Cuetec Pin Replacement

Dirtbmw20

Dirtbmw20

Lee Casto
Silver Member
OK, here's the short story. My team captain has an older Cuetec jump/break cue. The story I am being told is one night one of his friends screwed the shaft on too tight, took 2-3 guys to get the shaft off and when it came off, it came off with the pin stuck in the shaft and the SS collar came off to. Well one night of drinking and he decided to epoxy the collar and the pin back in, he did pretty good on the coloar considering no lathe and he was drinking, but the pin is .026 thousands off, wether it is bent or put in crooked I don't know.

It is a junk cue (at until the pin is fixed) that has been sitting for years so he gave it to me for experiment, trial and error, and just to play with and see if I can fix it. If I can then great, if not, then nothing lost, junk it in the fire. I have never replaced a pin before, much less on a Cuetec, this will be my first attempt.

From searching the forum and going all the way back to 2005 reading threads on the Cuetec pin, pin size, tap, etc..., and also searching and reading on pin replacements, I have a few questions if anyone would be so kind as to share some knowledge.


From what I've read by searching older posts, the best way to remove a pin is to put a soldering iron on the pin to let it heat up and melt the epoxy, then pull, pry, twist, turn, then pull some more to get the pin out.
Here is where ONE of my questions come in. From searches AND from looking at the joint, it looks lile the pin is inserted into phenolic or some kind of plastic, pvc, etc... of some kind. When I heat the pin up, isn't it going to melt that plastic that the pin is inserted into also ????? It's not like the pin is going into wood, or at least it doesn't "appear" to be wood from the outside of the joint.

My next question is..... WHERE can I get a pin for a Cuetec ??? I have looked on Atlas and Prather and don't see a pin for a Cuetec. Where else can I get a pin from ?????

And last question........ From extensive searching, I've found that the pin size is a 9mm-14, or at least that is the size that is discussed by KJ in some long past threads. I've also seen in old threads that people say it is a .348-14, a .356-14, a .360-14. MOST of the old threads I read referenced back to the 9mm-14. My question is....... WHERE can I buy a 9mm-14 tap OR does anyone have one they would be willing to part with and sell. I saw about 2 years ago that KJ had some for sale but didn't see anything from recent.

I tried my hardest to search past threads and I've read for 2 solid days now (at least while at work,lol) and up above is all I can come up with. I don't think I'll have a problem actually pulling the pin, dunno, time will tell, I am more concerned with the plastic or phenolic the pin is inserted into wether it will melt or not.

My MAIN concerns are is the plastic or phenolic or whatever it is, going to melt when I heat the pin up ???? WHERE to get a Cuetec pin ???? WHERE can I get a tap ????? Thank you in advance for ANY considerate help.

Lee
 
Howdy,
Chances are that the pin isn't bent.
If it is, it's more practical to straighten it than it is to try and locate a replacement.
I have no idea what model CueTec or how old it is but since you mentioned plastic,
forget the heat unless you are willing to reconstruct the entire joint.
The plastic will either melt or catch fire. Neither is good.

I use '9mmx14' in reference to the CueTec pin because most that I've seen are slightly +/- just that.
9mm = .35433". Given the numbers you've presented, you will see that they can vary a little.
I supply a tap for this application. I grind it's OD to .360".
I generally keep a small inventory of the cue-tools that I offer, in stock. Mostly for replacements.
I'm just too busy to be a salesman. When I get a minute, I make a post.

Since this is a freebie cue, play around with it and see if you can learn something.
You've got nothing to lose and knowledge to gain.
My warning about having to reconstruct the joint caught MY interest.
I'd want to take it apart and see if I could improve it via the rebuild.
All that plastic can't be good for the hit.

KJ
 
If its a goody goody fun time cue.......
Try and have fun
Rebuild the joint entirely,
Replace the pin with something common,
Build a new shaft
Boom!
New custom cuetec :)
And you get to enjoy tinkering with a free butt.
 
Bend the pin straight..... I did this on my friends older Viking...... I used a hard rubber mallet with a crap joint protector on it and bent it back to almost dead nuts..... Cue rolls perfect now he said it was the first time it rolled straight in years.... Just use a dial indicator and slowly work it back.... Good luck!!
 
KJ Cues said:
Howdy,
Chances are that the pin isn't bent.
If it is, it's more practical to straighten it than it is to try and locate a replacement.
I have no idea what model CueTec or how old it is but since you mentioned plastic,
forget the heat unless you are willing to reconstruct the entire joint.
The plastic will either melt or catch fire. Neither is good.

I use '9mmx14' in reference to the CueTec pin because most that I've seen are slightly +/- just that.
9mm = .35433". Given the numbers you've presented, you will see that they can vary a little.
I supply a tap for this application. I grind it's OD to .360".
I generally keep a small inventory of the cue-tools that I offer, in stock. Mostly for replacements.
I'm just too busy to be a salesman. When I get a minute, I make a post.

Since this is a freebie cue, play around with it and see if you can learn something.
You've got nothing to lose and knowledge to gain.
My warning about having to reconstruct the joint caught MY interest.
I'd want to take it apart and see if I could improve it via the rebuild.
All that plastic can't be good for the hit.

KJ
Click to expand...


Thanks so much for chiming in and giving me some helpful info KJ. As far as the model Cuetec, I have no idea which model it is, but here is a link to one in the For Sale section that is the identical cue, except the one I have looks alot rougher,lol.
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=262674&highlight=cuetec
From the story I've been given, I believe the pin to be epoxied in crooked and not bent. That's one stout ass pin to bend. Not impossible but not very likely. I surely don't mind TRYING to reconstruct a complete new joint if it comes down to it, it's all a learning experiment for me so either way I'll learn something. It also looks like the shaft itself has the same plastic/phenolic insert as the butt joint, the threads on the shaft definitely are not threaded into wood. I will take your helpful advice and see if I can get it apart and improve on it. Like you say, I got nothing to gain but knowledge. Thanks so much again for the helpful info. I will take pics of the progress as I go along and let you know what I find.
 
cuejo said:
If its a goody goody fun time cue.......
Try and have fun
Rebuild the joint entirely,
Replace the pin with something common,
Build a new shaft
Boom!
New custom cuetec :)
And you get to enjoy tinkering with a free butt.
Click to expand...

Thank you too Darcy for chiming in and giving me some helpful info. I thyink I am going to take your and KJ's advice and just take it apart and try to reconstruct the joint and improve on it, just play with it and have fun. I would love to fix it and be able to give it back to him, but if I mess it up, I already have permission to do as I wish to it and if it messes up then I can throw it away. I have all the other taps for cues, since the pin is CLOSE to a 3/8 pin, I will just go back with a 3/8-10 pin IF I can get the old pin out.


Since the joint is some kind of plastic, do you or KJ (or anyone else for that matter) have a suggestion on how to remove the old pin without catching the cue on fire,lol. I still gotta get the old one out in order to put a new, different thread pin in.

Thank you again for chiming in with some info for me, I like yours and KJ's idea of just reconstructing the whole joint, that will be a great learning experience for me and didn't even consider doing that so thank you again for the suggestion. When I get started I will take pics of what I come across.
 
akaminski said:
Bend the pin straight..... I did this on my friends older Viking...... I used a hard rubber mallet with a crap joint protector on it and bent it back to almost dead nuts..... Cue rolls perfect now he said it was the first time it rolled straight in years.... Just use a dial indicator and slowly work it back.... Good luck!!
Click to expand...

Thanks akaminski, but I really do believe the pin is epoxied in crooked and not bent. I won't know for sure until I get it out but from the story, the pin hasn't been hit or damaged, just put in crooked. Thanks again for the suggestion.
 
I'll also post some pics tomorrow of the butt joint and the shaft insert before I even start so you can see the material it is made out of.
 
I'd probably put it in the lathe, lock the headstock
Try to unscrew it with vice grips.
If that doesn't get it, you can try to cut the joint collar off, then cut off the pin with a hacksaw, then center drill the pin
Gradually increase the drill size until the pin is drilled out
Then bore the hole perfect, plug the hole with phenolic, re bore and tap.
In between I would probably do the joint :)
Lots of ways to get it done
 
cuetec

i've seen those plastic inserts get cross threaded,this might be the case here,as to how the pin got epoxied back crooked.the shaft might have gotten locked up by cross threading and when they went to remove the shaft it backed the pin out.
 
cuejo said:
I'd probably put it in the lathe, lock the headstock
Try to unscrew it with vice grips.
If that doesn't get it, you can try to cut the joint collar off, then cut off the pin with a hacksaw, then center drill the pin
Gradually increase the drill size until the pin is drilled out
Then bore the hole perfect, plug the hole with phenolic, re bore and tap.
In between I would probably do the joint :)
Lots of ways to get it done
Click to expand...

How in the heck do I get my headstock tight enough where the cue won't still spin ??? I have trashed the tommy bars tightening it so much, that didn't work so I put one of the tommy bars on my side of the 4-jaw chuck and took a pair of pliers and grabbed the jaws on the other side and hunkered down and the cue will still spin in the headstock when I grab the pin and try and twist it out. I thought my delrin collar was letting it spin, so since the SS joint is already scratched up, I took the collar off and just have the SS collar chucked up in the jaws and yet the cue will still spin when trying to twist on the pin. I can't seem to get the jaws tight enough so the cue won't still spin. Any tips ???
 
Here are some pics of the joint and the shaft insert before I get started tearing it all apart.

Ebaypics032-1.jpg


Ebaypics033-1.jpg


Ebaypics034-1.jpg


Ebaypics035-1.jpg
 
Try wrapping leather around the cue, sometimes that helps.
Or just wack off the stainless and drill the pin
This is where the fun starts :)
 
cuejo said:
Try wrapping leather around the cue, sometimes that helps.
Or just wack off the stainless and drill the pin
This is where the fun starts :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Darcy. My computer is in the babies room so he was napping I wasn't able to come in here and read anything so I just kept at it and trying different things. Never could get the cue locked in the jaws good so I got one of those small pencil torches from Harbour Freight laying around and got the idea to put some heat to it. The little torch pencil worked PERFECT !!! Right as a saw the black plastic in the joint start turning colors and it even bubbled a little, I twisted on the pin and it unscrewed right on out. I'm gonna bore the hole, fill it with a dowel, re-drill and tap it like you suggested. So far, it's going perfect like clock work, knock on wood. Thanks again for the continued help.
 
cuetec

when heating a pin for removal, i always keep a spray bottle of water to spray on the outside of the cue and joint.this will allow enough time to let the heat travel the length of the pin without damaging the rest of the cue. the other thing is to heat the pin and then lock it into a vise and twist the cue.i recently removed a pin from an overseas cue that was 5 in. long by using this process.i always let the customer know that there is a risk of breaking the cue or futher work that the cue might require after heating a pin and the burning of the wood that is usally associated with getting the pin hot enough to let the glue release.
 
treed said:
when heating a pin for removal, i always keep a spray bottle of water to spray on the outside of the cue and joint.this will allow enough time to let the heat travel the length of the pin without damaging the rest of the cue. the other thing is to heat the pin and then lock it into a vise and twist the cue.i recently removed a pin from an overseas cue that was 5 in. long by using this process.i always let the customer know that there is a risk of breaking the cue or futher work that the cue might require after heating a pin and the burning of the wood that is usally associated with getting the pin hot enough to let the glue release.
Click to expand...

Thanks Treed for the helpful info. The water bottle is a good idea. No worries about damaging the cue, as I mentioned in my earlier post, this was a freebie given to me so if I mess it up I have permission to make firewood out of it.
 
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