How To Straighten a Warped Pool Cue
This article is more than 2 years old
There are a number of reasons why your cue stick has warped. Irrespective of the cause you can still go back and try to fix a bent cue. Playing with a bent cue is useless. You will hit the cue ball at points where you are not aiming for. Some simple tools like Jacoby shaft adjustment tool can help you straighten a warped pool cue. All the methods carry the risks of further damage to the pool cue.
Before you try any of the methods below bear in mind that you are doing them at your own risk. Before you begin to straighten the cue make sure that you are sure that your cue has warped.
Methods To Straighten A bent Cue
Jacoby Shaft Adjustment
This small tool can help you apply the force of the cue intelligently. You need to know which part of the cue stick is bent. In order to know that roll the stick on a surface and notice when the stick is at the maximum height from the surface.
That is the point where the stick has bent. Place the tip end of the shaft on a table and the other end in your hand. Slide the Jacoby adjustment tool gently on the region where you noticed the maximum distance between the table and the cue.
Repeat the process until you observe that there is the minimal distance between the cue and the surface it is rolling on. You have to be extremely gentle and careful with the Jacoby shaft adjustment tool. If you apply more force then it can scrap of the veneer or chip the wood. Careless use can actually make the cue useless.
Even if you are able to straighten the pool cue then you should look to burnish the shaft now. Because the upper protective layer of wood would have damaged by now.
Apply Force Yourself
In case you do not have the Jacoby tool you can try to apply the force on the bent part through your hands. Be extremely careful with this method as it can snap the shaft in two pieces. You will have to use the same method of rolling the cue to find the part that is bent the most.
The advantage of this method is that the upper protective layer of the cue will not be damaged. The success rate of this method is however quite low when compared to other method enlisted in this post how to fix a warped cue.
Increase The Bent Area Temperature
In case the bent area is to thick to straighten with the Jacoby tool or hands, you would have to raise the temperature of that part. Heating up would make the area swell and softer to apply force to straighten the warped cue. A warm wet towel can actually help you to swell the cue safely.
After you are done with fixing the cue make sure the cue is properly dried. I have discussed in detail how moisture can wreck a straight cue in another post. If you are unable to quickly dry the stick then it can get warped quicker this time.
Tie The Stick With Something Straight
If you have an old pipe at home or something you are sure that it is straight you can tie the cue with it. Depending on how tight you have tied the cue with the object it will quickly get straightened. I would personally least recommend this method because if done incorrectly it can bend the cue rather then fixing it.
Suspend The Cue
Another trick you can do is to use the gravity to straighten the cue. All you need to do is to suspend or hang the cue vertically. Leave the cue hanging for some days in case you want it to rely on its own weight. In case, you need quicker results than carefully attach some weights with the cue.
The weight has to be suspended as well. This will quickly straighten the cue if the cue is bent in at a softer region. In case the cue is crooked near the butt than this method will not work.
In The End:
Bottom line is to take care of your cue stick. Knowing why a cue gets warped will actually help you protect your future cues and save from looking on how to straighten a warped pool cue. A hard case can actually prevent you from looking for these fixes. Also if possible then invest in good pool cue. Good companies provide a lifetime warranty against warpage. Take it as an investment and make it your hobby to always store the pool cue in a case.
