Best machine question

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chokenstroke

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I am retiring soon from the circus life and am strongly considering cue repair and some simple cuemaking as a part time or hobby to supplement my income.
So many other clowns have done this already it must be a good investment.
I plan on using spliced forearms from Prather to start or possably some cue kits from other cuemakers.

What equipment would fit my $8000 budget?
Should I get a full size lathe first or something smaller?
I have already ordered Chris Hightower's book on cuemaking and right now his equipment looks like the way to go but I dont want to make a big mistake.
 
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I know quite a few people who are happy with Chris's machines, I think they are a good way to go.
 
I would recommend Chris' machines. For the price, you can beat it. I bought my first one sometime ago, around 1996 or 97. I abused it, drug it around to tournaments in the back of my car, and usually stayed in the car for months at a time. About a year ago, I put it into semi-retirement turning butts and shafts. Still going strong, the only part I've had to replace was the motor, bearings were getting noisey, and that was my own problem, not maintaining it. And actually, I'm still using that motor for other things.

Barry C.
www.cameroncues.com
 
have to agree

Considering your budget and that you have a lot more than machines to buy I would consider Chris's book, videos, and machines a great way to start. You may never outgrow them. If you do, you can always use them for some operations to avoid changing set-ups or sell them for decent dollars. Once rolling, Blud's equipment would look mighty fine.

I wanted to start with Blud's machinery but a business deal that went sour and Katrina seems to have killed any real possibility of that. If and when I get started again it will probably be on Chris's equipment or the metal lathe I already have access to.

Hu
 
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Weinstock Custom Cues

chokenstroke said:
I am retiring soon from the circus life and am strongly considering cue repair and some simple cuemaking as a part time or hobby to supplement my income.
So many other clowns have done this already it must be a good investment.
I plan on using spliced forearms from Prather to start or possably some cue kits from other cuemakers.

What equipment would fit my $8000 budget?
Should I get a full size lathe first or something smaller?
I have already ordered Chris Hightower's book on cuemaking and right now his equipment looks like the way to go but I dont want to make a big mistake.
Click to expand...
look into unique products you can end up learning everything you would ever want to know!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
chokenstroke said:
I am retiring soon from the circus life and am strongly considering cue repair and some simple cuemaking as a part time or hobby to supplement my income.
So many other clowns have done this already it must be a good investment.
I plan on using spliced forearms from Prather to start or possably some cue kits from other cuemakers.

What equipment would fit my $8000 budget?
Should I get a full size lathe first or something smaller?
I have already ordered Chris Hightower's book on cuemaking and right now his equipment looks like the way to go but I dont want to make a big mistake.
Click to expand...

Hey,
I think Chris Hightowers lathe would be a good lathe to start with. I bought one of his Deluxe Cue Smith lathes in the begining of the year. I got just about all the bells and whistles for alittle under $3000. You can do just about everything on it except inlays. If you want you can get an inlay machine from him also. I'm still saving my money for one of those. I made these cues with just Chris's lathe and i am happy with the lathe and the results I've gotten.

Welcome to the forum and good luck.
Owen
 

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newo9277 said:
Hey,
I think Chris Hightowers lathe would be a good lathe to start with. I bought one of his Deluxe Cue Smith lathes in the begining of the year. I got just about all the bells and whistles for alittle under $3000. You can do just about everything on it except inlays. If you want you can get an inlay machine from him also. I'm still saving my money for one of those. I made these cues with just Chris's lathe and i am happy with the lathe and the results I've gotten.

Welcome to the forum and good luck.
Owen
Click to expand...
Thanks for the good words about the machine and your cues look great. Keep up the good work.
Chris
www.cuesmith.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
 
best machine question

You can get into Q repair pretty cheaply & have fun making money too. The problem with going to the next step & actually making Qs, is the finish. A good finish has to be sprayed & that is not something that you can do in your basement. The fumes will kill you. I would suggest starting with a lathe that will suit some small repair work , but one that can be added on to if you do go for that next step. I have 6 lathes & one of them is a Hightower. I think it was one of the first Chris made & it is still working hard withut a problem. GOOD LUCK.... You can e-mail me with any problem or question...JER
 
newo9277 said:
Hey,
I think Chris Hightowers lathe would be a good lathe to start with. I bought one of his Deluxe Cue Smith lathes in the begining of the year. I got just about all the bells and whistles for alittle under $3000. You can do just about everything on it except inlays. If you want you can get an inlay machine from him also. I'm still saving my money for one of those. I made these cues with just Chris's lathe and i am happy with the lathe and the results I've gotten.

Welcome to the forum and good luck.
Owen
Click to expand...
Did you spray the finish or was it an epoxy type or did you farm it out.I am just about finished 4 cues and im debating about finishes,as blackheart says the finish can make or break a nice cue.
 
almer said:
Did you spray the finish or was it an epoxy type or did you farm it out.I am just about finished 4 cues and im debating about finishes,as blackheart says the finish can make or break a nice cue.
Click to expand...

The finish i used is epoxy and ca glue. I'm getting pretty good at it. I have no complaints about the way my finish looks, but i am worried about it yellowing in the future. There is no uv protection in the epoxy or the ca glue. I would like to get into spraying auto clear coat but i am not set up for that yet. For now i'm doing what i can with what i have.
Good luck with finishing those cues and post some pics if you can.

Owen
 
One of My lathes is a hightower deluxe also. Had It a couple years, It's been a real workhorse for Us, and has handled most every repair that's come our way. We work on many house cues a year, something some lathes are not suited for, pluss no telling how many personal cues We work on, It's used almost everyday of the year, everything from minor to major repair, some cuebuilding, and never had to even change the belt yet. It will also turn out a nice cue as well.

The finishing, I have to aggree with Jerry, I've used a few different methods trying to get around it for a while, and spraying just seems to be the way to go, altough for some style cues simular to sneaky petes, an old world type or french style, hand rubbed, finish can be nice. If spraying, a spray booth with good filtration & exaust seems like a must IMO, and is something I'm in the process of designing Myself.

Good Luck in Your venture


BTW Nice cues there Owen, looks like Your getting the hang of that machine.

Greg
 
finishing

I see this thread turning towards finishing and thought I would comment. There are several options to overspray control. The first is of course a walk in booth. Having owned three auto body shops over the years I have used those a bunch, with this type of set-up you still need a fresh air hood for the painter, modern automotive paint is that dangerous.

Another option is basically the same design as a kitchen range style hood turned horizontally to catch the overspray and pull it out. This can work well but the catch is that you need to move a lot of air and the make-up air can easily have trash or particles in it ruining your finish.

An option that seems like it may be the best but I admittedly haven't tried yet would be similar to a blasting cabinet with the sticks rotating inside and using blasting gloves to provide the means to handle the paint gun. This would be very safe, easy to control make-up and exhaust air, and seems to offer the best option with minimum design headaches. Lights, ventilation, and view window are the primary issues with an explosion proof exhaust fan addressed easily by moving the motor outside of the duct.

Something I am considering is a fully automatic spray cabinet too. That would be more aggravation to get set up and would require guns to be kept very clean since there is no way to correct problems as they occur like a good painter can do with a hand held gun. On the other hand, with everything working right finishes should be very consistent.

The thing to remember is that exposure to iso-cyanates is cumulative and apparently either the material remains in your lungs life long like asbestos or the effects remain for decades. I badly damaged my lungs due to being given bad information from PPG when Deltron first came out in the eighties. Even after over twenty years of not painting regularly, any exposure to iso-cyanates causes breathing difficulties.

Hu
 
Owen, sent you a private message

Owen,

I have a few questions you might be in the best position to help me with. I sent you a private message.

Hu
 
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