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How to Smooth Scratched Ferrule

1/5/2007 3:34:59 PM

How to Smooth Scratched Ferrule

A friend of mine tuned up my tip with his Ultimate tip tool, and left some vertical scratches on my ferrule while sanding the side of the tip.

I have a magic eraser, some 600 and some Emory cloth at home.

How can I get the ferrule all nice and smooth again without wrecking it more?

How to Smooth Scratched Ferrule

Replies & Comments
  1. CaptainHookSlowhand on 1/5/2007 4:46:28 PM

    Since I don't have a lathe, I took a 5/16-18 bolt and cut the head off. Then I mount that in a cordless drill and screw it into the shaft joint. I use that to spin the shaft while I hold a piece of 600 grit wet (black) sandpaper around the ferrule. I allow the sandpaper to build up with plastic and heat up just a little, this seems to work for me.

    Allowing the sandpaper to build up makes the grit finer as you go, so that it ends up polishing at the end.

    Don't allow the ferrule to heat up too much because it can expand and cause the tip to come loose. You may not know that the tip is loose until you try to break with it and it goes flying, so remember to sand lightly.

  2. CaptainHookacedotcom on 1/6/2007 8:42:15 AM

    LMAO! Many the night I've sat in my living room, my drill on the floor propped between my feet, as I work on my shaft. Only difference is I found headless bolts at Home Depot. I use two nuts back to back as stoppers. I don't use this method on my better shafts though because I'm afraid of screwing up the taper.

  3. CaptainHookCaptainHook on 1/6/2007 10:04:40 PM

    The owner of the Flamingo, a pool room where I play has a lathe in the back room. He polished it up with some 600, and shaped the tip for me.

  4. CaptainHookBillyJack on 1/7/2007 11:20:32 AM

    I'm a nut about clean ferrules, so I've polished up a few nasty ones on used cues I bought without a lathe. Here's what works for me:

    • Get some 1000. 1500 and 2000 grit wet-or-dry paper from an auto parts store.
    • Cut some 3/4 inch wide strips.
    • Cover the first couple inches of the shaft behind the ferrule with masking tape to keep the wood dry, and put an index mark on the tape.
    • I clamp the shaft horizontally in soft jaws of my vise, but you can also clamp it over the edge of a table top.
    • Spritz the 1000 grit strip with water and drape it over the ferrule in an inverted "U".
    • Pull it up and down "shoeshine style" about 20 strokes.
    • Keep the pressure light and move back and forth along the ferrule, slightly on to the tip.
    • Rotate shaft 1/4 turn, repeat with same amount of strokes, keeping the paper wet, until you've made a full turn.
    • Wipe off slurry and inspect.
    • Repeat the process if necessary until scratches are barely visible, then move to the 1500.
    • Finish with the 2000, polishing until dry to burnish the tip in the process.

    You may want to remove the masking tape for the final polish to smooth over any step at the ferrule/shaft joint. Dress the tip, and you're done. Done with care, you should have a smooth polished ferrule and well burnished tip, still within about .015 in. of concentric.

  5. CaptainHookBHQ on 2/6/2007 7:42:35 AM

    And get rid of that "ultimate tip tool". I see guys screw up their ferrules all the time with those things. Then I have to give them the "I told you so" speech.

  6. CaptainHookCaptainHook on 2/8/2007 9:08:37 AM

    @BHQ - Well the guy wound up giving me his, so I am just going to use it as a Tip Tapper and I put in the case with an old cue I don't play with that often.

    I have never been any good at shaping my tips, I always had someone to do it for me.

    • 1970's Rocky Tillis
    • 1980's Wayne Gunn
    • Early 1990's "Ricco" Cuereventas
    • Late 1990's Larry "Larue" Haymes
    • 2000's Wayne Ball

    All great local cue makers over the years.

    And now I have another local cue maker I met a few months ago. It just so happened I was shooting with my friend and noticed my tip was out of shape that day, and he said he would shape it up for me. He is a great friend and gave me the tool, but next time I will go to my new local guy, as he is about 7 minutes away from me in traffic. And he does great work.

  7. CaptainHookBHQ on 2/9/2007 11:48:34 AM

    Here's a perfect example of what that "ultimate tip tool" will do to your ferrule if not done carefully. Can you believe this guy doesn't want a new ferrule?

    The end result at the sacrifice of 1/4 of a MM which he said was OK by him.

  8. CaptainHookCaptainHook on 2/9/2007 4:36:38 PM

    "WOW" you really got that baby smooth. I am a clean ferrule freak. I clean mine with a Magic Eraser when I get home from playing.

  9. CaptainHookHustl3r on 2/9/2007 4:47:12 PM

    Wow, that guy went to town. Perhaps some possible built up frustration?

    Those marks look like they extended down past the ferrule. Amazing!

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How to Smooth Scratched Ferrule

  • Title: How to Smooth Scratched Ferrule
  • Author: (Mike Corey)
  • Published: 1/5/2007 3:34:59 PM