my home made lathe

pulzcul · Dec 22, 2007

Thanks to all the guys that posted their lathes and their idea's. This is the one I put together after Bigskyjake showed me the one he made. I had to build a trigger adjustment cause I bought a cheap drill at the pawn shop without one. I also built the cradle to slide for obvious reasons.I wired an off/on switch into it to make it easier to use and "presto mundo" here it is. Don

RRfireblade · Dec 22, 2007

Oh my.

buck15 · Dec 22, 2007

cool

looks like it will get the job done!!

JoeW · Dec 22, 2007

Nice lathe ideas. I did not see the prior threads.

I think I would like to make one of these.

What are you using for a chuck?

pulzcul · Dec 22, 2007

The drill is 3/8 chuck. The bolt is a 2 in. x 1/4 thread. There is a metal washer with a hole already in the crutch cup.

Varney Cues · Dec 22, 2007

JoeW said:
What are you using for a chuck?

A rubber crutch tip.

Its a better idea to chuck up a joint pin in the drill and spin it that way.
I will add...I don't recommend these set ups as I've had to repair far too many shafts that have been damaged numerous ways with these homemade projects.

Good luck though with yours...hopefully you'll not need to spend some real money with your cuemaker in the future for repairs.

JoeW · Dec 22, 2007

Varney Cues said:
A rubber crutch tip. Its a better idea to chuck up a joint pin in the drill and spin it that way.
I will add...I don't recommend these set ups as I've had to repair far too many shafts that have been damaged numerous ways with these homemade projects.
Good luck though with yours...hopefully you'll not need to spend some real money with your cuemaker in the future for repairs.

Thank you. I hear what you are saying about getting myself in trouble and I will be careful. Of course the last time I tried to be careful someone made money on the repairs

so you are probably right

pulzcul · Dec 22, 2007

Varney Cues said:
A rubber crutch tip. Its a better idea to chuck up a joint pin in the drill and spin it that way.
I will add...I don't recommend these set ups as I've had to repair far too many shafts that have been damaged numerous ways with these homemade projects.
Good luck though with yours...hopefully you'll not need to spend some real money with your cuemaker in the future for repairs.

Granted, it has it's limitations but if you use your head it does what you expect it to do. I only work tips and clean shafts. But I do agree that joint pins would be much better and I plan on getting a set. But for now this is what I've got and I'm havin' fun. Don

buck15 · Dec 22, 2007

slow down

would slowing the drill soeed down help stay out of trouble??? just thought i would ask. how fast do you have to spin it for different types of repairs??

LosOsosCues · Dec 22, 2007

?

Was that the rubber from the bottom of a crutch. Thats too funny.

Not bad for your first try.

hangemhigh · Dec 22, 2007

Man,I would have loaned you $99 for a craftsman.

jondrums · Dec 22, 2007

I've seen the kind of trouble you can get into using a drill as a lathe...

Without going into details about why, basically the cheap bearings in the spindle of the drill tend to produce a "three lobed" circle. They just aren't designed for side loading like lathe bearings are.

Anyone ever tried to make a largish hole in aluminum with a hand drill? Notice how the hole isn't very round - more like rounded triangular. That's the same phenomenon.

Don't get me wrong - I love DIY projects, and that thing might be just fine for doing tips, BUT:

I'd be fairly wary of putting anything in that "lathe" that you want to keep round. I'd never consider doing a "shaft cleaning" (sandpapering a spinning shaft) with that. But then I'll only use a magic erasor to do that since I don't like the idea of removing wood just to make my shaft look cleaner.

Jon

RRfireblade · Dec 22, 2007

hangemhigh said:
Man,I would have loaned you $99 for a craftsman.

That's what I was thinking. $89 at Harbor Freight.

Ky Boy · Dec 22, 2007

RRfireblade said:
That's what I was thinking. $89 at Harbor Freight.

The other problem bisides the using the crutch tip is the shaft rest. It is very easy to become involved with the tip and get the shaft too hot where it rests. And this will cause the wood in that particular place to expand. Otherwise, not too bad.

Gary

chuckpilegis · Dec 22, 2007

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45276

ArizonaPete · Dec 22, 2007

I have a very similar setup but my drill is held by a bench vise (easy to store the drill in a drawer when not in use). I used an old multi-speed drill that was almost ready to junk. I use a cane tip to mount a shaft or a crutch tip if I'm working on a one-piece cue. I just hold the ferrule end with a rag with my left hand to keep it steady and use my right hand to work with. You'll never damage a shaft that way. I've used it replace tips and ferrules. It's great using it to trim a new tip with a razor knife after it's been glued on (I use Gorilla glue for layered or solid tips). Also use it to clean and burnish my cue shaft. "Socks" recommended using an $89 wood lathe from Harbor Frieght. I do hate to spend money but I may investigate that possibility when they open a store in my area this January/February.

I highly recommend this technique to everyone because it's very inexpensive to build and does a very effective job. Keep safety and common sense in mind when using the setup and you shouldn't have any problems.

SCCues · Dec 22, 2007

Joint pins

pulzcul said:
Granted, it has it's limitations but if you use your head it does what you expect it to do. I only work tips and clean shafts. But I do agree that joint pins would be much better and I plan on getting a set. But for now this is what I've got and I'm havin' fun. Don

I started my cue repair work with a home made shaft lathe and i'd highly recommend that you get the correct joint pins for the shafts you'll be working on. One source for them is http://www.porper.com/index.cfm/fus...e134ad70c-03EF52E6-20ED-7D0A-C0D45507CDA3D9B2
After doing a few jobs with my home made lathe I bought a cue lathe from Chris Hightower and i've used it for many years and it's paid for itself with money i've made doing local cue repair jobs. I enjoy working on cues and I now have the knowledge to keep my cues in perfect condition which is what got me started to begin with. There just weren't any local cue repair people who i'd trust with my custom cue repairs so I learned how to do it myself and i'm glad I did. Good luck with your new hobby........

James

rayjay · Dec 22, 2007

Here's mine....

Johnnyt · Dec 22, 2007

pulzcul said:
Granted, it has it's limitations but if you use your head it does what you expect it to do. I only work tips and clean shafts. But I do agree that joint pins would be much better and I plan on getting a set. But for now this is what I've got and I'm havin' fun. Don

And I've had many as patients in my ER from stuff like this. Johnnyt

catscradle · Dec 22, 2007

Varney Cues said:
A rubber crutch tip. Its a better idea to chuck up a joint pin in the drill and spin it that way.
I will add...I don't recommend these set ups as I've had to repair far too many shafts that have been damaged numerous ways with these homemade projects.
Good luck though with yours...hopefully you'll not need to spend some real money with your cuemaker in the future for repairs.

As Dirty Harry said "A man's got to know his own limitations."
Like any tool as long as he doesn't try to exceed the tools capabilities everything should be okay.

my home made lathe

"Chasinrainbows"

Attachments

Grammer Are For Stupids

going broke! got there!

AzB Silver Member

"Chasinrainbows"

Handcrafted quality!

AzB Silver Member

"Chasinrainbows"

going broke! got there!

AzB Silver Member

Known Sinner

AzB Silver Member

Grammer Are For Stupids

AzB Silver Member

AzB Silver Member

AzB Silver Member

< Searing Twins

some of the kids

Attachments

Burn all jump cues

<< 2 all-time greats