Question regarding retapering a shaft

[cuesmith]

When someone brings in a shaft to be reduced in size or retapered less than .25mm I will sand to that size. However, I will never sand a 1/4 mm or more. I put in new centers in the shaft and then turn down to about 1/10 to 1/20 mm over size and then just sand from there. I have found that when a shaft is turning fast enough to sand it no longer will run true but centrifugal force makes it whip some. When sanding, where the shaft is whipping, one side will sand more than the other side leaving the shaft not rolling true. It will look like it's warped although it's actually not, it's just that one side is sanded more than the other. This scenario will allow the tip to run true with the cue but in the center of the shaft, when looking for light, you will see a roll.

Dick

I've also found this to be true when sanding on a lathe but the round pole sander, a centerless sander, does a beautiful job when used with the proper belts. It also takes all the sawdust away using 2 dust collectors, one internal feeding a main unit. The wide belts and the adjustable feed makes it a great asset to a cue shop, but like anything else, if used improperly you could end up with toothpicks.

 

[junkbond]

Great thread, guys. And timely too - I've got a bunch of shafts that I am going to have retapered and/or resized. Couple of questions:

One of my shafts is a flat laminate. Does the warping concern expressed apply to this shaft also, or does the laminate construction make it impervious to moving?

Is there more concern about wood movement when changing the taper of a shaft than when just resizing. That is, I've got a couple of shafts with very aggressive tapers that I am going to have retapered to (almost) a pro taper, which means a lot of wood has to come off near the center of the shaft.

Finally, should I send the shafts to the original cue makers? (All the shafts came with custom cues - no aftermarket stuff.) Is there any advantage to this, rather than just go to one cue maker or repairman and give him the whole bunch?

Thanks,
Howard

 

[Busbee Cue]

Great thread, guys. And timely too - I've got a bunch of shafts that I am going to have retapered and/or resized. Couple of questions:

One of my shafts is a flat laminate. Does the warping concern expressed apply to this shaft also, or does the laminate construction make it impervious to moving?

Is there more concern about wood movement when changing the taper of a shaft than when just resizing. That is, I've got a couple of shafts with very aggressive tapers that I am going to have retapered to (almost) a pro taper, which means a lot of wood has to come off near the center of the shaft.

Finally, should I send the shafts to the original cue makers? (All the shafts came with custom cues - no aftermarket stuff.) Is there any advantage to this, rather than just go to one cue maker or repairman and give him the whole bunch?

Thanks,
Howard

Maybe it's just me but I find that the flat laminated shafts seem to move more than the normal shafts.

 

[cueguy]

Charges

yea i knew everyone has their own way of doing this but i was just wondering if taking it from 13 to 12 in one go is ok.

but i guess the jury is still out on that as some have said it shouldnt be a problem but others are hesitant to do it.

its just that im not a cue maker so if i need a shaft turned down i tend to get it done all at once. if i get a little taken down, let it settle and come back a month later i get charged again. if i go that route i get charged twice which adds another 50-70 to the cost of the shaft while at the same time making it worth less than a full shaft lol.

I turn down a bunch of shafts around here, but when they want it down more than 3/4mm or so then I do it in a couple of sessions. I will pull it down part of the way and charge them once. I give the shaft back to them to use and say to bring it back in a couple weeks. I do not charge again. I may be more careful than I need to, but I would rather be too careful than not careful enough...
Larry

 

[Tommy-D]

> Something that may be a factor to more than a few is what exactly is the weather outside doing?

I was going to have Joe Blackburn retaper a shaft for me at a tournament,and he said he would do it,but not THAT day,simply because it was raining in Cheasapeake that day. He said that taking a good bit of wood off a shaft when the weather was that wet was asking for trouble.

He did the job 2 days later,and no movement to this day. Tommy D.

 

[josie]

I had asked this earlier in the post but did not get any responses. Do any of you use sanding blocks when sanding the shaft down or what exactly is the technique to ensure the shaft stays completely round. I have had a couple come out egg shaped or out of round and can't figure out what I am doing wrong. You can't feel it just rollong it in your fingers but I can tell when they spin on the lathe.

Thanks in advance for the info

 

[rhncue]

I had asked this earlier in the post but did not get any responses. Do any of you use sanding blocks when sanding the shaft down or what exactly is the technique to ensure the shaft stays completely round. I have had a couple come out egg shaped or out of round and can't figure out what I am doing wrong. You can't feel it just rollong it in your fingers but I can tell when they spin on the lathe.

Thanks in advance for the info

That is what happens to a shaft when it is sanded to much on a lathe as I stated in my earlier post. That is why I turn on a lathe any amount of reduction of a 1/4mm or more. Sanding to much can distort the shaft.

Dick

 

[GBCues]

When I have tried straightening a warped shaft on my lathe, I end up with rough "barber pole-ing" on the high side.

For those of you who have had success turning a warped shaft, are there any techniques you could share? Seems that turning a warped shaft too fast causes it to whip, contributing to the above barber pole effect.

Turning too slow gives a rough cut also.

Or am I just not going deep enough into the shaft?

Thanks for any advice,

Gary