WTB Tooling

Search for Industrial Suppliers on-line.

Here's a few I use:

MSC
McMaster-Carr

Also dedicated tooling manufacturers. If you don't know how to re-grind your brazed carbide tools, you should go with replaceable insert tooling.

I think Kennametal is the best out there; however Iskar is also quite good, and generally a lot cheaper. There are other brands as well; however they may fade into obscurity and you could then have trouble finding inserts that fit later...

Note that you can spend as much for tooling as you do for your lathes without even trying...

Also I suggest an Aloris tool post and tool holders to hold all your fancy new tooling. Not sure it would fit/work on that lathe pictured, but the smaller one should fit on your Jet lathe (I think).

Do some on-line searching and you will find what you need.

As to the types of cutters, I suggest the following to start out:

Left-hand facing tool
Left hand turning tool (with a reasonable radius on it)
Left-hand turning tool with a very small radius (~0.005") on it
(as narrow as possible) parting tool- you may have to regrind this more narrow...
boring bar (get it as big as you can so it is stiff enough for larger bores)
Tiny boring bar (solid carbide for stiffness for joint pin holes)

Drills should all be 'stub' drills rather than 'jobber' drills unless you need the extra length for certain tasks. The stub drills flex a lot less since they are shorter. Also note you have to spin slower as the drill diameter increases...

Use a jobber for the joint pin for example, but run it undersize and BORE it to final dimension for greatest accuracy. Your Jet and the other lathe will probably not drill accurately enough to 'just drill' a joint pin hole. Drill it under size and bore it to final size. (you may want drill blanks for checking bores after boring; however the back-side of the 'right' size drill works great for that)

You also need a set of 6" calipers as the bare minimum measuring tool. A 0-1" indicator is also required. I use and suggest Mitutoyo brand as I feel they are the best 'bang for the buck' out there.

Beyond that, you will quickly realize what you need to make some cues...

Hope that helps!

Never mind, I see you want to find small boring bars ... I have no advice for that.

Dave

Shawn,
My advice would be to spend an afternoon doing a search thru the archives here, as there is soooooo much more info in the old threads than can be answered here in a couple posts. You mention your getting a Jet mini lathe, is it a machinest lathe, or a wood lathe? That answer will dictate your tooling needs for that item.
I have bought quite a few awesome tools, and then bought quite a few duds that never lived up to the hype, or expectations. The biggest factors, IMO, first, what do you really want to accomplish in the end run? Second, What can you afford, Thirdly, what will get you by until you make some money back to be able to buy better stuff.
If on a limited budget, and only want to do repairs, Harbor freight has some good items, and Mueller's has tools and equipment for the lathe you now have for decent prices. If you want to build cues, well, start saving, and looking around for good deals, and then go see Chris Hightower.
As an example, I use about 12 Harbor freight drill chucks with a MT2 arbor preset up with the various bits, and they are more dead on then the $100 one's that I bought when I started, and they cost less than $10 each. Even if one is off slightly, I can throw it out and buy another. I have a keyless drill chuck, with arbor, that I bought that as soon as it gets any shavings, dust, etc. on it, it jams up, and won't hold the drill or endmill centered. It's a big name tool and cost me a lot more than my HF ones, but I rarely use it because of that problem.
Well, good luck on your quest.
Dave
Dave

If you are still planning on doing the elkhorn and antler stuff you might consider a few things while working on bone materials. When I work on ivory I found out the hard way if you get it hot while drilling and you get even a tiny crack it will crack all the way at some time. It basically is junk. Need to be careful when drilling, boring, sanding, etc. not to get it too hot. Drill or bore slowly with sharp bits. JMO

Joe T

By the way, I enjoy reading your posts on here and you have good input. I think you will be one hell of a cue builder and repairman. Hang in there, get all the info you can, and go to it, it truly is a blast to get good at.

Joe T

> One of the best and most used tools in a shop of any kind is a bench grinder or 2,setup with grinding wheels for both HSS and carbide tooling. A diamond wheel for carbide is awful nice to have too.

You can cut most cuemaking materials with well-ground HSS,and in some cases it leaves a cleaner cut than cemented carbide or indexable cutters,but you will absolutely need carbide to cut Ivorine 4.

I agree with all previous statements about measuring tools such as indicators and calipers,stub drills,and boring bars.

I'd get a good bit of Delrin or UHMW rod for making collets.

I've had outstanding service with no hassles and great tooling from Travers.

Center drills are cheap,even carbide so get plenty. Tommy D.

ftgokie said:

I am gonna be a master cuemaker in about a week or so...I am taking an online class right for it right now :rotflmao1:

............................Cpl pics of the cue, this was after i cleaned it up..Sorry, crappy pics, ordered a new Kodak and will be here this week...these were taken with my blackberry

Click to expand...

You may want to reconsider using Soft Scrub with bleach. It is o.k. for ferrules but bleach is not good for wood. It will soften wood fibers and may cause some problems with sanding, sealing and burnishing. You will learn that in week 2 of your online class:grin:

Regards,
Stoney

The Little Machine Shop

Get stuff here too:


http://www.littlemachineshop.com/de...=standard&OVADID=2411137511&OVKWID=4913096011

Make a list of your machine operations and the tooling you need, then,
research and compare prices with other suppliers.

ftgokie said:

I am gonna be a master cuemaker in about a week or so...I am taking an online class right for it right now :rotflmao1:

No, I know cuemaking is not as simple as it looks, anyone can cut a house cue in half, drill and tap a hole, put a pin in it, put a shaft on it.....but to make that cue truely "Sing" takes someone that is truely gifted IMHO..

I am just starting out and having fun with it..I am sure I will me making a bunch of POOP here soon :grin:

I did buy a McDermott house cue this weekend for 5.00 at a pawn shop...It looked like hammered hell. I cleaned it all up, and I am gonna make a 2 piece cue out of it just to see what I can do...I do have an ebony Dufferin that I am gonna save for when I can actually make something rather than destroying it:grin:

Cpl pics of the cue, this was after i cleaned it up..Sorry, crappy pics, ordered a new Kodak and will be here this week...these were taken with my blackberry

Click to expand...

Soft Scrub ???

If the model B uses 1/4" cutters, Chris sells a mix and match lot of 10.
I bought these as per Dave's recommend.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=39931

Shawn, where do I find this on line cue course?