cue making lathes

[alcotty321]

what spec is required for all aspecs of cue making ? what model do you use ?

[poolqjunkie]

I have a metal lathe and things like that, but am almost entirely using hand planes now when I build my cues. Using the lathe mostly for installing joint, ferrule, and the extension socket. I use my lathe to machine my parts, too. Like the socket and ferrule and things like that.

I think as long as the lathe is long enough, is precise and easy to operate you will be fine. It is not even necessary to have a lathe to build 1 piece snooker cues. You can use a drill press to drill extension socket holes and use a tenon cutter to do your ferrules by hand.

[alcotty321]

thankyou mate , i have a lathe but want one where the cue be pushed through the headstock so eventually i can do 3/4, that seems the best ones for the job i think what you think ? thanks for the info on tennon cutters never seen them before look a great piece of kit

[trevs1]

The problem you might have finding a lathe which allows sufficient headstock bore is that they're virtually all industrial machines, and as such, fairly large and heavy.

If you can find a good one though, it will last forever. Colchester machines are worth a look.

[poolqjunkie]

Yes, my main metal lathe is impossible to move.
You can get a lathe specially built for cue making from the US.
You may want to check out the cue smith lathe: http://www.cuesmith.com/
The deluxe lathe is still quite heavy but two people can carry it around. The other ones are lighter.
This is specially deisgned for cue making. You also get tapering bars and router attachment so it is ready to go. You do not need to make lots of modifications or look for parts and so on. He also has an automatic powerfeed set up to cut the shafts with a router.
This is designed for US pool cue around 29" long. But you can get an extension and steady rest use it for snooker cues. Would be more than enough to turn the butt of a 3/4 cue.
It also allows you to bore your wood and so on.
If you are not sure about whether it is suitbale for your application, you can email the maker(Chris Hightower) or phone him. He has a strong southern American accent but is a very nice and helpful fellow.
I used to have his lathe but have sold it. If you are planning on only making a few cues once in a while it is a very good lathe. If you need to make a lot of cues, or want to use it to turn lots of ebony, stainless steel joint...and things like that you may find this a bit less powerful and less heavy duty than you would like.
This lathe is modified from the Taig lathe, not meant for commerical or industrial usage.
There is the Unique lathe which is more precise, made by another US company. It also comes with CNC, not too heavy, but is not cheap. You can do everything with this lathe including inlays and such.
http://www.uniqueinc.com/
There are some lathe made in China that some people buy and modify for cue making. They are cheaper. You can check with your local store.
It is more satisfying and fun to make cues by hand in my opinion.
Hope this helps.

[alcotty321]

would like to stay away from cuesmith lathes as they dont look like you can do much else with them you never know i might go back to making bowls and segmented stuff , thanks for you help guys , what would you think i would need as a headstock bore thickness

[YDJ]

There are ways of doing most cue parts on a lathe with a small bore diameter, but these involve having a fixed steady to support the free end of the cue.
If you look in totlxtc’s work in progress photos you will see his lathe using a fixed steady.
http://s611.photobucket.com/albums/t...t=SNC00776.jpg
If you want the ideal sizes then my thinking is;
If all you intend doing is making (not installing) joints & ferrules you could get away with a very small bore.
If you want to install joints and butt extension joints without using a fixed steady, then you ideally need bigger than a standard butt diameter 29-32mm.
The other consideration is the length between centres.
If you can mount a second chuck on the rear of the head stock it is very useful for holding a cue concentric.
As trev1 says, the larger the bore the more, industrial, money, and space.
Colchester’s or Harrison’s are very good but manly 3 phase, so you need a convertor.
Places like Warco, Chester UK, etc. sell many single phase Chinese lathes.
Cuesmith lathe is good for cues, but limited for anything else.

[alcotty321]

my biggest problem my lathe which i turn bowls and vases pens ect has no throught bore and fixed steadys are not available so im "snookered" only just started with cues but just looking for advice ect , cheers lads

[poolqjunkie]

my biggest problem my lathe which i turn bowls and vases pens ect has no throught bore and fixed steadys are not available so im "snookered" only just started with cues but just looking for advice ect , cheers lads

Are you using a wood lathe?

[danam1]

[QUOTE=poolqjunkie;518262]I have a metal lathe and things like that, but am almost entirely using hand planes now when I build my cues. Using the lathe mostly for installing joint, ferrule, and the extension socket. I use my lathe to machine my parts, too. Like the socket and ferrule and things like that.

Hi,

how do you get such a round finish using hand planes?
I understand there must be a lot of sanding involved but cant imagine you get
much shape from this.
Do you have any tips or know of any good videos / books i coud buy as i would
love to try to hand plane a new butt.

ATB
Danny

[alcotty321]

yes im useing a wood lathe (record coronet no.3) , all done by eye the planeing danam1 ive been hand planeing a 30mm x 30mm cue blank ,taper it to 11mm or so ,so its still square then start rounding it , ver tricky im no pro at all only been practicing , these guys will tell you more , i thought the hand planeing a shaft would be easy and the splices hard but its arse about tit lol , splices relatevly easy after a couple of goes , but hand planing round is hard , come on guys share your secrets lol lol

[Stick]

yes im useing a wood lathe (record coronet no.3) , all done by eye the planeing danam1 ive been hand planeing a 30mm x 30mm cue blank ,taper it to 11mm or so ,so its still square then start rounding it , ver tricky im no pro at all only been practicing , these guys will tell you more , i thought the hand planeing a shaft would be easy and the splices hard but its arse about tit lol , splices relatevly easy after a couple of goes , but hand planing round is hard , come on guys share your secrets lol lol

I would also ike to play around a bit and hand build myself a simple one piece cue. I have searched all over and there is nothing on how to do this by means of hand planes. How do you do a taper with a hand plane is the question that I can not figure out. Come on Poolqjunkie and others - help a fellow out with some advice please

[jim evans]

cue making

hi lads like to join in this discussion,i finished my first cue the other week,just playable,tried same method of planing blanks down difficult to do,then tried turning one out of 1 1/2 inch blank bounced too much i think i will have to plane blank down to somesort of round before i btry that again even though i now have a centre steady but its all trial and error,one of you said the splicing bit was easier than the shaping of the shaft i think there both difficult if theres one bit of advice i can give is never try to rush things take your time and you will get there if any other people can give advice it would be most appreciated thanks jim

[alcotty321]

i only plan to joint with the lathe , i tried trn a piece of ash , ive even had my own perfevtly balance machined cue i just goes round like a skipping rope ,found the splicing fairly easy , im gonna get some pine at the weekend and planing , not wasting good ash

[jim evans]

making cues

hi again i made my 1st one out of iroko plays ok then i made one out of ash well nearly made one,i have a local cue dr who makes me cues,he does the drilling for the joints middle and butt and does the ferrul then i try and put it all together got the joint a bit wrong on last one ,need to try and unglue it to start again dont want to wast the hard work on shaft and butt hoe do you get the splices to come out level when i sand them they seem come out odd thanks jim