Now that you’ve made the leap and found a pool cue that really suites you, it’s a good idea to know just how to take care of your pool cue. You have probably seen the professionals like Mike Massey, Jeanette Lee or Karen Corr take their pool cues from beautiful cases and put them together; you never see them set their cues down and lean them against the wall. A pool cue should never be set on the ground, against a wall or a table. Setting it down and leaning it on something might bend the end of your pool cue and that would ruin it. Set your pool cue down on a flat surface, hanging in a cue rack or preferably in a hard case to keep it straight. Banging your pool cue against a hard surface or the hard floor is also a no-no. This can misalign your cue at the connection points and make it unusable. A professional won’t ever do it and you shouldn’t either.
It’s a good idea to always keep your pool cue away from extreme temperatures as these will also cause damage. High heat may warp the clear finish of your pool cue or warp the inlays.
When you get a new pool cue, or replace the tip, make sure you bed it in. This means that you should only hit gentle shots for as long as possible in order to bed it in. Soft, not hard shots will bed the tip correctly. Ideally your cue should have a stick on tip. You pool cue may have come with a bolted or screwed on tip. Stick on tips are easier to replace when they become worn or if you just feel the need for a new tip. Remove the old tip by carefully sliding a sharp knife between the tip and the cue, then simply clean off the end of your cue with a clean cloth, or use sand paper to make sure it’s really clean. Use a small dab of super glue to gently press the new tip in and then leave it to set overnight to make sure that it’s fully bonded. Using it too soon may put it off center and that won’t help you with your shots. Remember to bed your new tip after it’s bonded with only gentle shots. Use a billiard cue tip scuffing tool to gently loosen the grain of your leather tip and allow it to hold more chalk. Doing so will help your cue connect better and give you better results at the table.
Take care of your cue and it will take care of you.