Shaft cuter

T

Toughcues

Registered
Does any body know how they work and were they sell,do they work better then a lathe to cut shafts or as good i am a new to cue making and new to azb so i am still learning thanks
 
do alot of ppl make their own table saw shaft machines. they all look very very complicated and very very dangerous

taper shaper is very expensive though
 
There is no lathe that will cut shafts as smoothly as a properly set up saw shaft machine. Most people make their own shaft machines as they are expensive to buy. I've made 6 or 7 of them. There's around 300.00 in material and the rest is labor. Of coarse you need a full size lathe to build one.

Dick
 
Jim Baxter said:
Danger is what we live for !!!!
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lol not that lathes themselves arent dangerous but something about these things scare the hell out of me :eek: :eek: :eek:

i know a cue maker that is missing a thumb. not good for your game...:rolleyes:
 
rhncue said:
There is no lathe that will cut shafts as smoothly as a properly set up saw shaft machine. Most people make their own shaft machines as they are expensive to buy. I've made 6 or 7 of them. There's around 300.00 in material and the rest is labor. Of coarse you need a full size lathe to build one.

Dick
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I can't disagree with you Dick as I've chosen not to use a shaft saw machine, but I can say I'm pleased with the smoothness and accuracy of my shaft turnings on my lathes. I start sanding with #600 and take off no more than a couple thousandths. You must have one heckuva blade on your machines.
 
TellsItLikeItIs said:
I can't disagree with you Dick as I've chosen not to use a shaft saw machine, but I can say I'm pleased with the smoothness and accuracy of my shaft turnings on my lathes. I start sanding with #600 and take off no more than a couple thousandths. You must have one heckuva blade on your machines.
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I agree, saw blade shaft machines are extremely dangerous to use. Anything that turns is extremely dangerous. If you get a sleeve caught in a lathe or mill you would be very very lucky if it only pulls your arm off at the elbow or shoulder. I let another cue maker run blanks on my machine and I'm worried every time he does. The blade is the same height as on a table saw and the shaft is directly above, with no protection and everything is in close quarters. Put your hand where it's not supposed to be or one slip in movement or concentration will bring drastic results. This is why I quit making them to sell. To dangerous.

However for smoothness, there's no comparison. With a router, you get around 40 to 45,000 cuts a min. With a saw machine you get over 250,000. Also, since the teeth are so close together, there is very little slapping against the shaft causing a vibration that creates a not as smooth cut.

Bob Griffen (Madison Bob) had a CNC shaft machine that used a router and was telling me on the phone what a great job it was doing. Some time later, he, his wife and son came up to my shop and we were looking at different things and he got out a shaft that he had turned and asked me to feel how smooth it was. I did and then I took a reject shaft out of a box and ran a pass on it and then handed it to him. He ran his hand up and down it and never really said anything about it. Later, we all went out to dinner and while talking he said that he thought his shafts were coming out really smooth until he felt one of mine.

Murray Tucker, a few months ago also built a 2-axis CNC lathe for turning shafts, using a router and a 3 or 4 bit laminate cutter. If you look in the archives you can find the links to the pictures and discussions. A month or to later, he said that he quit using it for a shaft machine because his saw machine did a better job. Now Murray Tucker is a true machinist and has access to a full machine shop. If he builds it it is built right.

Dick
 
ok thanks guys,but are you saying not to get one or to get one because they are smooth cut and who sell's them if they only cost 300.00 i will buy 5 of them.
 
Shaft Cutter Plans

rhncue said:
I agree, saw blade shaft machines are extremely dangerous to use. Anything that turns is extremely dangerous. If you get a sleeve caught in a lathe or mill you would be very very lucky if it only pulls your arm off at the elbow or shoulder. I let another cue maker run blanks on my machine and I'm worried every time he does. The blade is the same height as on a table saw and the shaft is directly above, with no protection and everything is in close quarters. Put your hand where it's not supposed to be or one slip in movement or concentration will bring drastic results. This is why I quit making them to sell. To dangerous.

However for smoothness, there's no comparison. With a router, you get around 40 to 45,000 cuts a min. With a saw machine you get over 250,000. Also, since the teeth are so close together, there is very little slapping against the shaft causing a vibration that creates a not as smooth cut.

Bob Griffen (Madison Bob) had a CNC shaft machine that used a router and was telling me on the phone what a great job it was doing. Some time later, he, his wife and son came up to my shop and we were looking at different things and he got out a shaft that he had turned and asked me to feel how smooth it was. I did and then I took a reject shaft out of a box and ran a pass on it and then handed it to him. He ran his hand up and down it and never really said anything about it. Later, we all went out to dinner and while talking he said that he thought his shafts were coming out really smooth until he felt one of mine.

Murray Tucker, a few months ago also built a 2-axis CNC lathe for turning shafts, using a router and a 3 or 4 bit laminate cutter. If you look in the archives you can find the links to the pictures and discussions. A month or to later, he said that he quit using it for a shaft machine because his saw machine did a better job. Now Murray Tucker is a true machinist and has access to a full machine shop. If he builds it it is built right.

Dick
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As a hobbist I do not generate a lot of revenue building cues but I do have lots of labor available. Would anyone be willing to share info on how to build one of these? PM me if you do not want to post publicly.

Brian
 
Toughcues said:
ok thanks guys,but are you saying not to get one or to get one because they are smooth cut and who sell's them if they only cost 300.00 i will buy 5 of them.
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$300 is if you have the skill and equipment to build one yourself.
And that requires lots of shopping around for materials.

The only person I know of that built them to sell no longer does.
His price was $4500.

IMHO they are not significantly more dangerous than a table saw.

Dale
 
TellsItLikeItIs said:
I can't disagree with you Dick as I've chosen not to use a shaft saw machine, but I can say I'm pleased with the smoothness and accuracy of my shaft turnings on my lathes. I start sanding with #600 and take off no more than a couple thousandths. You must have one heckuva blade on your machines.
Click to expand...

Sounds good - would you share what kind of cutter
you are using? Any special details on what you did
to get that good a result?

Dale<who is green with envy>
 
rhncue said:
Murray Tucker, a few months ago also built a 2-axis CNC lathe for turning shafts, using a router and a 3 or 4 bit laminate cutter. If you look in the archives you can find the links to the pictures and discussions. A month or to later, he said that he quit using it for a shaft machine because his saw machine did a better job. Now Murray Tucker is a true machinist and has access to a full machine shop. If he builds it it is built right.

Dick
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Dick is correct. I have the lathe set up where it does a good job on shafts but it still does not compare to my saw machine. I have a new CNC saw in the works but working for a living is interfering with me getting it finished up.

Here are a few pictures of a template machine I designed based on Kersenbrocks machine.

joeyshaftmachine1.jpg

joeyshaftmachine2.jpg

joeyshaftmachine3.jpg
 
pdcue said:
Sounds good - would you share what kind of cutter
you are using? Any special details on what you did
to get that good a result?

Dale<who is green with envy>
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Nothing special about it Dale. It's a 3 wing, Porter Cable slotting cutter, 1/8" kerf. I first tried a climb cut but wasn't happy with the results. Started cutting the other way and found the results much better. I'm thinking with a climb cut the tool pushes off.

I know guys that have used them but weren't happy. Seems now & then a cutter will slip through that isn't perfectly true (or maybe the arbor hole is off?) and you get a rough cut.

If the tool & arbor is true, AND the router mount is sturdy, there's no reason for not getting good turns. While the tool is cutting you can actually see a shine develop on the shaft wood.
 
Murray Tucker said:
Dick is correct. I have the lathe set up where it does a good job on shafts but it still does not compare to my saw machine. I have a new CNC saw in the works but working for a living is interfering with me getting it finished up.

Here are a few pictures of a template machine I designed based on Kersenbrocks machine.
Click to expand...
Propane powered no less. Wow! I see the tanks in the background. Pretty slick :)
 
Very nice Mr Tucker,do you sell these and if so how much would you be asking for the shaft cuter? are they easy to use. thanks
 
Toughcues said:
Very nice Mr Tucker,do you sell these and if so how much would you be asking for the shaft cuter? are they easy to use. thanks
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Very easy to use but I don't sell them. My product liability insurance company would have my nuts nailed to their wall if they knew I made something like that in my machine shop.
 
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