Snooker cue repairs / maintenance for 100 year old cue

dave180

Hey guys , have a cue that my dad gave to me. I have always loved it and it is now about 100 years old. I am a serious snooker player and i would love to start using this cue. I want to get it touched up , new tip , a few chips touched up , sanded down , oiled and also get screws in it so i can get extensions for it and stuff. Does anywhere that would do this for me?? or anybody that would do it and also what you think it would all cost me. Thanks , Dave

zack01

dave180 wrote: »

Hey guys , have a cue that my dad gave to me. I have always loved it and it is now about 100 years old. I am a serious snooker player and i would love to start using this cue. I want to get it touched up , new tip , a few chips touched up , sanded down , oiled and also get screws in it so i can get extensions for it and stuff. Does anywhere that would do this for me?? or anybody that would do it and also what you think it would all cost me. Thanks , Dave

There are a few guys knocking about, a lot of people talk of Aban Reddy from Wexford, personally i would go to Mick Kane, he's an ex Irish amateur champion and has now a full time cue doctor working out of a workshop in his home.
He will put a new on, and fit brass joints so you can have a screw in extension, also increase the weight if needed, i would avoid oiling your cue, i can never understand why people do that to cues.
In my opinion he's the best in the business and he did a great job on my own cue which is an ash Burwatt Champion and probably the same age as your own.
Further reference of how good his work is that Ken Doherty trusts no one other than Mick to tip his cue for him.

You can reach him through CrossGuns Snooker Club, he collects repairs from there once a week and returns the following week, obviously if you need the cue quicker i'm sure it can be arranged.
Price wise he's relatively reasonable and you can be sure your cue is in good hands.
Again this is my opinion there may be other players out there who know of someone else but personally i don't think you could do better than Mick.

**I'm away at the moment but will post his number up here for you later today**

dave180

Great thanks alot.

AGORDEIRE

Hi,

I'm in Cork. I need to get a cue tipped. Im not a member of any club, do not know anyone who would be able to do it for me.


Also, a question for wiser folk.... with cues that have a varnishy finish on them can small chips be sanded out by someone who knows what they are doing?
If this is something that can be done by Mick Kane I would be able to have the cue dropped in to his local club by a friend who lives and workes in Dublin.

Thanks for any info anyone can hepl me with. Alan

foul&miss

AGORDEIRE wrote: »

I'm in Cork. I need to get a cue tipped. Im not a member of any club, do not know anyone who would be able to do it for me.

Why don't you try it yourself? It's not too difficult. Buy a tip (I bought Elkmasters from eBay; if in doubt, go for a slightly bigger size - it's always possible to cut/sand the excess off but not to add to it) and some superglue. In addition you only need some medium and fine sandpaper, a cutter and maybe some wire wool. Have a look at http://www.handmadecues.com/info/30-retipping.htm - but there are plenty of tipping-guides to be found on Google. Elkmaster tips are cheap. If you don't get it perfect the first time round, just try it again. I prefer to be independent and be able to fix my cue anytime.

AGORDEIRE wrote: »

Also, a question for wiser folk.... with cues that have a varnishy finish on them can small chips be sanded out by someone who knows what they are doing?

I never understood why cues are varnished. In my opinion this makes them harder to play with. With all my cues, the first thing I did was take the varnish off. The wood feels so much better - and I don't have to play the cue for years until my hands have worn off the varnish. There are cue makers who don't varnish their cues but just put some linseed oil on them now and then. That's what I do with my cue, and it feels great and smooth this way.

If you want to keep the varnish, I guess the only thing you can do is sand it down and re-varnish... But maybe there are cue doctors who'll do it for you.

AGORDEIRE

foul&miss wrote: »

Why don't you try it yourself? It's not too difficult. Buy a tip (I bought Elkmasters from eBay; if in doubt, go for a slightly bigger size - it's always possible to cut/sand the excess off but not to add to it) and some superglue. In addition you only need some medium and fine sandpaper, a cutter and maybe some wire wool. Have a look at http://www.handmadecues.com/info/30-retipping.htm - but there are plenty of tipping-guides to be found on Google. Elkmaster tips are cheap. If you don't get it perfect the first time round, just try it again. I prefer to be independent and be able to fix my cue anytime.



I never understood why cues are varnished. In my opinion this makes them harder to play with. With all my cues, the first thing I did was take the varnish off. The wood feels so much better - and I don't have to play the cue for years until my hands have worn off the varnish. There are cue makers who don't varnish their cues but just put some linseed oil on them now and then. That's what I do with my cue, and it feels great and smooth this way.

If you want to keep the varnish, I guess the only thing you can do is sand it down and re-varnish... But maybe there are cue doctors who'll do it for you.

what did you do to take the varnish off? I hate the feel of varnish on cues. I wouldnt of bought the cue with varnish on it, but it was a gift from my Father. He paid a few quid for it aswell so its not something I want to leave idol.

Did you just sand it down yourself? If so what type of sandpaper would you recomend for the job.

I have tipped cues before myself.. but it just doesnt seem right. the last time the tip came off while playing, and it has left some piece of the tip attached to the cue top.

AGORDEIRE

I watched that video you posted. Its a shame I didnt see this before tryingto tip my cue myself. I have unfortunately damaged slightly the metal piece around the top (ferule) there is a small knick taken out of it.

I am going to have another go at it after watching this video I do feel a bit more confident in doing it.

Thanks.

Any recomendations on the varnish you have would be great though.

zack01

AGORDEIRE wrote: »

I watched that video you posted. Its a shame I didnt see this before tryingto tip my cue myself. I have unfortunately damaged slightly the metal piece around the top (ferule) there is a small knick taken out of it.

I am going to have another go at it after watching this video I do feel a bit more confident in doing it.

Thanks.

Any recomendations on the varnish you have would be great though.

If there is a small nick out of the ferrule your best bet is to have a new ferrule fitted, once a nick appears on a ferrule it becomes weakened and will continue to weaken until replaced.
It would work out to your advantage too as you can have the cue tipped at the same time.

foul&miss

AGORDEIRE wrote: »

what did you do to take the varnish off? I hate the feel of varnish on cues. I wouldnt of bought the cue with varnish on it, but it was a gift from my Father. He paid a few quid for it aswell so its not something I want to leave idol.

Did you just sand it down yourself? If so what type of sandpaper would you recomend for the job.

I have tipped cues before myself.. but it just doesnt seem right. the last time the tip came off while playing, and it has left some piece of the tip attached to the cue top.

Yes, I used sandpaper and took the varnish off myself. Bought some off eBay; they didn't have many grades at the shops in Dublin. I basically bought a whole range, and started with medium grain (wouldn't recommend starting with something too rough as it will leave deep scratches and take off quite a bit of wood). I think P150 would be the roughest I would use. Then carefully work the whole cue (it's dusty work), and take some finer sandpaper and repeat. Work your way down to P600 or finer, until the cue shines. Wipe it down with some moist cloth in between, and when you're finished give it a thorough wipe to remove all the dust. Make sure that you get all the varnish off: you can see where the wood starts if you look carefully. The surface changes colour, and the dust becomes "woody". In the end, take some linseed oil (I got some capsules from the health shop - one capsule is plenty for one cue) and rub it in. Let it dry. It feels very nice and smooth.

With regards to the ferule: I guess it depends what the size the "knick" is. If it's just a scratch at the top, you can always try to sand it a bit. When I take off my tips (I use the blunt side of the cutter and force it between the ferule and the tip to avoid damaging the ferule), I always sand the surface a bit to make it level. It's best to use a small board or something flat between the sandpaper and your fingers to avoid curving the surface. If the knick is small, it might simply come off. If it's bigger, I would go with Zack's advice and have it replaced. You could always try and give it a go - just stop playing if you see that the knick spreads or the ferule develops cracks. Unless it's a really expensive cue, that is