Companion Lathe vs CustomCueLathe (Bassel)

plshrk22

plshrk22

A Holes Billiards
Silver Member
I am serious about purchasing a lathe and am about to pull the trigger on a CustomCueLathe but before I do send off the cash I was wondering which lathe you would choose? I just recently heard about the Companion Lathe and was curious which one would be a better value? I am more than likely purchasing a Bassel tomorrow.
 
if i was going to purchase a cue lathe i would call chris at cueman first cause his products and service after the sale is second to none:smile:
 
plshrk22 said:
I am serious about purchasing a lathe and am about to pull the trigger on a CustomCueLathe but before I do send off the cash I was wondering which lathe you would choose? I just recently heard about the Companion Lathe and was curious which one would be a better value? I am more than likely purchasing a Bassel tomorrow.
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Neither.....I'd buy a Hightower.
 
Guys I am just looking for opinions on these 2 lathes. If I had the money I'd buy a high tower but I just want to do basic shaft work.
 
I have owned both Todd's and Hightower lathes. For a simple repair lathe, I'd probably recommend Todd's lathe. For a "big" lathe and potentially making cues, I'd recommend Hightower's Deluxe for taper bar attachment.

I have also bought accessories from above both gentlemen ... great communicators, very timely shipping .. just overall great customer service before and after the purchase.

I have wanted to buy accessories from Bassel ... initially around 1K worth of stuff (wide carriage, DC motors, other stuff, and etc) and then probably another 1K to 1.5K worth of stuff later. He seemed to has GREAT prices and is a very nice guy on the phone.

Problem is that I have yet to get anything from him after starting a dialogue around mid-May. Few times, I had to chase him down via PM, emails and phone calls which resulted in more action items on his part (let me know when items are in stock, send me PayPal invoice and etc). He was always nice on the phone but have not followed through on his end to complete the transactions. He might be busy but so am I. I haven't followed up in over a month and neither has he.

I'm fairly confident that while I'd have a paid a bit more to Todd or Chris, they would follow through to complete open transactions and they will provide great after sales support. Unfortunately, I don't have same experience with Bassel to provide a feedback. I probably wouldn't recommend Bassel for anything he doesn't have in stock, ready to be shipped at the moment.

That has been my experience and opinion.
 
I on the other hand went with Bassel's products and I havent had one complaint. I have been buying stuff from Bassel ever since he first started selling his product on the forums. Im am not a cue builder, maker, assembler , Im just a repair guy, that does a few sneaky petes, joint work, linen wraps, shafts work and tip work. I have a good friend who uses a Hightower and its a very nice machine.

I absolute love my lathe. I really like the fact that I received a quality machine from the new guy starting out. You have to start somewhere and like everything else, your not going to make a name for yourself overnight.
 
My first lathe was a cue companion, I had the package 3 and at the time i owned that lathe i really loved it....

I sold that machine and picked up a used cuesmith lathe....really loved that lathe,

now I'm into a new cuesmith deluxe......this machine is the best by far!

If I had to do it all over, I would have saved up what I had to in order to get the deluxe right off the bat......

my opinion may not count for much, but I would have been on lathe number 1 still, and both Brian from unique and Chris from cuesmith are super easy to deal with and both have great customer service!
 
lathes

look at the accesories needed to do what you want to do and the set up times.i have a shop companion, a hightower deluxe,and a porper b,they all are good at different things.all of the above have excellent people standing behind them,and i have heard good things about basil.mobility is also a plus with a repair lathe,i have a modified travel tipper that carries all the supplies i need to do tips, ferrules,and clean shafts and weighs loaded less than 25 pds. , i can easily carry the lathe .a 2x4 case w/ cues and a vac. i recently modified the lathe to do linen wraps with an additional tote of wraps that stay in the vehicle upon request.the lathe has its own legs or can be sat on a table.convinence has proven profitabilility,i don;t pick up,go home and fix,go back and drop off anymore,i fix on the spot.
 
Would it be wrong to wonder who warranties their lathes in case something should break?
Thats very important to know when you dump 6 K on a lathe and accessories.
 
I'll third that one.
I have had a few dealings with Todd. I have no doubt that his lathes are top notch as per his other items he makes for cue making.

He treats people fairly and I also have no doubt that he will warranty anything that he sells.
 
Alright well I decided to go ahead and give Bassel a try. I have owned one of Todds lathes and it was very nice. I owned the Professional version but had to sell due to moving. That lathe showed me that I really only need a lathe for doing minor shaft work, tips, ferrules, shaft cleaning, etc.. For the money I felt that Bassel was a better buy and it appears they both use the same parts. I guess I couldnt see where I could go wrong. Bassel has assured me that all issues with the Basic Repair lathe have been fixed and I feel he would make things right if there was an issue.

For a 48" Bed, 2 Steady Rests, 1.4 Big Bore Head Stock, 1/3 Motor I paid $850 shipped. I thought that was a great deal.
 
plshrk22 said:
Alright well I decided to go ahead and give Bassel a try. I have owned one of Todds lathes and it was very nice. I owned the Professional version but had to sell due to moving. That lathe showed me that I really only need a lathe for doing minor shaft work, tips, ferrules, shaft cleaning, etc.. For the money I felt that Bassel was a better buy and it appears they both use the same parts. I guess I couldnt see where I could go wrong. Bassel has assured me that all issues with the Basic Repair lathe have been fixed and I feel he would make things right if there was an issue.

For a 48" Bed, 2 Steady Rests, 1.4 Big Bore Head Stock, 1/3 Motor I paid $850 shipped. I thought that was a great deal.
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I have 2 of Bassel's lathes, a repair lathe and cue building lathe. Both work great. Bassel provides great support to go along with them.

Richard
 
Hidy Ho said:
I have owned both Todd's and Hightower lathes. For a simple repair lathe, I'd probably recommend Todd's lathe. For a "big" lathe and potentially making cues, I'd recommend Hightower's Deluxe for taper bar attachment.

I have also bought accessories from above both gentlemen ... great communicators, very timely shipping .. just overall great customer service before and after the purchase.

I have wanted to buy accessories from Bassel ... initially around 1K worth of stuff (wide carriage, DC motors, other stuff, and etc) and then probably another 1K to 1.5K worth of stuff later. He seemed to has GREAT prices and is a very nice guy on the phone.

Problem is that I have yet to get anything from him after starting a dialogue around mid-May. Few times, I had to chase him down via PM, emails and phone calls which resulted in more action items on his part (let me know when items are in stock, send me PayPal invoice and etc). He was always nice on the phone but have not followed through on his end to complete the transactions. He might be busy but so am I. I haven't followed up in over a month and neither has he.

I'm fairly confident that while I'd have a paid a bit more to Todd or Chris, they would follow through to complete open transactions and they will provide great after sales support. Unfortunately, I don't have same experience with Bassel to provide a feedback. I probably wouldn't recommend Bassel for anything he doesn't have in stock, ready to be shipped at the moment.

That has been my experience and opinion.
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Ho
It seem like we had a misunderstanding, after our last conversation, I was waiting on you to pay for the sanding mandrels only as a deposit and the rest prior to shipping, and since you never did send the $225. After 2 phone conversation, and both times I said I would get your order together if the mandrels are paid for upfront, since they are specifically made for you, I would not make anyone's mandrels if it's not paid for. Regardless, if you still need parts, I would be more than happy to make the parts you wanted, just call me or email me.
Best regards
PS: the mandrels are finally done unfortunately the prices no longer $225, it's $305, due to having the first batch ruined by a stupid grinding shop, but since we had a misunderstanding, I will still honer the original quoted price, onetime only deal
Best regards
Bassel
 
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