Cue building as a hobby?

Grimm Reaper said:

I have read many posts on the dangers of building cues for a living. Starvation being the major one.Most seem to do it along with another profession. Who out there is doing it as an expensive hobby? None of my current hobbies are cheap(POOL CUES,boats,golf,snowmobiles,cars)tried them all. Have the woodshop and the Cue Companion I have been working with. Lack the experience, Hightower Deluxe and the materials. I like playing but I am falling hard for the instrument. Somebody please talk me into that Hightower! I think..........Kyle

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I call myself a hobbyist although I have owned pool rooms and been fooling with cues for over 40 years and have thousands of $ in equipment. I will say it is the only hobby I ever had where I come out pretty much ahead. You mention boats, when I had boats it cost me a few hundred just to go out and troll for a day not to mention over a $1000.00 a month to dock it and thousands of dollars a year in other expenses. Messing with cues is the most pleasant, rewarding and cheapest hobby I have ever had. I think with most cue makers it falls between a hobby and an extra income.

I am a hobbiest. My last hobby was restoring musclecars. Building cues is much cheaper and if you stay with it you can make some money. Worst that can happen is you decide you don't like it and sell your stuff for a slight loss. I say go for it. There is a nice deluxe for sale in the Cue machine section.

Larry

Do it

The hightower is the only lathe I have .I do everthing on it...It is only a machine though ,and as someone once said..."Machines don't build pool cues people do soooooo as long as you have the knowledge get the machine ,I promise you won't be sorry .You will always find a use for it.....Merry Christmas Ray Weeks

Grimm Reaper said:

I have read many posts on the dangers of building cues for a living. Starvation being the major one.Most seem to do it along with another profession. Who out there is doing it as an expensive hobby? None of my current hobbies are cheap(POOL CUES,boats,golf,snowmobiles,cars)tried them all. Have the woodshop and the Cue Companion I have been working with. Lack the experience, Hightower Deluxe and the materials. I like playing but I am falling hard for the instrument. Somebody please talk me into that Hightower! I think..........Kyle

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Kyle, I think it can be a great hobby and so long as you look at in that manner it is a win win situation. Like others have said unlike many hobbies people have you can make money building and repairing cues part time. The reason far to many fail trying to do it full time is because there is a great deal to learn and you must build a reputation before large volumes of work will come your way. In the mean time most have to pay the bills and put food on the table which can be difficult alone with cue building in the beginning.

I have never used any of the Hightower Equipment, but it appears that many like it and that it works well for them which speaks volumes. I went the other route and purchased a Porper B-Lathe and I could not be more happy. I also own a Porper repair Lathe that I use for smaller tasks, I would never sell either one of these Machines both have taken tasks that I thought years ago were difficult and made them very precise and professional.

What ever you do, good luck and have fun nothing is more important.

Hahaha, nothing can get the juices and money flowing like cue building.

Consider the expense of other hobbies.
Skydiving, 5K for just a used rig.
Motorcycles, can be endless. Depends on how much you like chrome.
A wood work shop can kill your wallet just to build bird houses and crafts.
Well, almost.
Snowmobiles for those that are unlucky enuff to live where there is snow 8 months of the year.
Fishing.
And last but not least, Women, the most expensive hobby there is.

Have fun bud, its not that bad. But shiny tools and pretty wood can be very addicting.

I love my Hightower. First midsize then deluxe. IMO the deluxe is the best open box and go lathe for cuemaking. Very versatile machine with all the extras. I don't have live threading on mine but it's not that big of a deal to me.

I can't say a bad word about this machine when the other few I can. But I won't.

I personally would rank
1 deluxe
2 proper b
3 cc

Now there are things that are great about each machine or company. Over the deluxe is my choice. Taper shaper is awesome and I like the bulk of the porper b.

I have a Hightower Deluxe and a small metal lathe in dialing in slowly and a wood lathe, which I'm slowly making better.

Cue building, like Craig said, can be rewarding but in order to do it full time you need to have built a "following" for repairs and cue orders. A good reputation is priceless. Knowledge and experience are a must and without it full time cue making will not going to go very far at all.

I can do pretty much anything with my Deluxe, and IMO it is without a doubt the best "ready to build" machine on the market. I plan on getting one of the new Deluxe this coming year and a mill/drill and take things to the next level.

Nice shiny wood, a new cue building lathe and seeing a cue come together from scratch is addictive ! It can be rewarding as a hobby or as a more serious endeavor, either way go with the Deluxe and hold on tight !

honestly i had a deluxe and a midsize and i got rid of the midsize and kept the deluxe so i can do repair work tips cleaning and wraps on it, so even if thats all you ever do trust me its great for that and building a cue or 2 a yr for the hobbiest (disclaimer - i cant spell) youll never look back. few more steps on my southbend and thats all mine will become is a repair lathe.

get the new one with the lead screw tho, its alot nicer than the old powerfeed.

So many guys have bought just the Hightower repair lathe and it doesn't take long before one realizes that they want to go further and wished that they had bought the Deluxe. The repair lathe is great and can take a major load off the Deluxe if its tied up and good to eventually have 2 lathes but in the long run, spend the extra and go for the full meal deal and worry about a second lathe later. As always, if you decide to get out of it, you'll always get a decent price back on your lathe.

Well said. I wish I had the proper direction when I purchased me first machine. It was a mid size. I outgrew that machine as fast as it took me to open the box. The deluxe is a big jump but deff worth the investment.