Affordable lathe to put on new cue tips.

The SharpShooter will work for shaft and tip maintenance, but I wanted to work on ferrules too. The next step up was the Shaftmaster, but it costs $800. While researching, this is what gave me the idea I could just do it myself.
 
Let me start over with the proper name of what I am interested in: "Sharpshooter Portable Drill Pool Cue Lathe" for $65.00, with a 6 piece maintenance arbor set for $45.00.
ebay.com/itm/drill-motor-lathe-attachment-to-repair-pool-cues-Manual-how-to-repair-
Cues/272395016768?hash=item3f6c021a40:g:TkQAAOSw-RRXCv82

This device would only be good for the limited purpose of replacing tips but that is all I am looking for.

Have any of ya'll, or anyone you know, used one of these? Any thoughts?
 
thats the one i mentioned on the first page drill and roller skate setup
pure waste of money that no one can make work it seems
threw all of the one i bought away as have others
 
Last edited:
@$#&#^!. But thanks, TCC, for waving me off. Thought "problem solved", but . . .
My choices seem to be to wait covid out and locate a tech or break out my single edge razor blade and sandpaper.

Do layered tips present any unique cutting/sanding challenges?
 
Chili Palmer said:
Keep in mind, when you put a shaft in those mini-lathes there is no support at the joint end and it can/will start flopping around if it's not straight or the balance is off.

Other then that, they work great for this purpose.
Click to expand...

just put skateboard wheels on a rest connected, or free standing, to the mini metal lathe. there dozens of threads sbout this on the forum but you have to navigate all the HT shills and other lathemakers in those threads.

i really encourage people to try and build your own. here are some complete plans of this portable tip lathe
 
Texas Carom Club said:
thats why you cut a plastic support donut to plug the bore with
Click to expand...

Yep, but you still have 18" of shaft sticking out the backside that is unsupported, which is a no bueno situation - for me.

I will say, most of the time it's ok that the shaft sticks out and you can hold it with your hand until it stabilizes but if/when it decides to wobble it's too late - ask me how I know.

Snooker Theory said:
Chili, TCC love to see some videos or pics of it in action, in any of a review?
Click to expand...

I will spin one up when I get home and show you.

Honestly, if you want to do tips I would just get the basic kit from Mid-America at $475, or even the basic repair lathe at $725 - you'll be into the mini-lathe for at least that much and probably more. The main reason I went with the mini-lathe was for joint protectors and other random garage stuff - my hobbies range from watching the grass grow to figuring out how to make a tesla coil out of a microwave (of course I've had the microwave for 6 months and haven't touched it) so my needs vary quite a bit.

Basic starter:
http://www.midamericapool.com/basic-starter-kit.html

Basic repair lathe
http://www.midamericapool.com/basic-repair-lathe-w-4-foot-bed.html
 
skogstokig said:
just put skateboard wheels on a rest connected, or free standing, to the mini metal lathe. there dozens of threads sbout this on the forum but you have to navigate all the HT shills and other lathemakers in those threads.

i really encourage people to try and build your own. here are some complete plans of this portable tip lathe
Click to expand...

I was in the process of building an extension on my bench so I could put a support of some kind back there. Now that I have my Cuesmith I'm going to build one long bench and put the minilathe on the right and have the mini-lathe through hole lineup with the cuesmith center line so I can use a steady rest on the bed of the cuesmith to hold the shafts that are protruding from the mini-lathe.
 
I can't make the numbers work for me. I use, at most, 2 tips a year. I am 65 years old.
If I was younger, yes. If I needed more tips per year, yes. But as things are, I will just have to pay as I go.

You young cats need to place your lathe orders today, and, 40 years from now, you can thank me. LOL.
 
Chili Palmer said:
Yep, but you still have 18" of shaft sticking out the backside that is unsupported, which is a no bueno situation - for me.

I will say, most of the time it's ok that the shaft sticks out and you can hold it with your hand until it stabilizes but if/when it decides to wobble it's too late - ask me how I know.
Click to expand...


with the shaft jammed tight into the spindle donut it cant wobble out of control and damage no matter if half of it is out and unsupported , just slow it down

ive seen the guy at big tyme do it plenty of times with the shaft sticking half or so out the back, not spinning fast at all
 
Portable clamp vise, sandpaper and freezer tape. You can't go wrong, and less expensive.

You need some patience though.

All the best,
WW
 
Take serious look at MidAmericaPool's lathes. Buy right the first time. It'll last for long time. Buy once cry once. You'll love it. Get started and you can add to it.
 
GoldCrown said:
Take serious look at MidAmericaPool's lathes. Buy right the first time. It'll last for long time. Buy once cry once. You'll love it. Get started and you can add to it.
Click to expand...

There’s an old saying in woodworking- buy your last table saw first. I went through 3 portable table saws before I bought one that will handle all situations and will last a lifetime. That applies to pool cue lathes. You could get by with a lathe that just does tips; but if you need to replace a ferrule or work on a tenon, you’ll need a better set up. Like you, I started out just wanting to replace my tips. Chris Hightower sold me on a Mid Size lathe. Six years and no problems with it. I just replaced the tenon, ferrule and tip on a friends break cue. You’ll be happier with a lathe that can repair cues too.
 
WildWing said:
Portable clamp vise, sandpaper and freezer tape. You can't go wrong, and less expensive.

You need some patience though.

All the best,
WW
Click to expand...
"Can't go wrong"?????? If anyone is going to go this route i'd suggest practicing on pos house cues for a while.
 
chuckpilegis said:
Spare bed and steady rest from Little Machine Shop would make that less scary
Click to expand...

As mentioned, I was going to build a steady rest but have chosen a different route.

Texas Carom Club said:
also dont spin it that fast lol, you went all the way up
3000 rpm it goes up to
Click to expand...

Actually, you'll notice that by going up in RPM the flopping virtually goes away. You'll see when going slow it's fine but then in the mid RPM ranges it starts flopping around but when you spin it way up there it doesn't flop around. The point is - it can and will happen.
 
Texas Carom Club said:
i might have tried and build up a support blocks and put some micro fiber cloths on the top to keep it from scratching
Click to expand...

Since I have door right there I was going to build something I could bolt to the shelf it's sitting on. This way it didn't stick out in the doorway when not being used. Now that I have the cuesmith that thought is out the window and I'm going to build a bench for both of them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top