New Headstock

[customcuelathe]

Here is my latest and final headstock design. I will finally go into production with this one. Minor cosmetic improvement from the previous model,but major design improvement for the bearing, I am still using the 3-bearing design, only now, I am using high end Japanese bearings, which has improved my runout and it's much smoother and more quiet than the previous model.
This headstock will be available in both heights ( Regular taig height and deluxe height) also soon will be available in a new height ( 2" height than taig standard height) the new height will only be available on my new cue building lathe only)
All models will have a 24 points indexer.
Motor option:
3 Motors will be offered with those headstock.
1/3 HP DC motor with speed control and reverse $599 (with one chuck)
1/2 HP DC motor (pennstate industries) Headstock with one chuck and motor bracket only. $550
3/4 HP DC motor with reverse and speed control with one chuck. $695 with one chuck
Deluxe height + $25
Second chuck + $90

Best Regards
Bassel
Custom Cue Lathes
248-884-4469

 

[customcuelathe]

Here are the latest cue lathe prices
Basic Cue Lathes sales prices $899
Cue Building Lathe $2699
Tool box lll lathe $1899

September special
48" Repair lathe with full lead screw fear rack, my new headstock, dual bearing wide 3-jaw chuck steady rest carriage, tailstock, with all needed tooling plus $100 free premium carbide tooling upgrade plus 10 pc drive pins ($165 value) all for only $1699 ( Regular price $1899)
Sale is only for 3 units

12 pc drive pin set sale price $175

Thanks

 

[snipershot]

Do the carriages bind up on these? How about the motors, can they actually run at all speeds without just shutting off whenever they feel like it?

Joe

 

[bnall]

Do the carriages bind up on these? How about the motors, can they actually run at all speeds without just shutting off whenever they feel like it?

Joe

Guess not!

 

[Trent]

Do the carriages bind up on these? How about the motors, can they actually run at all speeds without just shutting off whenever they feel like it?

Joe

sounds like you need to work on some old designs and customer service, before you let anymore NEW products out on the market.

 

[customcuelathe]

Do the carriages bind up on these? How about the motors, can they actually run at all speeds without just shutting off whenever they feel like it?

Joe

Joe
Originally I wasn't going to reply to your sarcastic remark, but now I will.
Take it as a free lesson, first the carriage that you got is the same carriage taig sells to me Todd and hightower, the only difference is the pinion gear.
Second I Send you a new controller for you Penn state motor and asked you numerous times to ship the diffective one back, again you choose to keep both, then I offers to replace your motor with 1/3 hp motor I stock, you said yes, but still didn't ship back the controller, I then offered you a delrin gib instead of brass and my new lube formula that has made a huge difference for many of my customers, and you reply was," I got lube, where is my new carriage". Carriage binding has been a known problem for all the taig based cue lathes, and for your information, I did design a brand new carriage from the ground up that eliminates the binding 100%, but you bought a basic plus repair lathe and tried to taper butts by hand," I can't even taper something that long without auto feed on any metal lathe either.
I will offer you this one more time, but don't expect me to ship anything, if you don't plan to ship the old ones back.
One more thing, I will no longer stock the Penn state motor, due to the high defect in their controller box.
How am I suppose to help you when you don't even want to give any of those fixes a chance, I didn't ask for money for them, they were free and you turned them down. If you want couple of my customers post how great my lube has worked for them, will you give it a chance?
if you still want the headstock motor changed you will need to either mail the headstock with both controllers and I will mail it back the very next day I receive it along with $18 for your shipping expense.
That's my best offer, if that doesn't work for you, please don't blame me for any of those issues.
I will no longer ship any replacement parts to anyone with out a depsit which will be refunded upon the receipt of the original defective part, I am tierd of getting screwed over by people who don't follow thru and return my parts.

 

[customcuelathe]

sounds like you need to work on some old designs and customer service, before you let anymore NEW products out on the market.

Trent
I must say, I am surprised to hear that from you. My goal from day one has been continuous improvement, and like I stated in the thread, this is only a cosmetic change, my headstock internally have been the same since the first one piece headstock was I introduced.
One more thing, I have realized that, there are very few customers that are imposible to please. So I had to accept the fact and move on.
They just want to complain to be heard, they have no intrest in the solution, their mind is made up and that's that.
Regards

 

[customcuelathe]

Trent
I must say, I am surprised to hear that from you. My goal from day one has been continuous improvement, and like I stated in the thread, this is only a cosmetic change, my headstock internally have been the same since the first one piece headstock was I introduced.
One more thing, I have realized that, there are very few customers that are imposible to please. So I had to accept the fact and move on.
They just want to complain to be heard, they have no intrest in the solution, their mind is made up and that's that.
Regards

One last remark
I met lots of AZ members, during my last 3 trips to Vegas, and lots of well known cue makers and master Cue Repair guys, and they all like and appreciate what I am doing and trying to accomplish. Nevertheless there will always be some that will try to discredit me and campaign against me.
At the end of the day, I am only one person trying to build good and reliable cue machines, and along the way try to design something new that will help cue makers in making better cues.
I must be doing something right since every cue building lathe and tapering lathes I make for the next year is already sold.
Best Regards

 

[Trent]

Trent
I must say, I am surprised to hear that from you. My goal from day one has been continuous improvement, and like I stated in the thread, this is only a cosmetic change, my headstock internally have been the same since the first one piece headstock was I introduced.
One more thing, I have realized that, there are very few customers that are imposible to please. So I had to accept the fact and move on.
They just want to complain to be heard, they have no intrest in the solution, their mind is made up and that's that.
Regards

wasnt really a dig at you it just seems you have alot of irons in the fire alot of new products comming out all the time, and i had head a issue like this a couple of times now, and the joes story was slightly diffrent seems like youre able to fix the problem.

PM Sent

 

[qbilder]

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[snipershot]

One last remark
I met lots of AZ members, during my last 3 trips to Vegas, and lots of well known cue makers and master Cue Repair guys, and they all like and appreciate what I am doing and trying to accomplish. Nevertheless there will always be some that will try to discredit me and campaign against me.
At the end of the day, I am only one person trying to build good and reliable cue machines, and along the way try to design something new that will help cue makers in making better cues.
I must be doing something right since every cue building lathe and tapering lathes I make for the next year is already sold.
Best Regards

Well as I remember, when I was shopping for a lathe, you pm'ed me and we talked on the phone and you told me this lathe would "absolutely" make fancy sneaky, even ones with steel joints. True, you never said it would taper as is, and I tried it and failed miserably, which is not your fault at all. Now on the other hand, when you were touting your lathe and saying how much better it was than hightowers and how I could upgrade it and make a total cue building lathe later, you never mentioned the issues with the carriage or the motor controller. It was after I sent you $1200 oof my hard earned cash that you told me that you knew about these issues and was trying to fix them. I remained patient. You sent me the new controller, which still doesn't work right, and told me you were working on a new carriage and I was going to be your" Guinna pig" as you put it. I remained patient. The new controller screwed up, and you told me that you were going to send me a new headstock and controller (except it was going to be the 1/3 hp instead of the 1/2 that your "highly reccomended". So there went another $50 out of my pocket. On top of that, you wanted me to ship the old controller back out of my pocket and just let you "give me a deal on the next thing I buy from you" is how you put it. So, $1200 for a lathe that had issues front the start, that you knew about. Repeated promises that never happened. I mailed your old controller out yesterday, and you got one thing right man, I have learned a lot through all this. There are a lot better lathes out there with better business people selling them.

 

[snipershot]

If this is all correct & accurate, then you you have went beyond what you need to do to satisfy the customer. In my experience with Taig, Hightower, and all other Taig based equipment, the carriage binds if not properly adjusted, lubed, and kept in adjustment. This, IMO, is up to the user, not the manufacturer. Knowing the machine is the major part of operating the machine. Operating a machine without knowing it will result in failure. The delrin gibbs is a good idea, IMO.

I have a friend that has a lathe similar to mine from another manufacturer, and he and I worked on adjusting the carriage for quite a while, and he has had no issues with his lathe. Bassel himself told me on the phone he has had a lot of complaint's about the carriage and he was designing a new one. Of course he told me all of this AFTER I sent him $1200. Ive lubed the ways and the gibs. I've shimmed the carriage with some .003 shim steel to take out the slop causing most of the binding, but its still not where it should be. The brass Gibb wasn't a problem, it was mostly the slop under the carriage, and the brass gear that slips off the lead screw. I sought help from a few knowledgeable people before I contacted Bassel, just to make sure it wasn't something I was doing wrong.

Joe

 

[Cue Crazy]

If this is all correct & accurate, then you you have went beyond what you need to do to satisfy the customer. In my experience with Taig, Hightower, and all other Taig based equipment, the carriage binds if not properly adjusted, lubed, and kept in adjustment. This, IMO, is up to the user, not the manufacturer. Knowing the machine is the major part of operating the machine. Operating a machine without knowing it will result in failure. The delrin gibbs is a good idea, IMO.

This is true although I don't know how adding a lead screw could effect binding if It would be any different at all, It may even help if done properly for all I know, but if not properly aligned or with the wrong nut design I would think It could. I've never used one with a lead screw, just the rack & pinion type so I have no clue as far as that is concerned, only speculations. I like the idea of having one, just have no experience with them.

What I do know about the Taig carriages is what you mention, everything has to be properly adjusted & lubed or the carriage can drag or even snag. I not only clean & lube before tapering operations, but have a dry spray that use during operations and in between. You also have to keep the bed ways as free and clear of debris as possible, some harder materials or larger pieces can get jammed between the carriage and ways and lock It right up. Actually the thought of adding some kind of sweepers come to mind when thinking about that. My deluxe has seen a lot of use, and has a few battle scars from this happening, but It will still do the full length tapering just as smoothly as I need it to as long as I do the above mentioned preparations, and make the proper adjustments. Proper Gibb adjustments, and knowing how tight you can get away with is a very important part of this IMO. too tight and you can get some drag, too loose and you can pick up chatter. Adjustments need to be just right so that the carriage can move freely up and down the entire length of the ways.

 

[qbilder]

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[qbilder]

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[ChampionsRepair]

I have a friend that has a lathe similar to mine from another manufacturer, and he and I worked on adjusting the carriage for quite a while, and he has had no issues with his lathe. Bassel himself told me on the phone he has had a lot of complaint's about the carriage and he was designing a new one. Of course he told me all of this AFTER I sent him $1200. Ive lubed the ways and the gibs. I've shimmed the carriage with some .003 shim steel to take out the slop causing most of the binding, but its still not where it should be. The brass Gibb wasn't a problem, it was mostly the slop under the carriage, and the brass gear that slips off the lead screw. I sought help from a few knowledgeable people before I contacted Bassel, just to make sure it wasn't something I was doing wrong.

Joe

It sounds like you still haven't followed the instructions for lapping in your lathe that I provided a link to in your other thread. Which in the end means you have done nothing to correct your problem. If it is considered necessary on a precision ground steel bed that is less than 16" long, why would it not be necessary on a longer bed that is extruded aluminum and far less precise. Answer: It is even more important to do it!

Until you go buy a can of Bon Ami and some 3 in 1 oil then move your carriage back and forth 200+ times while making adjustments to the gib screws at intervals, the only person to blame about the operation of your lathe is yourself. Now go lap your lathe bed in.

The link again: http://www.cartertools.com/setup.html

 

[Cue Crazy]

Yeah, I have a deluxe & it's pretty old, well used, and clean & smooth as can be. I don't taper with it but use it for points & butterflies, which requires critically smooth operation to keep the channels & bevels clean & smooth. Everything about it revolves around how well the gibbs are adjusted, how clean the ways are, and if they are properly lubed. I hear lots of folks rag on desktop equipment & claim certain things can't be done with it, but i'd put my points against anybody that cuts points on a 1300lb milling machine. There's nothing wrong with small equipment & it's capable of doing anything in building cues, if you know how to use the machines. At some point a cue maker has to be a skilled craftsman, beyond what his machinery can do. The only gripe with small equipment is that it's not heavy enough for certain tooling, and cannot take the abuse that metal working machinery takes. But knowing how to use & maintain the equipment will determine how good it actually is.

I agree with the weight part, it would be nice if a little heavier, and with the fact that mine has and still is capable of what was claimed back when I first purchased It. I had to learn It at first though. Like you mention It's all in how You use It. Not really much different then any other piece of equipment that I've used or use. They all have things about them that you learn from experience, much like building a cue for that matter. knowing your equipment well allows you to see any issues ahead of time, and make proper adjustments to safe guard against loss of materials or damage. Just about anything I've worked with or on in My lifetime was like that.

BTW Thanks for the insight on the bed ways. I've been hard on mine over the years, so I have some scarring but they still get the job done. I was thinking about replacing Mine with steel, but Being that It ain't broke, the last thing I want is to spend a lot of cash for ways that don't properly fit My carriage. If You ever hear of steel ways that do fit well, Please give me the heads up if You don't mind.

 

[CueCaps]

Just wondering..

Just wondering.....
Do you guys "Lap-In" the ways on the carriage/bed? (Spelling?)

Alton

 

[conetip]

If you talk to taig, they recommend a breakin with the slide assembly with a fine abrasive to lap all the parts together. When done properly as per their instructions,they work very well indeed. I feel that the gib adjustment screws are too course for easy adjustment, but with care can be acheived. It is just a very small movement on the end of the allen key between sliding and being tight.
It does take time to lap in the slides, but is well worth it.If it is tight in an area , it will need more lapping in that part. 8/10,000 inch error in the extrusion is enough to cause it to bind. By their nature, extrusions are only as good as the die correctors and the people running the press.Over a 1m length is it not unusual to see as much as .002 inches of error in a 3/8 or 1/2 inch thick extrusion.
It has been mentioned before somewhere on the forum in the last 3 years.
I do not have to use a rack to slide the carriage back and forth, but a rack or leadscrew does give distance control.I am not saying to do turning without a control of the carriage, but it can be done when everything is correct.When I set a dti on my carriage against a test bar, the movement in the carriage from end to end is set to about .01mm
With this amount of clearance it slide very well with no issues. Wood dust is more of a problem in the cause of a slide binding due to the fact that the taig type setup does not have wipers front and back on the carriage.A vacumm cleaner fixes that for the most part.
Another issue is having the lathe correctly leveled and mounted. Some need to be slightly twisted to get everything to zero, others don't. The twist may only be .25mm (.010 inches), but it all makes a difference.
There is more to setting a lathe than most give it credit, again there have been some great posts explaining how to do this in the forum.
By the way, the lathe needs to be leveled and properly set before you start the lapping process, it is in the taig instructions somewhere.
I don't like seeing people taking shots at others that are helping the industry.
Issues should be resolved off the forum or in PM to others that may be able to help.
Sometimes things just don't work even brand new, like the new computer at work last week. Tons of problems with it. Turns out it had a bad power supply and a bad cooling fan assembly.It was not a cheap machine from some unknown assembler.All the parts are well known in the industry to be very good with a very high reliablity.
End of rant.
Neil

 

[customcuelathe]

Well now we're hearing the other side of the story. If the dude knew about a flaw in design and still sold them without disclosing the info about the flaws, then it's a raw deal no matter how you shake it. I understand what you are talking about. I have a steel bed from Todd that is too narrow for taig carriages, so the carriage is too big & the slop causes binding no matter what. Doesn't really matter to me because it's only used for a sanding/finishing lathe & has no carriage. But I am aware of what you are describing. I was under the impression that Bassel's beds were Taig, and only mounted on different base. I'm not that aware of his stuff so it's easy that I could be unclear. I had no idea he was manufacturing the bed itself.

Like I said in the beginning regarding Brianna and then Bassel, a machine must be thoroughly tested & abused to reveal flaws BEFORE marketing. Would be best if it could be done by a cue maker. I even explained this to Bassel via phone conversation. A knowledgeable, well established & experienced cue maker needs to work with these machines for a period of time so they can report to him the issues that need work (no i'm not interested, just suggested). I suggested he find a cuemaker near him & pay that cuemaker to use a machine & cut 100 or so shafts, build some basic cues, etc. to run it through it's paces. Apparently he didn't do that. No biggie, it was just friendly advice & doesn't concern me in the least. I thought he was a nice guy & I like the idea of somebody working toward advancing specialized cue equipment. But pretty quickly I caught the hint that that it wasn't nearly as passionate as it was hurry to start capitalizing.

People need to understand that Chris Hightower BUILDS CUES. He has for a couple decades. He knows what the lathe is supposed to do. He built himself a lathe, used it, and THEN when he realized he had a worthy machine, he marketed it. To his credit, he has altered & advanced the machines through the years. All these newer imitation machines are being produced by non-builders, and getting mods & 'upgrades' that are unproven, only theoretical. Guys are cashing in on wannabe cue makers with machines that have never been proven by real cue makers....or anybody for that matter. Point is, just because Hightower's machines are Taig based doesn't mean I can buy a bunch of Taig stuff & build a machines that works like his does, then add a couple of unproven gadgets & claim it's a better machine. I'd fail. Ask Joe Barringer about it. Love him or hate him, at least he had the sense to understand that making a cue worthy machine from Taig stuff wasn't as simple as it seemed, and he lost his ass in trying. And he admits such. At least he didn't market them anyway, knowing they didn't work. He had the idea a decade ago. If it was so easy, he'd be selling machines right now.

Anyway, i'm done with my soap box. Sorry you got duped, Snipershot. Bassel, like I advised before when you called, get your machines tested THOROUGHLY by EXPERIENCED cue makers before trying to market them, or this industry will tear you up. Looks like you are finding that out the hard way. Like I said, I will support anybody who is genuinely trying to advance specialized cue machines. But it's gotta be done right & not just a get rich quick scheme. A good product will sell itself. Junk will break you no matter how great a salesman you are. Tough lesson to learn.

Just hold on a minute, what Joe stated is not entirely true/clear, I never said there was a flow in my design, I just clearly states what everyone else did, the taig carraige if not adjusted perfectly will bind, and when I said I was working on a solution, I didn't mean just to fix his lathe, I meant waste have a new carriage than anyone with a taig style bed can use and not worry about binding.
And Joe I know I told you I will swap yours for free, and have you to test it, but unfortunately I couldn't make it, in the time frame you gave me, I had other orders and Vegas trips that were booked already.
Dispute all the negative feedback you have been posting, I would still swap the carriage for you for free. But you need to be patient with me, I am only one person, I just finished the first prototype yesterday and will send it out to get 10 samples made, and as for being out $50, it's me for not getting the controller back
It cost $7.64 to ship that controller priority mail
If that was the reason,, I would have paypaled you that money.

For the record
The aluminum dovetail I use was based on the taig dovetail they produce for Hightower 100% identical drawing only extruded in a different extrusion house and the H-channel is my own design.
I have put lots of thoughts into the carriage binding, and it's mainly due to having both bed and carriage made out of aluminum mainly.
Just to be clear again I never stated that there was a design flow after receiving the money from Joe, I only said that the carriage binding is a known issue with all taig based cue lathes. As for the brass spur gear. You have to make sure it does not move in and out, and that is accomplished by locking the dowel sleeve right after the brass gear. There should be no more than 1/32" movement between the hand wheel and the carriage.
Ever lathe bed never ships if I can slide the carriage up and down the bed using my pinky finger.
Best regards


Regards