Cue Lathe Question - Birmingham 1440

galipeau

galipeau

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hello All,

I've been offered a lathe that's set up for cuemaking at what seems to be a decent price. I have done some research and heard both good and bad reviews on these. I'm wondering is anyone here has any experience with this type of lathe.

It's a Model CT-1440G set up with a router and it has two taper bars mounted on the lathe. It also has the rear chuck on the head stock. It looks like the guy has some tooling with it but I'm mainly looking at the lathe if it's in good shape.

Please let me know if you have an idea on value (assuming it's in working shape). Also any advice you all might have in regards to things to look for before purchasing and/or things to keep in mind for transporting the lathe. It's located about an hour away from me.

Thanks!

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First, it's the old model that was made in Taiwan. That's a huge plus over the China crap now that I wouldn't even bother checking.
You'd have to check it for wear. Tapering on big lathes for years and years can wear the gears, lead screw, bed and gibs and half-nut etc..
I'd check the spindle to make sure it's polished/true and not worn out or heavily damaged. Some metal workers leave rods flopping in there.
Take a machinist's level and straight edge to check the bed for consistency.
Fire the machine up on auto feed and also thread gear engaged and check for noise and wear.
If the owner is selling it because he's quitting or retiring, that's good.
If he's selling to get another lathe, I'd be leery .
 
Looks familiar. Was that owned/used by a "Tod" by any chance?

Only guessing what what a "decent price" might be, I would think it a solid buy if there are no serious issues with it.
 
Thanks for the tips joey, I think the seller just needs it gone do to space restrictions. I don't think it's been used in a while. Apparently the lathe was set up by Grant Wilcox and/or Bill Teeter. I am acquainted with Billy, and I have been to his shop before, so he's a good guy in my book.

MVP, the owner isn't named Tod. I know I'll be able to snag it for at least 1500 and I might be able to haggle a bit more. But again, I haven't see it in person.
 
Not a cuemaker, but I like tools:)

As long as it runs well, and the price is right, I'd go for it.

You have to consider how much it would cost to convert a standard metal lathe into a cue lathe. This lathe has the taper bars, and the router mount. Whoever did the router mount, looked to have done a good job. It looks very stout. The router looks to me like its the old rack and pinion dewalt router from the 90s (a good router). The micrometer in the wood block from the casting looks like its a Starrett, but we can't be sure of that until we see it. The lathe also has a QCTP, probably a knockoff since we can't see the Aloris nameplate anywhere on it. I don't recognize the brand logo on the chuck, but its a standard scroll chuck, not a set-true type.

If there is a lot of bed wear, it most likely will be along the whole length of the bed, since if it was mainly used for taper work, the carriage would have travelled the entire bed on every pass. In lathes that come out of a metal shop, the bed wear is all on the spindle side. Of course, who knows where the lathe was before the cue maker.

A funny thing is the wire hanging out of the name plate and the missing lights/switches. Usually on these imported lathes the electrical components are the things that go. My chinese lathe blew a capacitor in the first year I had it. But, they can be replaced with off the shelf components from MSC.

Taiwan vs China is also a good sign, especially in the time frame this lathe was made (20-30 yrs ago?). Taiwan is considered a step up from China in the manufacturing industry. Today, usually only high precision stuff is made in Taiwan, and commodity stuff in China.

<==== I've been to factories in both...

Maybe check the oil level and the general rust/cleanliness of the ways and the leadscrws. This will at least tell you how careful the owner was with maintaining it.

Good find, I'd go for it unless it didn't run or you find something crazy with it.
 
Do you know Bill Teeter well enough to get an honest assessment from him? He has apparently worked on that lathe, so has first hand knowledge of it. He's in a much better position to evaluate it than anyone here.
My 2 cents,
Gary
 
I don't know his relationship to the owner, so he might be biased one way or another. I could ring him up and ask him what he might know though. I still have to work out the storage space and logistics of moving it before I make any deal though.
 
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