Any interest in some hardened steel sanding mandrels?

snipershot

snipershot

Go ahead.....run for it.
Silver Member
I was talking to buddy of mine who is a cutter grinder by trade, and he said he could easily grind some round sanding mandrels for me, but im not sure how well they will hold up, or how much they will cost, so im curious if theres any interest in them? Please keep in mind that this is just an idea, and i havent made anything for them yet. Post here if its something you might be interested in, and you can pm or post what you would pay for them. Thanks.

Joe
 
Kim, (Whammo) posted a thread for his SS mandrels. He sent me 12 spacers from Lowes before Lowes opened up where I live.

I believe Tony Zinzola mentioned in Kim's thread that he made some too.
If they are good enuff for Tony, they are good enuff for me.

Never the less, I will attempt to make some myself but if your buddy
has an idea to make them better, I would be interested in trying a set.

I don't see myself making enuff cues in the future to warrant spending the kind of money that carbide is worth.
I know 100% they are worth every penny, just can't afford that kind of lay out for something I will seldom use.
 
Since you asked for an opinion here goes.

If you go out to Atlas you can see a set of their Maintenance Arbors for $35 which are made out of 303 SS. If they made them out of tool steel you'd be able to harden them. Then all you would really need is a spacer behind it if they are concentric. 303 is fairly tough but they use it moreso because its nice to machine.

I guess the hardness your friend is talking about would be roughly that of HSS, maybe a little harder. I can't say how long they'd hold up but you can try chucking up a HSS lathe bit and hit it with sandpaper for a few minutes. It will wear but it will take a little bit.

The guys that do this professionally or in high volumes would surely want carbide. Guys who don't make many cues a year or do this as a hobby would be more prone to the cash savings. Given all that and that some people really don't have the cash to plunk down $400 for 1 set of Mandrels, I would say if you could keep the price in the $50 - $100 range you'd find a decent market. If I didn't have a set of carbides in the works I'd buy a set.
 
bruppert said:
Since you asked for an opinion here goes.

If you go out to Atlas you can see a set of their Maintenance Arbors for $35 which are made out of 303 SS. If they made them out of tool steel you'd be able to harden them. Then all you would really need is a spacer behind it if they are concentric. 303 is fairly tough but they use it moreso because its nice to machine.

I guess the hardness your friend is talking about would be roughly that of HSS, maybe a little harder. I can't say how long they'd hold up but you can try chucking up a HSS lathe bit and hit it with sandpaper for a few minutes. It will wear but it will take a little bit.

The guys that do this professionally or in high volumes would surely want carbide. Guys who don't make many cues a year or do this as a hobby would be more prone to the cash savings. Given all that and that some people really don't have the cash to plunk down $400 for 1 set of Mandrels, I would say if you could keep the price in the $50 - $100 range you'd find a decent market. If I didn't have a set of carbides in the works I'd buy a set.
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I just talked to my buddy, and he actually suggested i use stainless steel instead of carbon steel. If i use carbon steel, it will likely rust, so SS seems like a better choice, as long as its hard enough. I might try making a set of both and see how it goes.

Joe
 
if anything thet will get you close to perfect even after they wear a little, then use the olround the edge trick or sand the cue together to get rid of the slight lip. it will work specially if you only make a few cues a yr.

but if you have carbide you have a consistant joint for all your cues for a long time.
 
Blue Hog ridr said:
Kim, (Whammo) posted a thread for his SS mandrels. He sent me 12 spacers from Lowes before Lowes opened up where I live.

I believe Tony Zinzola mentioned in Kim's thread that he made some too.
If they are good enuff for Tony, they are good enuff for me.

Never the less, I will attempt to make some myself but if your buddy
has an idea to make them better, I would be interested in trying a set.

I don't see myself making enuff cues in the future to warrant spending the kind of money that carbide is worth.
I know 100% they are worth every penny, just can't afford that kind of lay out for something I will seldom use.
Click to expand...

Just remember that anything but carbide will have a finite life. Steel will wear out... I think SS will wear out faster. Steel will work well but it continually gets smaller. Mine are down by .001 after a few cues.

In the end you will probably go to carbide if you make enough cues to warrant the cost. Carbide sanding mandrels can be written into your last will and testament..... they will still be on size.

Kim
 
I used to make mine out of stainless steel and would get about 5 to 10 cues out of a set before replacing them. Then I got some carbide ones made in the mid 90's and I am still using them. It was one of the best investments I have made.
 
Carbide Mandrels...

cueman said:
I used to make mine out of stainless steel and would get about 5 to 10 cues out of a set before replacing them. Then I got some carbide ones made in the mid 90's and I am still using them. It was one of the best investments I have made.
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Who makes carbide mandrels and better yet, if there are a couple people making them... who is regarded as doing the best work on carbide sanding mandrels. I've been following these threads enough that I've decided the time is coming to buy some carbide mandrels, but I don't want to drop a bunch of money and be disappointed by shady quality like some people just were. So where does a person get a high quality set of sanding mandrels?

Thanks,

dakota
 
snipershot said:
I just talked to my buddy, and he actually suggested i use stainless steel instead of carbon steel. If i use carbon steel, it will likely rust, so SS seems like a better choice, as long as its hard enough. I might try making a set of both and see how it goes.

Joe
Click to expand...

You should speak with someone who really knows metals and heat treating before starting. I had a class on Metallurgy about 25 years ago and if I remember right the higher the carbon content the more likely you can harden it. I think the 300 series SS doesn't heat treat, you can work harden it (I know this from the number of times I've burnt a tool up in 304). I think knife blades are genrally made out of the 400 series SS. But you should really speak to someone who knows it well. The only heat treating I've ever really done was with tool steel, hitting it with a torch and dropping it in either oil or water depending on the grade of TS.
 
dakota said:
Who makes carbide mandrels and better yet, if there are a couple people making them... who is regarded as doing the best work on carbide sanding mandrels. I've been following these threads enough that I've decided the time is coming to buy some carbide mandrels, but I don't want to drop a bunch of money and be disappointed by shady quality like some people just were. So where does a person get a high quality set of sanding mandrels?

Thanks,

dakota
Click to expand...

Tommy Migliore. Clean, precise, and very fair price considering the quality. I bought mandrels for the purpose of being able to make extra shafts later & know that they will be a perfect fit, without having the butt to match it up. For example, a guy in Singapore buys one of my cues that I built 3 years ago, and wants a new shaft for it. I build the shaft & send it and it fits perfect just like it was original, without me ever having to match it to the butt. A positive by-product is the ease & precision of finish work on cues. But for me, the main purpose of mandrels was long term repeatability so I could best serve my customers years after the cue was originally built. They don't have to send the butt to me to get shafts made. This is what i'm noticing people are not realizing when they are considering mandrels made out of steel. Yes, they do make finish work easier, but as important or more so, you want the longevity. Get carbide.
 
bruppert said:
You should speak with someone who really knows metals and heat treating before starting. I had a class on Metallurgy about 25 years ago and if I remember right the higher the carbon content the more likely you can harden it. I think the 300 series SS doesn't heat treat, you can work harden it (I know this from the number of times I've burnt a tool up in 304). I think knife blades are genrally made out of the 400 series SS. But you should really speak to someone who knows it well. The only heat treating I've ever really done was with tool steel, hitting it with a torch and dropping it in either oil or water depending on the grade of TS.
Click to expand...

I work in a factory, and my job is to run furnaces and heat treat steel, so i can cook whatever is out there, but i believe you are right about the stainless being non heat treatable. It will probably ruin it, lol. After all the feedback ive gotten, im thinking maybe it isnt such a good idea to make them now. If they only last for lets say, 10 cues, then the cost wont be worth the quality. It will cost too much to make them if they are going to have such a short lifespan. I already have some steel, but i dont see this going much further.

Joe
 
interchangeability is GREAT!!

I have 2 older Richard Black cues made years apart. One is kind of fancy, one very plain, your basic blunt instrument. Very different cues. They have 5 shafts between them and they interchange so well I have no clue any more which came with which.

When I finally got the message here, there was no going back. Interchangeable shafts is a HUGE advantage for all the reasons Eric sited. It makes things SO much easier.

Robin


qbilder said:
Tommy Migliore. Clean, precise, and very fair price considering the quality. I bought mandrels for the purpose of being able to make extra shafts later & know that they will be a perfect fit, without having the butt to match it up. For example, a guy in Singapore buys one of my cues that I built 3 years ago, and wants a new shaft for it. I build the shaft & send it and it fits perfect just like it was original, without me ever having to match it to the butt. A positive by-product is the ease & precision of finish work on cues. But for me, the main purpose of mandrels was long term repeatability so I could best serve my customers years after the cue was originally built. They don't have to send the butt to me to get shafts made. This is what i'm noticing people are not realizing when they are considering mandrels made out of steel. Yes, they do make finish work easier, but as important or more so, you want the longevity. Get carbide.
Click to expand...
 
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