Carbon Fiber Cue Case

Runnin8

Runnin8

Love God, Love People
Silver Member
Hey AZB,

I figured I'd put up a progress pic of my prototype carbon fiber case that I'm building. I'm shooting to have it done before I leave for Vegas, but with family activities this weekend I may not make it. I'll continue to update pics until next Tuesday. Whatever shape its in, it'll be out in Vegas in case anyone wants to take a look. It's a 4 butt, 6 shaft, suitcase style case with a vacuum infused carbon fiber shell. Total weight for the case will be about 4 pounds. I'm also working on two other cases for team mates.

It's been about 8 months of research and experimentation to get to this point. It's truly a homegrown project with all the work taking place, pretty much, on the kitchen table.

I hope you enjoy the pic!
 

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First - :-)

That's pretty sporty! What a great undertaking, especially all by yourself. I can't wait to see the fully finished case.

Been thinking about Carbon Fiber for years. I'd never have gone the route you did though. Edited to clarify, meaning the way you did with all the homegrown high tech manufacturing methods. I'd find someone who already does Carbon Fiber and get them to do it at a much greater cost and much lower satisfaction!

Good luck in Vegas! Enjoy the tournament and please stop by the CueSight booth and say hello to Matt. I wont be there.

John
 
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Hey John,

I hope you know how much I appreciate your encouragement. Thanks for the straps!

I'll be cranking on the interior this weekend- I'll send you a pic for sure.

Peace,
Steve
 
How cool would it be to open that case and pull out a carbon fiber matching cuetech ;P

Hey its gotta be worth something Earl Strickland signed it!!!

Sorry couldn't resist.

Cool looking case! Really does break the norm! How resistant to scratching will it be?
 
Wow

I am really interested in seeing these upon completion. As for scratch protection, I say either cover it in leather, or use say a High gloss urathane but im not sure.
 
contract route

Going the contract route:

I don't know where the costs are at now but I when I worked in R&D in 1990 I priced out a prototype backpack frame built from carbon fiber. This was only to support twenty pounds in fairly rough combat conditions. Cost for the prototype was $40,000 and the weight was the ultimate killer. The joints weighed more than the rest of the frame did and the weight was very close to aircraft aluminum tubing which is what the frame was eventually constructed out of.

That is one slick looking cue case and I'm sure there will be a market for it if he goes into production later on.

Hu


JB Cases said:
First - :-)

That's pretty sporty! What a great undertaking, especially all by yourself. I can't wait to see the fully finished case.

Been thinking about Carbon Fiber for years. I'd never have gone the route you did though. Edited to clarify, meaning the way you did with all the homegrown high tech manufacturing methods. I'd find someone who already does Carbon Fiber and get them to do it at a much greater cost and much lower satisfaction!

Good luck in Vegas! Enjoy the tournament and please stop by the CueSight booth and say hello to Matt. I wont be there.

John
Click to expand...
 
ShootingArts said:
Going the contract route:

I don't know where the costs are at now but I when I worked in R&D in 1990 I priced out a prototype backpack frame built from carbon fiber. This was only to support twenty pounds in fairly rough combat conditions. Cost for the prototype was $40,000 and the weight was the ultimate killer. The joints weighed more than the rest of the frame did and the weight was very close to aircraft aluminum tubing which is what the frame was eventually constructed out of.

That is one slick looking cue case and I'm sure there will be a market for it if he goes into production later on.

Hu
Click to expand...

Carbon is waaay cheaper now a days...

But from what I hear the Airplane industry has a lock on the market, so finding a healthy source at a decent price (read not on Boeings budget) is tough.
 
the raw material isn't the issue

smokeandapancak said:
Carbon is waaay cheaper now a days...

But from what I hear the Airplane industry has a lock on the market, so finding a healthy source at a decent price (read not on Boeings budget) is tough.
Click to expand...

The raw material wasn't expensive even then, at least not to justify the cost of prototyping. There was a few hundred dollars of raw material in the backpack frame at most, probably a lot less. When you start joining and shaping carbon fiber things get expensive in a hurry. Some curving pieces were super expensive to have made. A friend did hand lay-up of a carbon fiber coated small wing for an experimental aircraft in the same timeframe for under a hundred dollars.

Hu
 
That looks very cool and functional.Keep up the good work I cant wait to see the finished one in Vegas.I will be looking for your stand no doubt.Great concept and God Bless.
 
Thanks for the comments guys.

As for scratch resistance- we'll see, but I have a 2 part polyurethane on my stairs and its held up to 8 years of kids going up and down and still looks great. At present its an epoxy top coat but needs the clear for UV protection anyway. That's one step I know won't be done before Vegas.

Cost of raw materials is pretty stiff, but no where in thousands. Up to this point I have much more time in than material. The greater cost is in tied up in developing the ability to create the part.

WRT the Carbon cue- I'll let Travis handle that. ;)

Peace,
Steve
 
I remember asking JB if he could make me a carbon fiber tube-style case because of its textile strength & thermo resistance some time in 2007 or 2008. I looked around for some possible carbon fiber suppliers and I estimated the cost of the more flexible sheets to be around $400-600 back then... too expensive for me just for the raw materials

It's nice to see that you are pursuing the project. I can't wait to see the finished product :thumbup:
 
Runnin8, did you just lay it up and then let it sit out to cure or did you bag it?
 
sygfrid said:
I remember asking JB if he could make me a carbon fiber tube-style case because of its textile strength & thermo resistance some time in 2007 or 2008. I looked around for some possible carbon fiber suppliers and I estimated the cost of the more flexible sheets to be around $400-600 back then... too expensive for me just for the raw materials

It's nice to see that you are pursuing the project. I can't wait to see the finished product :thumbup:
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I may well have some good news on that topic here in a month.

John
 
Process

For those asking about the construction process, I used a full up vacuum infusion with Lantor Soric as the core/infusion media. Here's a pic...
 

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Runnin8 said:
For those asking about the construction process, I used a full up vacuum infusion with Lantor Soric as the core/infusion media. Here's a pic...
Click to expand...

I love the kitchen table carbon-fiber production facility! However you do know that Longoni already make a case that looks just like this right?

1200-202103L.gif


I suspect this model is made of ABS like the rest of their cases with a thin carbon-fiber surface graphic for decorative purposes, but I've not seen that particular model up close myself.
 
I really like the look of the Longoni cases and its not difficult to create a case with a carbon fiber look- you can readily obtain carbon fiber graphic vinyl and apply it to just about anything you want, from cell phone to computer.

I liked the thought of making the CF case from scratch and the challenge of learning the process steps required to do it myself. I have yet to complete the vision I have in my head so I keep plugging away. I've enjoyed the journey so far and I hope the lessons I've learned can benefit any others who choose the same path.

Peace,
Steve
 
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