Advice on cutting points?

Zagiflyer

Zagiflyer

Mr. 15
Silver Member
Hello:

I'm a fairly new cuemaker/repairman who does this as a hobby. Everything I've built so far has been had a solid forearm but I'm starting to experiment with points. My goal at this time is simply to make a very simple 4-point forearm with clean lines where everything matches up well. For my first attempt I used a 14" piece of plain Maple (I planned to cut off 2 inches) tapered to 1" at the joint end. I had some corner pieces from a Bubinga turning square laying around for the inlays. I offset the tailstock on my Cuesmith .350 (split the difference of the numbers suggested in Chris' book) and started the points at 9" (of the 12" I planned to keep) on the oversized forearm. The piece was mounted between centers and I used a 90-degree V-point cutter with the router mounted horizontally.

My first attempt wasn't bad. Unfortunately, I got a little aggressive with the router when I turned down the test blank and chipped out the tip of one of the points. I now have an appreciation for how fragile the points are at the tips so I (hopefully) won't repeat that mistake. I didn't intend to use this first one in a cue anyway unless it was perfect so it's not a huge loss. Other than my operator error with the lathe the blank wasn't bad; the lines were clean and the points matched up well. The problem was that the points were shorter and "skinnier" than what I wanted. I can certainly experiment with different offsets and starting lengths to eventually get to where I want to be and I realize this is what most cuemakers have had to do. I won't fault anyone for expecting me to have to do the same. However, in the interest of saving time and wood if anyone would like to share a workable "formula" for a setup like mine with an indexing lathe, a 90-degree horizontal V-groove cutter (the one that Chris sells) for a 12 and 13" forearm I would greatly appreciate it. I'm interested in offset of the tailstock as well as starting dimensions of the forearm blank and the initial length marked for point length prior to turning down to final size. Any other tips/tricks anyone has for someone just learning about cutting points would be great as well.

Thanks everyone, this is a great forum and I love looking at some of the incredible (beyond my wildest dreams at this point) work some of you folks do.

Zag
 
Zagiflyer said:
Hello:

For my first attempt I used a 14" piece of plain Maple (I planned to cut off 2 inches) tapered to 1" at the joint end. I had some corner pieces from a Bubinga turning square laying around for the inlays. I offset the tailstock on my Cuesmith .350 (split the difference of the numbers suggested in Chris' book) and started the points at 9" (of the 12" I planned to keep) on the oversized forearm. The piece was mounted between centers and I used a 90-degree V-point cutter with the router mounted horizontally.
Click to expand...

You need about .650 offset in 14". I turn my blanks .050 oversize and have a cut depth of .467 at the base of the points.


Zagiflyer said:
My first attempt wasn't bad. Unfortunately, I got a little aggressive with the router when I turned down the test blank and chipped out the tip of one of the points. I now have an appreciation for how fragile the points are at the tips so I (hopefully) won't repeat that mistake.
Zag
Click to expand...

They should not be fragile. This is where precision fit and good gluing practices come into play.
 
Points

I have a cuesmith so I just bought an extra tailstock dedicated for offsets. This way I don't have to mess with the one that's centered all the time. I just found what offset I like for 4 or 6 points and made a mark for each so it's easy to offset.
 
Reversed taper bar

Another option for points on Cue Smith Deluxe lathe:
I had problems with the forearm shifting in the jaws of the chuck when I rotated ( indexed ) the wood with the tailstock offset. Also I didn't like havingto keep adjusting the tailstock back to zero.
What I did was very simple and works for me.

1" X 1/8 flat aluminum flat bar
A 1" wide strip of wood tapered for the length of the V groove
1/8" X 2 stove bolt
1/8" wing nut
Washers as needed

Drill a hole in one end of the aluminum flat bar for the stove bolt
Use the wood as a spacer between the aluminum bar and the aluminum
1-1/4 X 1 bar on the lathe.
Using the existing hole, fasten flat bar and wood together with the stove bolt
and you have a taper bar reversed.

Adjust the taper ( length / depth of V groove ) by cutiing extra
wood taper strips. If the existing bolt causes a problem, recess it into the existing aluminum. I just notched the wood. Sets up / removes fast.

Like I said it works for me, and just a little payback for all the info
i have received.
Bob A
 
make a plan veiw diagram of the result you want.
use Trigonometry to calculate unknown dimensions
the answer will reveal itself

Dale<worked for me>
 
Last edited:
Zag,
I do my points with the same setup as you. I off set my tailstock .500 for a 13" piece for 4 points they come out kind of long but that is how i like them.
I like the idea in a earlier post about doing a test piece at final size to see what length different offsets will give you.
once you get the offset to where you want it, I don't look at how deep i cut the points, i look at how wide the space between the points are at the deepest end of the cut. If i use the same offset and same length forearm and same distance between points, my points come out the same length every time. it doesn't matter how thick your forearm stock is, the distance between points where they come together at the bottom of the forearm doesn't change. As you turn it down the width of your points and the length of you points will get smaller but the disstance between will not change. This does not work for 3, or 6 points.
Just the way i do it.
I also make sure my point stock fits in the groove as close to perfect as i can. if not you may end up with glue lines. You might get away with it on a forearm with dark points or a dark forearm but not with two light colored woods.

Owen
 
Wow, thanks for all of the great information. It appears that I need way more offset than I initially used for starters if I'm going to start my cutting run at the point where I sarted it. I'll have to do another "test-run" as soon as I get finished with the cue that I'm working on now. I like the idea of having an extra tailstock that I can leave set up for points. What I really want is either another Cuesmith or an indexing fixture that I can use for points and slot work so I don't tie up my main lathe. Time to save the pennies.

Thanks everyone,

Zag
 
Now your moving up.......

Zagiflyer said:
Wow, thanks for all of the great information. It appears that I need way more offset than I initially used for starters if I'm going to start my cutting run at the point where I sarted it. I'll have to do another "test-run" as soon as I get finished with the cue that I'm working on now. I like the idea of having an extra tailstock that I can leave set up for points. What I really want is either another Cuesmith or an indexing fixture that I can use for points and slot work so I don't tie up my main lathe. Time to save the pennies.

Thanks everyone,

Zag
Click to expand...

Zag,
It just takes a little time to start accumulating machines and lot of patience.
But for some of the specialized parts of building, such as cutting your points, you really are much farther ahead having a dedicated machine for the set up. You'll get there one day......patience is the most valuable asset you can have when building cues.
 
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