lol Robin!Look I'm a fairly calm guy anyway, but at this point I will take a bow for my magnificent display of self control while reading all this. Gentlemen, carry on!
Robin
I just got done talking to the giy who grinds em for me, and he agrees with you. Im gonna get some phenolic and try plugging the aluminum on the female end. Ive been told phenolic will be a tighter fit on the threads and is more durable.Joe, mandrels look great...nice to see you pull it off.
Have one concern and this in most cases would go in a pm but do to you being openminded i thought i would bring it to light here to see if more experienced people felt the same way.
With the female "butt side" aluminum insert, dirt, glue, etc. sitting in there is going to increase the wear substantially as alum. is fairly soft. The reason i say this is because when i use an aluminum pin, and the mandrel threads are dirty, i sometimes have to forcefully remove the mandrel. This, in most instances leaves fairly obvious marring on the pin. My concern would be that overtime, if the threads became a little worn, they would start to locate in a different spot...thus not matching there counterpart.
Just a thought.
Mandrels look good
I just got done talking to the giy who grinds em for me, and he agrees with you. Im gonna get some phenolic and try plugging the aluminum on the female end. Ive been told phenolic will be a tighter fit on the threads and is more durable.
Joe
Use brass.
I have mandrels for 4 different threads. Only the one for Radial threads has any insert at all, and it's phenolic. After much use, it's still tight. On all the others, the threads are cut directly into the stainless arbor. I like this. If it doesn't represent too great an extra expense, that's the way I'd go.
Also, despite Eric's excellent idea of driving the butt end with a fixture and just using a live center on the mandrel, some may still want to chuck up on the mandrel itself. Both would be possible with stainless arbors.
I realize how much easier aluminum and brass are to machine, but it might be worth the (small) extra expense to go with SS arbors to eliminate a couple operations and an extra part while increasing durability and utility. In the end, the cost might be similar.
Having said that, your mandrel design looks excellent to me and whatever way you go I'm confident you'll put out a good product.
That you are going through this development phase in public on the forum and not rushing an undeveloped product to market speaks volumes about your good intent and your careful nature and elevates you far above those who are too lazy to bother with this process. I wish you success, but it seems assured with your thoughtful approach. Thanks for your efforts.
Now, if you could just taper 'em.....!
Robin
PS- This business of sending the mandrels out on approval, no-questions-asked, only pay if you like it.....I don't know about that......sounds pretty shady.
Just kidding, of course!
I have mandrels for 4 different threads. Only the one for Radial threads has any insert at all, and it's phenolic. After much use, it's still tight. On all the others, the threads are cut directly into the stainless arbor. I like this. If it doesn't represent too great an extra expense, that's the way I'd go.
Also, despite Eric's excellent idea of driving the butt end with a fixture and just using a live center on the mandrel, some may still want to chuck up on the mandrel itself. Both would be possible with stainless arbors.
I realize how much easier aluminum and brass are to machine, but it might be worth the (small) extra expense to go with SS arbors to eliminate a couple operations and an extra part while increasing durability and utility. In the end, the cost might be similar.
Having said that, your mandrel design looks excellent to me and whatever way you go I'm confident you'll put out a good product.
That you are going through this development phase in public on the forum and not rushing an undeveloped product to market speaks volumes about your good intent and your careful nature and elevates you far above those who are too lazy to bother with this process. I wish you success, but it seems assured with your thoughtful approach. Thanks for your efforts.
Now, if you could just taper 'em.....!
Robin
PS- This business of sending the mandrels out on approval, no-questions-asked, only pay if you like it.....I don't know about that......sounds pretty shady.
Just kidding, of course!
Will brass be more durable than phenolic? I made my first set with brass and they turned out great, but i was worried the softness of the brass would wear out quickly. Ill try it and see what happens, hell, the worst that could happen is id have to throw it away, lol.
Joe
Yeah, more durable. My first set of arbors had a phenolic insert for the butt side. It was great, smooth, tight. I used the arbors for about three cues & the insert split/cracked, which altered the way it fit just slightly & the alteration could be felt in the finished cue due to a slight misfit. Had them made with brass insert & have done a hundred or so cues & no wear, cracks, splitting, anything. Fits exactly the same today as it did new.
I might add that I had my pins & arbors made by the same guy, and the arbors are designed to fit the pin just like my shafts fit the pin. Screwed together, you cannot see or feel a seam in the arbors. I finish/sand/polish the butt then and shafts separately & they always fit dead smooth as if I had sanded & polished them together. The exact fit is why the phenolic split. I suspect if rolled phenolic was used, it likely would have held. But the brass is just fine and likely cheaper than rolled phenolic. I just wouldn't use flat lam phenolic if I were you, speaking from experience.
Ill try a set with with brass inserts and see how it goes. I do want to try a set with phenolic tho. My rolled phenolic, you mean phenolic rod correct? Does it matter if its canvas or linen?
Joe