Cue lathes what to expect and how much

brianna187 · 2009-11-08T15:27:48+00:00

There many poeple out there looking for a "cue lathe" we can break that down to 3 catagories 1) sanding lathe holds A butT or shaft. this is the cheapest type lathe and where most popele start this can do sanding cleaning shafts and maybe linen wraps. this cant do tips,ferules,install pins, install joints or butt caps. UNDER $400.00 2) A tip lathe does tips,ferules, and cleaning. This is usally the next step and allows you to put the tip end only of a cue thru some sort of chuck allowing you do tip work usally these dont hold a full butt or shaft but some do like Chris Hightowers,these usally dont take a shaft at the bigger end. $400 TO $1500.00 RANGE 3) What I call a cue lathe will fit a cue butt or shaft there a few of these style machines to choose from and this is the last step before buying a full blown metal lathe these will do tips ,ferules ,pins, butt caps, and make sneaky petes, in some cases also tapper and cut points. $1500.00 TO $4500.00 I get many calls on lathes poeple wanting to get in the cue business be it repair or cue building.Most of the time these enrty level buyers are on a shoe string budget,some wanting to get lathes for $300.00 we all no this cant happen a sanding lathe yes you can do this but your very limited in what you can do. You have grizzly small lathe $399.00 to $500.00 these allow tip and ferule work but they dont allow you to don a full but or shaft without adding a bed extension and for most thats not an easy task by the time you do that and buy all the extras like chucks live centers and all the other goodies there is more money spent and most of the time these items dont fit back and forth so theres more customizing . What I am getting at is for the lower budget theres no perfect answer. I think when getting started you should first set a goal of what type of work you want to do,then match up a machine that will do the job. This is just my opinion but look to spend $1000.00 to $3000.00 depending on what you want to do. Remember one thing no machine does everything, and does it perfect. all machines take time and practice to get things dialed in. Remember every time you do something you learn, and next time its better. There also many great videos and a few books on cue making I recomend Chris hightowers book as the first step maybe even before buying a machine read learn and study with the internet and all the forums theres a wealth of knowledge out there. GOOD LUCK I WOULD ANY FEEBACK OR QUESTIONS ANY ONE WOULD HAVE....