Addicting? You weren't kidding!

tank69

tank69

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've not had my lathe a week and I've already done about 10 tips. When I'm not doing other people's cues, I'm changing the tips on mine. Going to do the house cues for a local room...more practice!

So today I ordered a few cheapo house cues that I plan on converting to sneaky petes. Again, this is going to be for practing joint point/shaft insert/collars/butt plate/ferrule install/tennon threading/install and whatever else I can. I'm also going to strip the finish and then taking them to my buddies body shop to clear them.

Anything else I can practice? Once I get decent at converting a few bar cues, I'm going to attempt irish linen and maybe a stacked wrap in the next month or so. This is really enjoyable!! :cool:
 
Its not too late to turn back. Quit now while you still have a savings account! Lol.

Joe
 
So today I ordered a few cheapo house cues that I plan on converting to sneaky petes. Again, this is going to be for practing joint point/shaft insert/collars/butt plate/ferrule install/tennon threading/install and whatever else I can. I'm also going to strip the finish and then taking them to my buddies body shop to clear them.

1) There are NO house Qs made in the USA, they are all from China. They are generally not made from Maple. Instead they are made of Ramonwood. This wood is so crappy, you will have to glue a Maple plug into the shaft & butt to get a good tapped hole.
2) If you are going to "strip)the finish from Qs, know that most paint strippers will destroy any of the plastic parts.

Hope this helps. You can reach me here anytime for help...JER
 
I'm the jig and Doo Dad guy. When someone comes up with a new toy, I can't resist.

Most hobbies these days for the Big Boys costs a bit of money no matter which one you choose, and it is your money to spend on what you see fit.

I once jumped, or was kind of pushed out of an airplane once and had considered that sky diving, or sky pushing might be for me.

Even used rigs, let alone new ones can cost you a ton so its a matter of which hobby you choose for yourself.

I have spent a ton on cue making equipment and supplies and have often felt a bit guilty but in the long run, when you consider the pleasure that you receive, its all worth it.

And like any other hobby that you get to hang around other enthusiasts, you can't beat the camaraderie that you get by hanging around the Forum here. I have met many good people here and that is gotta be worth something too.

Now if Little Joey would quit building jigs, I'll be ok for a while.

Yeah, I can second that Jer. Finding some good old house cues from the halls is a better idea. When a good Duff gets warped, they cut the ferrule off and attach a rest to the end. They usually are good enuff to cut the first 29 inches off and most owners can be talked out of one or a few of their rests because they usually have other cues that can replace them. I have found some of the nicest old Duffs being used as rests.

I did find a furniture stripper that claimed that it was glue friendly. I have used it on older cues that had a few inlays and the Dufferins that have the little Duff logo at the bottom. So far, I have not had any inlays and that also includes mother of pearl and imitation MOP.
melt on me yet, altho I think one would have to be careful. Err on the side of caution, right.

The name of the stripper is Heirloom. So far so good. Its not something that I would use on an overly expensive cue but for cheap conversions and repairs, I have had no problems thus far.
 
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tank69 said:
I've not had my lathe a week and I've already done about 10 tips. When I'm not doing other people's cues, I'm changing the tips on mine. Going to do the house cues for a local room...more practice!

So today I ordered a few cheapo house cues that I plan on converting to sneaky petes. Again, this is going to be for practing joint point/shaft insert/collars/butt plate/ferrule install/tennon threading/install and whatever else I can. I'm also going to strip the finish and then taking them to my buddies body shop to clear them.

Anything else I can practice? Once I get decent at converting a few bar cues, I'm going to attempt irish linen and maybe a stacked wrap in the next month or so. This is really enjoyable!! :cool:
Click to expand...

What lathe did you get ??
 
BLACKHEARTCUES said:
1) There are NO house Qs made in the USA, they are all from China. They are generally not made from Maple. Instead they are made of Ramonwood. This wood is so crappy, you will have to glue a Maple plug into the shaft & butt to get a good tapped hole.
Click to expand...


Wow. I haven't seen many new ramin cues these days. And ramin house cues? Almost never. I need to get out more.

It amazing that you see so many ramin house cues. I wouldn't think it would be worth smuggling it. I mean after all every variety of ramin is an endangered species and protected. I find it remarkable that importers are going to the trouble of smuggling so many ramin cues into the US.

Thanks for the heads up.


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Good luck! Its amazing how fast the money goes and how slow it is to get any of it back. Welcome to the money pit. lol
 
Soon the restless nights will start because you are thinking of the current build. Have fun, be patient, and it will be worth it.
 
BLACKHEARTCUES said:
1) There are NO house Qs made in the USA, they are all from China. They are generally not made from Maple. Instead they are made of Ramonwood. This wood is so crappy, you will have to glue a Maple plug into the shaft & butt to get a good tapped hole.
...JER
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Ive seen some house cues not of the maple variety and they looked more like medium density fibre board turned round !! Horrible !

Looks almost like OSB siding only without the big chunks in it lol.. I refuse to work on most these imports. I almost couldnt finish a ferrule the shaft wood was so bad, I had to cyno the tenon about 5 times to get it hard enough to turn "true". Its the perverbial "pandoras box" dont go there lol.
 
Addicting? You weren't kidding!

I have 3 house cue butts here that have NO wood in them.

They are a white paint over fiberglass,and down towards the butt the paint turns brown,and it has a paint seam that makes them look like a normal house cue,until you see the radiused tips that make it look like a CNC/panto point.

On the ones I see when I go out,the butts split,and because some of them have a weight bolt,they make noise. None of them have a decent ferrule/tip,all replaced with slip-ons. On some,the ferrule was broken off.

There is only ONE all-wood house cue at my usual weekend spot,so it gets hidden LOL.

To look for cues worthy of being converted,try to find the oldest pool rooms in your area. You can find some old gems in places like that. Tommy D.
 
I've been fixing and building for over 50 years and there are still nights when I will get out of bed and go out into the shop and try something I thought of while I can still remember it. My memory isn't getting better but the fun of the work can last a long time.

There will never come a time when you have everything you need.
 
Paul Dayton said:
I've been fixing and building for over 50 years and there are still nights when I will get out of bed and go out into the shop and try something I thought of while I can still remember it. My memory isn't getting better but the fun of the work can last a long time.

There will never come a time when you have everything you need.
Click to expand...

ditto, i actually got a sketch book for the nitestand so i dont have to go all the way out in the shop at 2 in the morning
 
LGSM3 said:
ditto, i actually got a sketch book for the nitestand so i dont have to go all the way out in the shop at 2 in the morning
Click to expand...

I call those space notes.......... they come from outer space and if you don't write it down .... by morning it's gone...........

LOL

Kim
 
LGSM3 said:
ditto, i actually got a sketch book for the nitestand so i dont have to go all the way out in the shop at 2 in the morning
Click to expand...

I used to dream "inventions".
I would wake up in the morning and remember I had a great dream but not the specifics.
My wife bought me a nice drawing pad, to set next to the bed.
A couple of nights later I had one of those "Eureka" what a great idea, dreams.
When I woke the next morning, I was so excited to see what I had written and drawn.
I knew it was going to be something fantastic.
The drawing looked like something from a talentless 2 year old and the writing was worse.
I guess I was still asleep when I got the pad out, lol.
 
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