I found a 12x36 Jet lathe near me for a good price, would this work for our use I know a 13x40 or 14x40 would be better but will this work? Thanks. Will I be able to get shaft or butt between centers?
12x36 lathe
- Thread starter tomatoetom
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icbm
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W/O offending any of the very well educated and experienced builders/craftsmen who I have depended on for advice, allow me to say that yes it is possible to use a good quality wood lathe to make a passable cue. But just like you I came in here to AZ a long time ago and was encouraged by the experienced folks that it is difficult to build on a wood lathe. I've done it many times over and saved my money and finally after more than ten yrs I bought the equipment I learned I needed. Guess what happened? I kept learning that I needed more info and every step I took forward led to a new mystery to solve.
I used a 16x42 Grizzly and the unfairly maligned Harbor Freight 12x33. I needed a good steady rest. Plenty of junk wood. A good chuck with step jaws and a good bandsaw (Grizzly 14in G0555). Lots of screw ups but lucky for me I am stubborn.
My best advice is if you want to try now, than buy the Jet. They are good wood lathes. Learn spindle work to the point you know the skew chisel better than your wife's thigh. Learning a long taper will make you both inpatient and later extremely patient
Save your money. Come here and read all the Ask The Cuemaker posts you can. YouTube is a resource I did not have at first but you do. Consider buying Chris Hightower's text book and read it like you have a test to take on every task (I've read it repeatedly and refer to it before I do anything bc I am still damn new.
People WILL discourage you. If you still want it after a few yrs, than invest in what you need then. I signed in here in 2007 for the first time and my post count is not huge only bc I read rather than play thread games. I wish you good luck brother.
Its a metal lathe thanksW/O offending any of the very well educated and experienced builders/craftsmen who I have depended on for advice, allow me to say that yes it is possible to use a good quality wood lathe to make a passable cue. But just like you I came in here to AZ a long time ago and was encouraged by the experienced folks that it is difficult to build on a wood lathe. I've done it many times over and saved my money and finally after more than ten yrs I bought the equipment I learned I needed. Guess what happened? I kept learning that I needed more info and every step I took forward led to a new mystery to solve.
I used a 16x42 Grizzly and the unfairly maligned Harbor Freight 12x33. I needed a good steady rest. Plenty of junk wood. A good chuck with step jaws and a good bandsaw (Grizzly 14in G0555). Lots of screw ups but lucky for me I am stubborn.
My best advice is if you want to try now, than buy the Jet. They are good wood lathes. Learn spindle work to the point you know the skew chisel better than your wife's thigh. Learning a long taper will make you both inpatient and later extremely patient
Save your money. Come here and read all the Ask The Cuemaker posts you can. YouTube is a resource I did not have at first but you do. Consider buying Chris Hightower's text book and read it like you have a test to take on every task (I've read it repeatedly and refer to it before I do anything bc I am still damn new.
People WILL discourage you. If you still want it after a few yrs, than invest in what you need then. I signed in here in 2007 for the first time and my post count is not huge only bc I read rather than play thread games. I wish you good luck brother.
I guess I forgot to say it a metal lathe
icbm
Registered
LMFAO ok brother. That would have helped. Sorry for the long post
Several makers use the 12 by 36 belt drive Jet lathe and the Grizzly clone .
You can taper with it but you will have to remove the chuck and use an MT5 driver.
But. having a dedicated taper machine is much better .
You can taper with it but you will have to remove the chuck and use an MT5 driver.
But. having a dedicated taper machine is much better .
Sorry
I also forgot to say that I have a Hightower midsize just would like to have a metal lathe also.
Thanks
The thing about 12 by 36 Jet is they are belt drive . And those are usually easier to work with for our use .
I had a 14 by 40 gear head Jet. Way too big for our use . Spinning chuck manually ( which I often do , somehow ) is a great workout on those . I sold it and got a 12 by 36 Eisen .
If he can install a rear chuck and have some 24" end to end of chucks, it's good .
It does get a little tight if you truly spin a butt with a screw already installed .
But, I am still able to do it with a live center and spur driver.
You're good . Go check the Jet .
Take a flashlight and check inside the spindle to make sure it's smooth .
Those have open thread gears. I'd check those gears too.
Make sure you get the right gears for Imperial threads . They come with metric and imperial thread plates .
JC
Coos Cues
I have a 12x36 jet and I can get a 29 inches of wood between centers on it but not enough room to taper. Moving from my taig lathe changed everything for me for the better.
I will sell you a tap to build a rear chuck with for cheap.
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The 12x36 specification indicates that the lathe is capable of holding a piece that is 36 in in length, and as Joey has said with center in your spindle nose you should have plenty of bed length, I have a Sheldon 10x36 that I do all my tapering on and I can do 32 in shafts... Having said that the more important specification is what the carriage travel is. So when you are looking at a lathe crank your carriage all the way to it's max travel range from headstock to tailstock and measure that distance. I would recommend that it be a few inches more than the max length of piece you wish to turn. The only advantage I see with the 40 inch bed is the ability to chuck up your turning center in your 3 or 4 jaw chuck, so don't have to spend time mounting a chuck when you go back and forth to conventional turning. As far as that goes the quickest and easiest I have found to be either a cam lock or threaded spindle nose. The cam lock is nicer because it allows you to turn with the spindle in reverse without the worry of having your chuck spin off. Hope that helps.
Cheers
Cheers
There was once a poster here, I forgot who, whose signature line was "I build cues because I hate money". I don't know why but this post reminded me of him. A testament to the determination and patience it takes, I guess.W/O offending any of the very well educated and experienced builders/craftsmen who I have depended on for advice, allow me to say that yes it is possible to use a good quality wood lathe to make a passable cue. But just like you I came in here to AZ a long time ago and was encouraged by the experienced folks that it is difficult to build on a wood lathe. I've done it many times over and saved my money and finally after more than ten yrs I bought the equipment I learned I needed. Guess what happened? I kept learning that I needed more info and every step I took forward led to a new mystery to solve.
I used a 16x42 Grizzly and the unfairly maligned Harbor Freight 12x33. I needed a good steady rest. Plenty of junk wood. A good chuck with step jaws and a good bandsaw (Grizzly 14in G0555). Lots of screw ups but lucky for me I am stubborn.
My best advice is if you want to try now, than buy the Jet. They are good wood lathes. Learn spindle work to the point you know the skew chisel better than your wife's thigh. Learning a long taper will make you both inpatient and later extremely patient
Save your money. Come here and read all the Ask The Cuemaker posts you can. YouTube is a resource I did not have at first but you do. Consider buying Chris Hightower's text book and read it like you have a test to take on every task (I've read it repeatedly and refer to it before I do anything bc I am still damn new.
People WILL discourage you. If you still want it after a few yrs, than invest in what you need then. I signed in here in 2007 for the first time and my post count is not huge only bc I read rather than play thread games. I wish you good luck brother.
icbm
Registered
No worries. Brother I saved and saved while I was in the service. The sentiment of your reply was not wasted on me. So much so that I have a quote someone here told me when I asked a newbie question "When you quit, PM me and I'll buy out your shop". I wrote that on a piece of cardboard and placed it on the wall behind my deluxe
JC
Coos Cues
When I opened my auto repair shop the general manager of the Nissan dealer across the street told me that once I realized there weren't enough European cars in this area to build a business around he had a job for me.
That was 30 years ago. Last I heard he was selling time shares and my shop is still going strong.
Hang in there.
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