Tools needed to make a cue

[achiv07]

Hi all,

Long time member here but got locked out of my old account

I’ve got back into the game after a number of years away and I’m really interested in learning how to make my own cue. I’m finally in a position where I can afford to take something like this up as a hobby so I’m looking at how to start going about it. I’m a complete novice so just looking to do this for a bit of fun after work/weekends.

I was hoping for some advice on what tools are required to make a cue? I don’t want to make anything fancy like with joints and mini butts just yet, but a classic one piece ash and ebony would be a good place to start. I’ve got a little workbench in the shed and bought some wood planes today (I bought a no.4, no.4.5, no.5 and an RB10 for £40). What else do I need? Wood clamps? Glues? Oils? Wood? (Obviously). All pointers welcome.

Also if anyone could point me in the right direction of tips/guides, that would be really helpful. I’ve searched this forum and found a few of the recommended YouTube videos from Andy Hunter plus a few other bits, but I’m hoping to collate something in this thread ideally as a one stop shop!

Look forward forward to hearing from you all!

[ClaymoreCues]

Kudos to you mate for your ambition, Honestly you are in for a world of hurt, its not just list of tools its an aqquired and time served skill, just picking a piece of ash that is the proper cut could take a good 5 months to learn. My history in wood comes from luthiery (guitar making). I would suggest learning about ash wood in genral first, the different cutsand grain patterns, this greatly effects the end product. Ebony is a hard oily wood, as in it secretes oil when you work it so it reacts different to sanding and glueing. Try and source some season dried timber, its just better than kiln dried.
Using a plane is not an easy job on a flat piece of timbre never mind trying to taper a square plank into a tapered cue. I assume you want to hand splice in your butt, again somting that should not be sniffed at. Planing the cue has to be done slowly as not to "Shock" the wood, you may run into issues here with where to store it while this is ongoing, I would never advise keeping unsealed timbre in a shed unless said shed is sealed and temperature controlled.
Trying to match up splice points first time is lots of fun, honest. Then after you make the cue you have to finish it, this is another skill, that if i'm honest is easier to learn than the practical skills of making the actual cue but harder to perfect. grain filling and sanding is horrible and an oil finish is smelly and hard to perfect, its all in the prep, like any good finish, again this takes a good feww tys to get right, Pesonally I was 5 cues in before I had even decided on what technique was best. I could talk all day on the reasons why you shouldn't build your own cue, with no experience, but you seem determined.
Practice is the key and the first one WILL go wrong. I can build a guitar from scratch now confidently but it took me 12 years of learning, starting with small jobs and eventually to where I am today. I have all the tools and skills to build a cue but still wouldn't try it yet, Currently I am retapering and refinishing older cues to give me an Idea of construction, whilst learning mainly fom videos on youtube. There is a partically good one for starters that shows John Parris and Co. at work its from a BBC clip, but lts the independent who you will lean from. I would advise maybe buy some old cues that you can fix up and practice on, this will give you a good feel of your tools and work space. The last thing you want to be when working on a one piece is cramped under a low ceiling.
I will say buy the best tools you can afford and learn how to maintain the blades on your planes. Don't use sand paper, buy a good quality wet and dry (cloth back is better) for sanding and finishing.
I like the idea you have about a one stop thread for this, hopefully the more experienced builders will chip in here as I am still in my learning phase too.
I am assuming you are proficient with woodworking and using handtools, If not I hope you are young
My Dad was a cabinet maker and taught me how to use a plane when I was 6, I still wouldn't confidently be able to perfectly hand plane a cue to a nice taper without a few fails. I know you don't want fancy but surely you want it to look decent and work as a cue should, ie be straight and balanced properly.

I don't mean this post to be Negative in anyway but dare I say your approach to this is very naive, You can't just buy tools and build a cue with a few pointers from videos and forum members, well you can but it will be a useless piece of crap. There is a whole other lot of things you must factor in first.
If you do decide to see it through I will be happy to help with which tools and consumables, you will need, but you are still abit away from using them planes, £40 is cheap . Given your planes are the most important tool in hand shaping wood you really should invest here. I use a combo of Woodriver, Stanley and veritas for shaping and smoothing.
one last thing you will have to tenon the tip to accept a ferrule, a small tennon jig will help, if you dont feel you could do it by hand. Clamps are clamps a good glue for Ebony to Ash is gorilla woodglue ( orange top) or regular titebond wood glue. grain filler, you will need a good thixotropic one, for oil I use a blended oil made by Q (EBAY) or AD147 oil if I want a crystal clea finish, the Q stuff gives a slightly vintage tint after a while. Q brand grain filler is good but a bit thin fo a "virgin" piece of wood. its better for that last skim coat or restoring. Dartfords black is the best I have found on the open market but you will have to buy alot more than you need for one cue and its pricey.
Basically in Nutshell. There is no Fun involved in building the cue, all the fun comes when its finished, given that it works and feels right for you.