Keeping your shafts looking like "new" --- If you want to give your new cue shafts the best chance at looking "new" for years to come, start by using only BROWN or TAN chalk instead of the standard BLUE or GREEN chalk that is found in every pool hall and most homes in the country. This doesn't make the shaft any "cleaner" on it's own, but it's guaranteed to keep your shaft from the permanent staining that occurs with "off color" chalks!

Both SILVER CUP and MASTER brand chalk come in Brown and Tan colors so all you need to do is buy some AND make sure you keep a cube or two in your case and you'll be "good to go". NOTE: If you are playing on someone's home table, before you start using your "new color chalk" I would suggest that you offer to brush their table down after you finish playing so they don't get too twisted about the "brown streaks" you are going to leave all over it...ALL chalk leaves a mess on the table, but the brown will be much more noticeable.

Keeping your ferrules looking like "new" --- In order to keep your ferrules looking like the cue maker intended them to look, you must make sure that you chalk your tips CAREFULLY.  I'm amazed how many shafts I see on very nice cues that have that infamous "chalk ring" around them like a racing stripe due to the player carelessly chalking their tip.

In order to avoid creating "the ring" you must avoid using the chalk as though it was a pencil sharpener. Instead, I suggest that you use it more like a crayon or a brush and "paint" the chalk on the tip. When you're using a new piece of chalk, there is almost no way to get into trouble with it  because it has such a wide surface area. However, when you pick up a well worn piece of chalk that has been used by "drillers" you need to make a conscience effort to "paint the tip" with the exposed edges of the chalk and not be tempted to place the tip deep into the hole created by all the drilling and grind away like all those who have gone before you.

Avoid any direct contact between the chalk and the ferrule because ALL CHALK IS ABRASIVE....although some does seem to be more abrasive than others (but that's not the point!). Some people will fight to the death if they see a piece of sandpaper get close to their beloved shaft, but not think twice about grinding grooves into their ferrules...go figure!

Since all chalk has dye in it and since all ferrule material is porous (some more than others), whatever color chalk you use will begin to stain them no matter how careful you are, especially if there are any scratches. The advantage of using brown or tan chalk is that it is the least "odd" color to see on your white or cream color ferrules....Of course if your ferrules happen to be black...well, what can I say other than you'll need to clean them more often no matter what!. As with shafts, periodic cleaning (see below) will also go a long way in keeping  your ferrules looking good for years to come.

"To sand or not to sand, THAT is the question...." --- As a general rule I do not prescribe to the notion of sanding shafts, especially on a regular basis. But that being said, there are times, and certain conditions that warrant (or at least "seem justifiable" in my own mind) the use of sandpaper on a shaft or ferrule.

If you feel compelled to use sandpaper (other than for Conditioning a New Shaft as I describe below) then only use 1000 or 2000 grit paper which will behave more like a mildly abrasive polish rather than more aggressive grits like 400, 600, 800 which can get you into trouble if you're not careful. Using very fine grit sandpapers is more analogous to Burnishing (also see below) and while some wood is inevitably removed, it would take a VERY LONG time to remove enough to make much difference. This does however produce very fine sawdust which does clog the wood pores and while not as bad as Talc can lead to dirtier shafts.

Burnishing --- Burnishing works on the principle of friction to smooth and polish a surface. It works especially well on shafts and is a technique that I highly recommend, especially in lieu of sanding, for keeping your shafts smooth and slick. This technique will take a smooth surface and put a high polish on it.

There are many materials that will do an effective job at burnishing your shafts; some I recommend and others I don't.

On the recommended list are: pieces of non-dyed leather (use the "rough, unfinished side" for shafts), squares of paper cut from standard brown-paper bags, industrial grade paper hand towels (the ones you find in pool hall restrooms), the paper backing of the sandpaper that you shouldn't be using, and one of my absolute favorites...2-ply paper towels.

On the "avoid these" list are: pieces of leather Chamois, any paper currency (they ALL have ink in them), ANY paper or cloth that has chemicals or ink that can be transferred to your shaft, and finally ANYTHING that's abrasive in any way. Of course, the generation of heat implies that there is friction which can be considered "abrasive", but what I'm talking about is anything that will scratch your shaft.

Burnishing is about as easy as it comes so I'm not going to spend lots of time describing it. Simply grip the burnishing material in your dominant hand squeezing it and the shaft firmly together, hold the shaft in the other hand, and "rub like hell". You know you're doing it right when the shaft AND the Burnisher feel hot, and the shaft is smooth and shiny. Keep doing it until your arm hurts and you're done!

You should burnish your shaft anytime you feel that it's getting "sticky". Of course, you should attempt to prevent the "sticky" problem by trying to keep your hands clean. I carry a small bottle of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that I use whenever my hands get too sweaty and I can't go to the restroom to wash them. I also suggest that you periodically wipe down the shaft with a soft dry cloth to eliminate excess chalk and dirt accumulation which also goes a long way toward preventing the problem from occurring while you're playing.

Using a glass rod or "shot glass" --- Whoever first thought of using a glass rod or a shot glass (I bet I know which one was FIRST used) to smooth a shaft should be put in the Billiards Hall of Fame! What a great idea AND it really works incredibly well.

I use this technique as the next to last step of ALL shaft repair work that I do except when repairing gouges (see below). This technique compresses the shaft wood and can be a very effective technique to quickly minimize the "feel" of a dent or a ding that you get in a shaft (even if you don't use the more "aggressive techniques" that I outline below).

So how does it work? Well I think it's pretty simple. Basically you are rubbing a very hard smooth surface against a softer surface while applying a substantial amount of pressure (even if your not pressing very hard, there is a lot of pressure being applied to a very small contact area). This in turn compresses the softer material making it compact and smooth. Now some people think that the action is actually more analogous to the burnishing technique by actually creating heat due to friction, but I disagree with the hypothesis. Of course all of you chemistry and physics majors may want to arm wrestle me over this, but hey, it doesn't really matter WHAT the actual mechanism is to me...all that I know is that it works!

OK, so the technique is dead simple to use. Take a shot glass (make sure you drain it first...which is another good reason to use this technique!) and grasp it firmly in your dominant hand while holding the shaft in your other hand. As with sanding shafts, it is imperative to behave like a "human lathe" and continue to turn the shaft while rubbing the side of the glass or rod in the direction of the grain (tip to joint and vise versa). Make sure that you only use this technique on the portion of the shaft that is "un-lacquered". Please note: if you are using a glass rod you should use one that is tempered AND thick enough to not break while you're doing this!

What about Waxes, and Other Chemicals? --- I'm of the school that subscribes to the thought that nothing should be used on the wood that slides though my bridge hand. I've certainly not ALWAYS believed this and I'll tell you that I've tried just about every product on the planet; but I've never found anything any better than the feel of a well "glassed and burnished" shaft...period!

Everything else that you can use has some issue with it. They all work for a while but they just don't seem to work over the long haul. Feel free to part with your money and buy them, but if you follow the techniques that I've outlined, you will eventually throw all of the "shaft slickers" and shaft waxes in the garbage. Actually, you should save the waxes for the applying to the Butt of your cue where they do work well!

Conditioning new shafts --- I often get puzzled looks from people when I tell them that I "condition" every new shaft that I get. It is a very rare case that I get a new shaft in the door that I'm truly happy with. I am very picky about having smooth and clean shafts and I'm willing to put some time and energy into them to get them the way I like them.

I always check new and used shafts for 2 things; "lathe chatter" and "shaft sealers". They both can be irritating when it come to how a shaft feels in my bridge hand. I can tolerate fast tapers, thick shafts, whippy shafts, stiff shafts, even off-color shafts, but I HATE shafts that either feel tacky or have ripples in them.

Getting rid of lathe chatter --- If I see and feel any obvious ripples (lathe chatter) that were not adequately removed by the cue maker when the final sanding was done, I feel compelled to "finish the job". Now I know that what I'm going to tell you will make some of you cringe, but I propose that I'm merely doing what the cue maker neglected to finish in the first place, so here it is...

Utilizing a sanding board (a flat piece of wood 5.25" x 1.25" x 0.125" that can be comfortably held with my fingers) and a piece of 400 grit sandpaper (yes I DID say 400 grit) that has been cut to the same size as the sanding board, I very carefully sand the high-spots from the top 18" of the shaft. OK, stop hyperventilating! :-) I normally do this while turning the cue by hand between centers on a lathe although you can do this using the "human lathe" technique that I've previously described. The flat sanding board helps prevent any unnecessary wood from being removed (if you're careful), and the object is to "knock-down" all of the ripples that were left in the shaft by the cue maker, and not mess with the taper of the shaft. You must be care when doing this and make sure that you are not applying too much pressure...you ARE removing wood with this procedure! This will also aid in reducing any abrupt changes in the taper across the length of the shaft by smoothing the transition points. After a couple of minutes of this I burnish the shaft and see where the high spots still are and repeat as necessary. When a majority of the ripples have been knocked down with the sanding board, I use my thumb as the sanding block and begin the blending process. Again, burnishing every couple of minutes.

Now at this point I can image what some of you are thinking...."this guy is out of his mind". Well, in fact the technique really works and if you use a gentle touch and concentrate on the high spots AND overlap the strokes while turning the shaft you will remove far less wood than you think (except in areas where it should have been removed in the first place). You need to remember that the cue maker did something very similar to this before he "finished the shaft" and as long as this is a "one-time job" it will do nothing to the longevity of the shaft and it will make it play much better than it would have with all the ripples.

Once you're satisfied that most of the chatter has been leveled out with the 400 grit, it's time to move to 600, 1000 and finally 2000 using the "thumb technique" with each progressively finer grit sandpaper. The next to the last step is to "glass" the shaft making sure that it feels exactly the way you think it should. With a final burnishing to seal it, and you're done.

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Getting rid of a top-coat sealer --- The second most irritating shaft feel to me is the tacky feel of a top-coat shaft sealer. I know that the cue maker was trying hard to "do the right thing" when they put this stuff on their shafts, but unless you play with a glove or your hands don't sweat, you are not going to like the way it feels.

Cleaning your shafts and ferrules --- Don't spend your money on "fancy" cleaning solutions for your shafts and ferrules...they just aren't necessary! Below are MY two favorite techniques and cleaning solutions, and I'll let you be the judge if you want to use them or not. Remember, if you are uncomfortable with using either one, DON'T! The shaft that you will be cleaning is yours and you must be convinced that the techniques and the solutions will not harm it in any way. I have used both the "standard cleaning" and the "deep cleaning" techniques for years with complete success on literally hundreds of shafts and ferrules with no long-term ill-effects ever reported.

Standard cleaning --- My favorite standard daily/weekly cleaning technique is to use 99% isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel. Almost all drug stores here in the US carry both 99% and 70% isopropyl alcohol. Don't settle for the cheaper 70% solution which has more water in it which will have a tendency to "raise the grain" of the shaft more as you clean. NOTE: If you can't find 99% isopropyl alcohol, use denatured alcohol instead....denatured alcohol can be found in the "Paint Supply" section in just about any store that sells paint or wood finishes. Denatured alcohol has no water content in it....it's just pure alcohol.

Simply apply the alcohol to the paper towel and wipe down the shaft from the tip to the lacquered portion of the bottom of the shaft. Turn the paper towel over and repeat as necessary until no additional chalk, dirt, or oil appears on the paper towel. A WORD OF CAUTION: Since alcohol is a powerful solvent, you should be very careful in WHERE it is applied. Some finishes can be severely damaged if they come in contact with alcohol, so be careful on anything that is not bare wood, ferrule material, or tip (all of which should be completely unaffected by the isopropyl or denatured alcohol). If the grain feels as though it's raised a bit, use the glass rod and burnishing techniques that I've described above as a final step.

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Deep Cleaning --- For any shaft or ferrule that is SIGNIFICANTLY DIRTY, I recommend a more dramatic approach. I use an "over the counter" household cleaning product called SoftScrub™ You may already have it in your home...it does a great job of cleaning sinks, tubs, and of course, toilets (ugh!). I apply some SoftScrub™ to a slightly damp paper towel and work over the whole shaft from the tip to the joint. Don't be sloppy and get any INTO THE END OF THE JOINT. The product is not only a mild abrasive cleaner, but it also has chlorine bleach in it which will help to remove some of the deep-seated stains. I rub the shaft briskly with the paper towel and use as many clean parts of the paper towel as I can by folding it periodically. No sense pushing all the dirt and grime back into the wood pores. I repeat this as many times as necessary until no more dirt appears to be going onto the paper towel. Then I take a clean, slightly damp paper towel and remove any residue that is left on the wood. The next step is to  take a clean dry paper towel and fold it into quarters, and briskly and firmly BURNISH the shaft. The reason you need to fold the towel into quarters is that if you are doing it right, the shaft and the towel are going to get VERY HOT. This burnishing is going to thoroughly dry the shaft and begin the process of resealing the grain on the surface of the shaft which was raised during the cleaning process. Finally, I "glass" the shaft and burnish one more time and I'm done.

OK, so everyone who has ever read anything about shafts knows YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO KEEP YOUR SHAFTS AWAY FROM WATER. RIGHT? Well, YES AND NO. In the first place, wood is porous and was a living thing and as such, it does take in and give off moisture all the time. There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY TO PREVENT IT unless you seal it completely in a non-porous material. Now I'm not suggesting that you keep your cues and shafts exposed to the elements (or leave them hanging in your shower!), but I will tell you that exposure to a small amount of moisture for a short period of time is harmless, so try not to hyperventilate.  :-)

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Deep Cleaning - Alternative Method --- Have you ever seen  a cue with shafts that are SO BLUE, they looked like they were spray-painted! Well, I sure have, and frankly until recently, they've been almost impossible to really get clean (even with the SoftScrub™ method that I described above). During the summer of 2004, I read about a household product that supposedly could clean dirt out of almost any crevice (even wood grain!). The product I'm talking about is the Mr. Clean "Magic Eraser". I hate the "goofy" name, but I tried it and it sure does work great on shafts (do not use this on cue butts or you will regret it).

The product is basically a block of melamine foam  that is free of any chemicals or detergents. When dampened slightly with water (just damp, not soaked) and rubbed back and forth in the direction of the grain of the shaft wood, it literally lifts the chalk and dirt right out. Now for all of the readers who don't live in the US, don't despair, "Mr. Clean" doesn't have a lock on this stuff, matter of fact, melamine foam has been used for years in the automotive and acoustics industries and several companies make blocks of the stuff that can be used for cleaning (just search the web if you can't find any in your local stores).

So the big question that I'm sure everyone is thinking is "How abrasive is this stuff and what is it doing to my shaft?!" Well, it certainly opens up the grain in the wood (which was clogged with all that chalk and goop...remember), but it doesn't appear to be taking any wood away from the shaft (as far as I can tell). The way the foam works is by breaking into very miniscule pieces and getting into all the nooks and crannies that already existed in the shaft and have filled up with "gunk". As the tiny fibers are pushed in and out of the crevices, they carry the dirt with them back onto the foam block (which continues to disintegrate as you use it).

Getting rid of dents and dings in shafts --- No matter how careful we are, the "business end" of our cues can wind up with some minor and not-so-minor dents and dings. When they occur outside of the "stroking area" of a shaft, don't worry about them and consider yourself lucky. However, when they happen in places that you find annoying (either physically or psychologically), there is something that you can do about it.

The three methods that I will be describing all require that you wet a portion of your shaft with water. If you are uncomfortable with doing that, then DON'T, and skip this section entirely and just resign yourself to living with the dents and dings and using the "glassing technique" to keep their annoyance to a minimum.

Just to level set everyone, I define a DENT as a deep but somewhat rounded imperfection likely made by accidentally whacking the shaft against a blunt object, (No, not your opponent's head...if your going to do that you should use a house cue :-).) A DING is usually a "V" shaped imperfection made by accidentally whacking the shaft against on object that has a sharp edge like the light fixture hanging above the pool table, (I HATE it when that happens!) Dents are easier to repair because that are merely a compression of the wood whereas dings can actually have cut fibers as part of their makeup.

Getting rid of gouges in shafts --- Every now and then I come across a cue that has a shaft that looks like a beaver took a chunk out of it. Invariably, the owner wants me to "fix it" like it was a simple nick or dent. Unlike removing dents of dings that occur when the wood of the shaft is CRUSHED by an object, you can't simply apply water or steam to "swell-out" the gouge. I define a gouge as the REMOVAL of wood and unless you can defy the laws of nature there is no way to re-grow what's missing.

Of course, you can MASK the gouge, and in many cases almost make it disappear. The way you do it is to apply enough Cyanoacrylate glue (also know as CA glue or "Super Glue") to fill the "wound". Make sure that it is the Thick-Gel variety and don't be afraid to use it liberally, (It shrinks somewhat when it dries). Make sure that you avoid getting it on your fingers and other parts of the shaft. This will already be a pain to fix without the need to get glue off of the rest of your shaft.

Either use a "CA glue accelerator" or sufficient patience to allow the glue to harden, and once it's hardened, either apply more (if you can still see the gouge below the surface of the shaft) or begin the leveling process if the filler is above the shaft surface.

I personally like to make sure that I've created a pretty decent size "CA glue pimple" on the shaft before I start to trim....less chance of needing to refill the gouge after you've started the trimming. The first step in the trimming process is to take a NEW single edged razor blade and CAREFULLY trim away as much of the CA glue pimple as possible all the while attempting to keep the blade parallel to the wood surface and not create a new gouge. Once the filler surface is mostly flush with the wood, take a sanding board (see above) and a piece of 400 grit sandpaper and very carefully sand the remaining surface of the filler with light short strokes until you start to see some wood being picked up on the sandpaper.

After the 400 grit paper, then use 600 grit paper on an area that is somewhat larger than the filled gouge until you're satisfied that everything appears "blended". Then follow that with a more aggressive rubbing with 1000 grit using my thumb instead of the sanding board to continue the blending and smoothing. The final step is to use 2000 grit paper followed by burnishing with your "Burnisher of choice", and viola...the gouge has been "hidden" and you're done! PLEASE NOTE: I don't "glass the shaft" like I would normally do when I repair a dent or ding because the the compression characteristics of the CA glue and the surrounding wood are quite different. Unless you want to do more work, I'd advise that you stay away from "the glass" with this type of repair.

What to do about warped shafts --- Well, I've personally never had any long lasting success at "un-warping" shafts. When shafts begin to bow, they are doing what comes naturally and it's unlikely that you will be able to get them to "un-bow" for any substantial length of time.

Instead of fighting it, I usually mark the shaft with a "black dot" close to the joint. Forgive me Bob Meucci, but I've been marking shafts with black dots long before you "trademarked" the term. :-) The DOT should go on the same side as the warp (bowed side up). This way I always know that the tip will be "pointing down" and I'm not going to put "accidental English or Side" on the cue ball. If nothing else (depending on the degree of warp) it makes drawing the cue ball easier, although you'll need to be aware of the tip offset when you apply follow to the cue ball to achieve the proper result.

Marking the shaft will make it completely playable, (unless of course the shaft looks like question mark, then you'll need to consider buying a new shaft or get really good at pointing the cue in one direction and having the cue ball go in some other direction).