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so i’ve decided to make cues
- By qolbrand
- Ask The Cuemaker
- 46 Replies
did a house cue conversion by hand. it plays. i’ll post some pictures when i get it finished. what a test of patience that was!
pulled the trigger on a $100 rockler excelsior mini wood lathe on FB marketplace. it came with a nova g3 chuck (missing jaws and a key) but there was an abomination of adapters with an atomically bonded morse taper (https://www.reddit.com/r/turning/s/5AmDsitMHU) after beating the ever loving hell out of it with a steel knockout rod for a few days i ordered a new spindle for 18.99, along with the bed extension for $99 that puts my between centers at 38.5”. got the new one put in and now we are spinning.
i got a morse taper 4 jaw independent chuck for $50 on ebay and some flexible collets for $30.
so now i’m in about 300 dollars.
“but QOLBRAND!”, you say, “wood lathes are terrible for pool cues! you should just buy a hightower deluxe with the goodies for 4k and never look back”, you might think.
would that i could. but right now this is a fun way to learn, and something that i can put AWAY. i’ve also learned how much is possible on a wood lathe and am looking forward to some non-pool wood turning projects in the future.
i also had a lot of fun making this steady rest.
imagine my delight when i found out the go-to for DIY center rests was inline skate wheels! i just so happened to have a used set of my own pro wheel on hand. possibly a worlds first? likely a worlds last.
“well, qolbrand, thats great for you, but that mini lathes minimum speed is 750 rpm”
indeed it is. its also a pain in the ass to change speeds. i looked into adding variable speed and you can buy a penn state motor and controller for $200, or rip them out of an old treadmill. adding something like a router variable speed controller to a DC motor like this would burn it out.
however, i’m thinking if i just slip the belt off the pulley, take the headstock spindle wheel off and thread a nut on there (3/4-16 LH), i should be able to use a drill adapter and a socket to turn the spindle with easy speed control. couple bucks for the nut and socket.
the chuck just arrived in the mail yesterday. i’m off to harbor freight now to buy a face shield.
should be interesting. i’ll add to this as things develop (or fail to do so).
i’ve been brainstorming a way to make a cross slide that doesn't cost $400. but that can wait.
pulled the trigger on a $100 rockler excelsior mini wood lathe on FB marketplace. it came with a nova g3 chuck (missing jaws and a key) but there was an abomination of adapters with an atomically bonded morse taper (https://www.reddit.com/r/turning/s/5AmDsitMHU) after beating the ever loving hell out of it with a steel knockout rod for a few days i ordered a new spindle for 18.99, along with the bed extension for $99 that puts my between centers at 38.5”. got the new one put in and now we are spinning.
i got a morse taper 4 jaw independent chuck for $50 on ebay and some flexible collets for $30.
so now i’m in about 300 dollars.
“but QOLBRAND!”, you say, “wood lathes are terrible for pool cues! you should just buy a hightower deluxe with the goodies for 4k and never look back”, you might think.
would that i could. but right now this is a fun way to learn, and something that i can put AWAY. i’ve also learned how much is possible on a wood lathe and am looking forward to some non-pool wood turning projects in the future.
i also had a lot of fun making this steady rest.
imagine my delight when i found out the go-to for DIY center rests was inline skate wheels! i just so happened to have a used set of my own pro wheel on hand. possibly a worlds first? likely a worlds last.
“well, qolbrand, thats great for you, but that mini lathes minimum speed is 750 rpm”
indeed it is. its also a pain in the ass to change speeds. i looked into adding variable speed and you can buy a penn state motor and controller for $200, or rip them out of an old treadmill. adding something like a router variable speed controller to a DC motor like this would burn it out.
however, i’m thinking if i just slip the belt off the pulley, take the headstock spindle wheel off and thread a nut on there (3/4-16 LH), i should be able to use a drill adapter and a socket to turn the spindle with easy speed control. couple bucks for the nut and socket.
the chuck just arrived in the mail yesterday. i’m off to harbor freight now to buy a face shield.
should be interesting. i’ll add to this as things develop (or fail to do so).
i’ve been brainstorming a way to make a cross slide that doesn't cost $400. but that can wait.
