Recent content by Kim Bye

My 4 jaw chuck I never use for cue making, too much clamping pressure. 6 jaw chucks get a lot of hate from machinists, but I find them super usefull, especially when it has a set-tru feature, essentially letting you dial in zero, like you would on a 4 jaw. Collet chucks are amazing, safer to...

It's an integral part of the ferrule construction. All warranties are void if you don't replace it. Atleast now they sell the silencer pads, so just order some extra, so you have the next time a predator shaft comes by.

I have measured it several times. I use a reasonably accurate weight that's meant to measure up to 25g. My wife calls it my "cocaine scale" 😆 I use 6al4v Titanium, not pure titanium, that might explain the difference?

The longer I do this, the more I value ease of use, repeatability and durability, even though the initial cost might be higher than I would like it to be. I totally understand that a behemoth 1000+ lbs isn't something you just drag in somewhere, you need a dedicated space for a large lathe or...

Yes that's two identical ferrules in terms of I.D, O.D and length

Having done a lot of snooker cue repairs it's not such a huge difference in reality as there's so little material used. A brass ferrule with a 7mm hole and a 9.5mm O.D in standard length is about 1.7g a 6al4v Ti ferrule with the same specs is about 1.3g, so a difference in 0.4g. Not sure how...

My guess would be the through bore diameter is too small. As for the runout, when you have so many components that all need to work together, you need to do multiple measurements and work out how everything is aligned along the whole axis. I see your test bar has several diameters on it. Are you...

Any pictures of your setup? Mounting a ball bearing in the steady, then using a collet between the bearing I.D and whatever you are turning works well.

I have tried them all. It takes some time to get it just right, but I feel the end result that is best and actually takes the lest amount of time is veneer. Take your time measuring so you'll have a perfect fit for the veneer pieces. Spray one side so it naturally curls, Apply a wood glue with...

I ditched the regular ground Carbide boring bars and brazed carbide boring bars almost completely after getting these. Just so much better and easier to use.

I think the ones in the picture flex too much. I highly recommend indexable solid carbide boring bars. You can get them on eBay quite cheap now. I have them in 4, 5 and 6mm

I would sell it to free up both money and space and get a 13x40 with a 1.5" bore, That's what you'll end up with eventually anyway. If a new lathe isn't in your budget, there's deals to be had out there. Check the usual places like Craigslist, Facebook etc. But also reach out to companies...

I agree with Gary. Fumes and dust need different solutions. For dust, a dust extractor or downdraft type system connected to a shop vac works well. For fumes from epoxy, and especially clear coat, you need a different system all together. A fume hood, spray cabinet or a separate room is needed...

Believe it or not, but making and repairing cues is a job and some people have it as their full time gig as well. The cue maker in question probably has his business as a LLC and it's simply better and safer to do things on the up and up in the long run. I'm not super familiar with the LLC rules...

Great cue wood. Gone up a lot in price the recent years.