I stumbled around for some time deciding how to finish this cue. There are many opinions on the best finish. The trade-off involved the look of the finish, durability, how it holds up over time, cost, cost for equipment, and toxicity of the chemicals used. I tried a few test pieces and settled on this method as a trial.

The first stage was to sand the cue down to 400 grit, sanding both around on the lathe and longitudinally with the grain. The finish sanding was with the grain. A steel ring was held onto the joint with the adapter used for turning. This held the diameter of the joint to that of the ring and thus shaft. Once this sanding was done a coat of sanding sealer was applied followed by a light sanding. Then several coats of grain filler, following each application with light sanding. This fills in the grain structure so finish coats are smoother and fewer coats are needed.

Then the secret sauce. I put on some 12 coats of superglue. This goes very fast if each coat spread on is followed by an activator. I just used a paper towel. Squirt some superglue on a folded paper towel and spread along the cue. I didn't sand between coats but this could be done.

Finally finish wet sand the coats of superglue. Start with 400 grit until the surface is smooth and a consistent dull finish. If the superglue is sanded through just apply additional coats of superglue and re-sand. Then progress though finer and finer grits until you're happy with the finish. I found some micro-mesh finishing pads that worked very well. I finished down to ??? grit. A little bit of car wax and the finish is very clear and shinny.

This superglue finish was easy enough and came out so well I'll likely continue using it.

The Irish Linen wrap was the last step. First a light coat of paste glue was spread on the wrap area, then start wrapping. I used my large lathe for this. I understand cue lathes have a foot pedal to control speed, which would have been a luxury, but it can be done with a standard lathe. Just start at one end overlapping the thread end with five or six coils to hold that end in place. Then continue wrapping the linen in tight wraps, no gaps, to the other end. Take the 8" of thread you cut off at the start (you saved this at the start didn't you), wax this short piece (i.e. candle wax), and make a loop. Place this loop at the end of the wrap so the loop is accessible when the wrap in complete. Do this with six or eight wraps left to finish. When all the wrap area is filled put the end of the thread through the loop. Then pull the ends of the loop under the finished wrap. Very carefully trim the ends close to where they exit the wrap. Don't cut any of the wrap or a re-do will be needed. Hard process to describe but there are some good videos on YouTube.

The linen wrap is finished by "pressing". I used two boards (18" 1x2s) connected at one end with a bolt. Separation at the bolted end is near the diameter of the wrap. It is placed over the wrap area so one can hold the ends of the boards to apply pressure to the wrap. The butt is mounted in a lathe and pressure applied along the wrap. I first did this after slightly wetting the wrap. Then again using a spray starch. The process flattens the linen making it feel smoother and filling the recessed area, pushing the coils tightly together, fully. Applying pressure while the cue is spinning creates enough heat to dry the wrap as an iron would. The result is a nice feeling grip area.

That finishes the cue. Some pictures are included on the Cue #1 Main Page.

Cue #1 : Main