Turning down a wobbly shaft
- Thread starter Klopek
- Start date
Maybe, maybe not. Much depends on what you call a small wobble. I've turned down many warped shafts before successfully.
Dick
work the numbers
You say your shaft lifts off the table about 1/16 inch? That is roughly .06 inch. Now you want to remove 1/2 MM from your shaft, and that is .08 inches. So if your guess of the warp amount is correct, or better yet: high, it is possible to remove a simple warp. It is close though, and if the warp is greater you may have some warp remaining, but far less than you started with and the shaft should be quite playable.
You say your shaft lifts off the table about 1/16 inch? That is roughly .06 inch. Now you want to remove 1/2 MM from your shaft, and that is .08 inches. So if your guess of the warp amount is correct, or better yet: high, it is possible to remove a simple warp. It is close though, and if the warp is greater you may have some warp remaining, but far less than you started with and the shaft should be quite playable.
That is a very small amount and, quite honestly, will not affect anything when it come to shooting but like Dick said, it may be turned out depending on where the warped is.
Whoa....let's backup the tractor just a tad here.
Your first statement of 1/16" being .060" is close enough. Actually it's .0625" but who's counting.
It's your 2nd sentence that got my attention. 1/2mm is NOT .080".
1mm is .03937". For the sake of this discussion, let's call it .040".
Half of that would be .020", not .080".
Removing .020" from the diameter with a .010" cut on a shaft that is out .0625" obviously will not remove the warp. One side of the shaft will be 'straighter' but it's opposing side will still have a void or low-spot of approx. .040"/.050", or 1mm+. In other words, the shaft will be oval. It's open for discussion as to whether the shaft is now made better by cutting.
You know, you can straighten shafts and bypass all the drama.
If you're insistent on pursuing the re-cut method, I'd strongly suggest that you straighten the shaft prior to the turn-down anyway. Reason being that you just might be removing the 'layers' in the T/D process that are causing the shaft to warp in the first place.
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Yes ... depending on the run out it is possible to turn it down and at the same time make it straight again.
Take it to who ever you decide to use to do the turn down.
They can tell you what is what after they look at it.
I turn down shafts for the local players here in Corpus Christi, Texas while they wait.
It takes longer to set up the CNC machine and dial it in than it does to cut it.
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oops! Thanks KJ
I should have had coffee before I posted, yeah I doubled instead of halved the .040, thanks for the catch, my bad!
I should have had coffee before I posted, yeah I doubled instead of halved the .040, thanks for the catch, my bad!
Shame on you for posting a price! Sit in the corner and think about what you did....
I'm of the theory that you can't permanently straighten a shaft, it's wood it will take the path of least resistance in the end. Now it's cured for several years and done all the warping it should do so if I can turn out the roll than the shaft should stay straight, I hope.
I don't want it oval in the end so I guess I'll have to have the cue repairman check that out and let me know what's doing.
Yes but when it's turned out, you are removing more fiber from one side than the other. This could also cause stresses to be relieved in a way that it _could_ warp even worse as a result.
You still don't have to live with a fat shaft. Just have your repairman turn the ferrel down to 12.75mm and hand sand the rest down on a lathe it will still be warped but it will be the size you want.
I didn't mean that you should not try. I just like to let people know what's possible before I do something like this. (Kinda like a Doctor before surgury
) Chances are it will be OK, but you should understand all the possibilities before you make up your mind, if for no other reason than to keep the repair person from looking like a hack if the worse case scenerio pops up. When you're working with wood, quite often, you have no idea what you're going to encounter until you're there. That's why when I was still taking orders I'd usually start to build 2 cues to the specs of the order. If "Murphy's Law" reared it's head and something unnacceptable arose in the later stages on one of the cues I didn't have to start from scratch because I had a back-up. That's one reason why I have a shop full of un-finished cues
Sorry ... did not know that was not allowed.
Edited out the price.
I will watch what I say in the future.
For the guys who modify an existing taper by turning it, as opposed to sanding it, how do you pick up the centers of the cue? Do you lose the tip in the process?
When I held a shaft for cleaning using a mandrel on the joint end, and a concave live center on the tip end, it always had some wobble. I would have never attempted to turn it (instead of sanding it) to re-taper it.
Thanks.
When I held a shaft for cleaning using a mandrel on the joint end, and a concave live center on the tip end, it always had some wobble. I would have never attempted to turn it (instead of sanding it) to re-taper it.
Thanks.
You might be putting too much pressure on the shaft with the tailstock...it doesn't take much to hold it in the live center if you're using a good concave.
Frank
If the warp doesn't bother you, and is located beyond say 10" from the tip, then just chuck up on warp and retaper from there to the tip...you'll still have a warp but have a round shaft at the diameter you want.
Without seeing where the warp is, you might be able to eliminate most of the warp depending on exactly where you chuck the shaft up. Either way, your shaft can be done with a steady rest or front chuck near the warp.
Regards,
Frank