Affordable lathe to put on new cue tips.

lawlist

Registered
I have a JossWest that needs a new tip. Little Al used to be the only person that I trusted with my shaft (other than Ernie Gutierrez, who once put on a new ferrule for me). It has been about 25+ years since the tip was replaced. There is a thin spacer between the ferrule and the tip. Al had very big lathe with a large hole through the headstock, and he put a protective cylinder around the shaft and inserted the shaft through the headstock .... I have been thinking about buying a lathe to do my own tips ... Could I please have some suggestions on semi-cheap new lathes that are good for removing old tips, turning down new tips and then burnishing the edges?
 

lawlist

Registered
Thanks @Texas Carom Club for the recommendation -- greatly appreciated! I'll be making the decision on which model in the next few days. The large spindle bore to fit the cue shaft was my main concern along with the price that is, and you have resolved those concerns.
 

Chili Palmer

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Keep in mind, when you put a shaft in those mini-lathes there is no support at the joint end and it can/will start flopping around if it's not straight or the balance is off.

Other then that, they work great for this purpose.


I also recommend littlemachineshop.com. They have a physical store in California and are not just some fly-by-night ebay store.

Here's the one I have:

https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=4959&category=1271799306
 

Buster8001

Did you say shrubberies?
Silver Member
Keep in mind, when you put a shaft in those mini-lathes there is no support at the joint end and it can/will start flopping around if it's not straight or the balance is off.

Other then that, they work great for this purpose.


I also recommend littlemachineshop.com. They have a physical store in California and are not just some fly-by-night ebay store.

Here's the one I have:

https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=4959&category=1271799306

Hey, Chili; any way you could shoot me a little video of yours running with a shaft? If so, I'll shoot you my cell number via PM. I'd love to see how these run. My little lathe has so much run-out I'm looking for other options.
 

SSDiver2112

2b || !2b t^ ?
Well In my time of quarantine I turned my dining room into a workshop and built a cue lathe with a sewing machine motor. Still have a few finishing touches to complete before final testing. Hope it has enough torque, we'll see. Happy with it for my first try. I made it so it disassembles for portability, has variable speed, and reversible direction. Of course I would prefer one of those mini lathes, this was cheaper and kept me busy.

IMG_6319.jpg
 

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
Keep in mind, when you put a shaft in those mini-lathes there is no support at the joint end and it can/will start flopping around if it's not straight or the balance is off.

thats why you cut a plastic support donut to plug the bore with
 

Biloxi Boy

Man With A Golden Arm
I am amazed. An outlay of $700 + to put on tips? I, like some ot you, used to put tips on with rubber bands, single edge razor blade, and sandpaper. But, after experiencing the ease and perfection of professionally installed tips, I would also like to be able to be able to DIM.

Beyond the financial issue, requiring a full blown lathe for tips is mechanical "overkill". All one needs is a device that will spin a shaft in a stable manner allowing a tip to be cut down. Why is such a device not presently available?

I have read the thread about adapting a drill and carrying case, and this approach might work, but it is too "Rube Goldberg" for my liking, It keeps occurring to me that an inexpensive machine should be available.

Some of the present demand is definitely "covid driven", but there should be a simple, economical machine on the market.
 

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
It keeps occurring to me that an inexpensive machine should be available.
.

some can make the drill and roller skate setup work, but most cant
next step up is the williard, 300 plus or so i believe

the mid america lathe 500 ish for tips only
http://www.midamericapool.com/basic-starter-kit.html


or the mini lathe i bought can do just a bit more work and precise ,also threads
i got it because i want to dip into joint protectors, good ones, cnc mill is next at basically the same price as the lathe

there is virtually no middle ground unfortunately
 

Biloxi Boy

Man With A Golden Arm
I can understand a lathe if you want to do more, but for tips alone, SSDiver has the prototype -- still surprised China has not gotten all over this.
 

SSDiver2112

2b || !2b t^ ?
The chuck and spindle assembly came from China (the slow boat). I could not find anything like it here. My choices were the hacky drill or $600-$800 mini lathe, so I decided to try it myself. For DIY home use or occasional help out the local pool buddies, I think it should work out well enough.
 

Biloxi Boy

Man With A Golden Arm
I looked at Willard tool and it is a simple solution, but the price escapes me. If I had a pool hall it would be justified, but, for home use, no way.
 

lawlist

Registered
Based on the initial mini-lathe recommendation at the outset of this thread, I located a couple of YouTube videos on those types of units. The following video was really informative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05vUCdzhoe4 The author of the video suggested paying extra to get metal gears ... Here is one on ebay that is $675 with metal gears, and comes with some cutting tools -- it is a little more powerful coming in at 600W 4/5 HP. https://www.ebay.com/itm/8-x14-Mini...g-Metal-Gears-Bench-Metalworking/283447934169 I'll make the decision in the next few days.
 
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