of permanent damage to the
shaft. In general, try to keep the heat source as far away from the
wood as possible.
Another commonly suggested way to remove dents is to rub a glass rod
(or a beer bottleneck, or a shot glass, or a glass ashtray, or some
other piece of smooth glass) over the dent. This doesn't exactly
remove the dent, but rather it spreads it out over a larger area so
that it isn't as noticeable. Some believe that the glass rod generates
heat from the rubbing friction, and this heat removes the dent, but the
simpler explanation seems more plausible. Since this approach seems
to change the shaft shape slightly, it is not recommended except
possibly, as a last resort.
What if the wood fibers are cut or otherwise damaged to the point that
the above methods do not work? If you are skilled in woodworking, then
perhaps you can sand away the dent; this probably means that the shaft
will no longer be exactly round. Another option is to take the shaft
to a skilled cue repairman. He will probably use a lathe to remove
wood from the shaft; the resulting shaft will be round, but with a
different diameter and/or taper than the original. In both of these
cases, the shape of the shaft is changed, and the feel and playing
characteristics may change with it. Another possibility is to use a
drop of firearms-specification two-part epoxy (eg., _AcraGlass_ from
Brownell's, Inc.). It gives good working time, will become thin and
penetrate under a 100W bulb, set up quickly when the heat is removed,
can be tinted any color, and will sand out with 600 followed by 1200
wet-or-dry silicon carbide paper (local body supply shop) to feel like
the original wood.
And finally, in case everything else fails, a new shaft may be
purchased for your cue. In some cases, replacement shafts may be
purchased simply by specifying your cue make and model; otherwise the
old shaft is needed to match threads, joint designs, and taper.
New/replacement shafts cost between $50 and $200.
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