Cue Smith Cue Lathes vs Todd's AKA "tsp&b" lathes

slimsam2k

slimsam2k

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi guys and cue smiths

I'm interested in buying a nice cue repair lathe for my personal use at home and for some of my friends, I'm new at this but I bought a few instructional DVDs to help me start, I need something durable and easy to use. I also dont want to keep buying more and more stuff in the future to tweek up or improve the lathe as I get more skilled at it, So I want to buy everything I need now and may need in the future all at once, especially that I want to ship it to my country outside the USA.

After i searched arround the forum I found most people recomend either Todd's AKA "tsp&b" lathes:

Basic "beginner"... Good http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=173278

Basic w/4 ft bed... Better http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=190562

Professional… http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=196700

OR

Cue Smith Cue Lathes:

http://www.cuesmith.com/index.php?me...age=cue_lathes


I want to ask the guys with more experience which one would they prefer, all things considered ofcourse.

If anyone has other suggestions I'm all ears
 
Imho I have used other cue building/ repair lathes and the cuesmith deluxe is the best time tested, easily expandable, ready to go out of the box lathe. You can do repairs, cut points, taper fronts/ handles, taper shafts etc etc so on so forth ad nausium.

If you call Chris he is Very helpful and can make sure you have what you need to do what you want to do now or in the future.

The other lathes can do a good job, but for the money and the best test, time, the deluxe cuesmith IMHO is your best bet.:grin:
 
slimsam2k said:
Hi guys and cue smiths

I'm interested in buying a nice cue repair lathe for my personal use at home and for some of my friends, I'm new at this but I bought a few instructional DVDs to help me start, I need something durable and easy to use. I also dont want to keep buying more and more stuff in the future to tweek up or improve the lathe as I get more skilled at it, So I want to buy everything I need now and may need in the future all at once, especially that I want to ship it to my country outside the USA.

After i searched arround the forum I found most people recomend either Todd's AKA "tsp&b" lathes:

Basic "beginner"... Good http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=173278

Basic w/4 ft bed... Better http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=190562

Professional… http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=196700

OR

Cue Smith Cue Lathes:

http://www.cuesmith.com/index.php?me...age=cue_lathes


I want to ask the guys with more experience which one would they prefer, all things considered ofcourse.

If anyone has other suggestions I'm all ears
Click to expand...

Hightower all the way..
 
If you were just going to repair, you would be ok with Todd's, but if you wanted all the options with the ability to make cues, you want the Hightower Deluxe. It's a no brainer. What also makes these guys very highly desirable is their customer service after the sale. They are both super guys, and either way, you will be happy. I have bought from both of them.
 
SK Custom Cues said:
If you were just going to repair, you would be ok with Todd's, but if you wanted all the options with the ability to make cues, you want the Hightower Deluxe. It's a no brainer. What also makes these guys very highly desirable is their customer service after the sale. They are both super guys, and either way, you will be happy. I have bought from both of them.
Click to expand...

Thanks alot
which one of chris's lathes is comparable to this Professional… http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=196700
 
I don't want to comment on this because I know it will be partially accurate. You would save time asking this question and any others by going directly to both Todd and Chris. Both of them are members and are very easy to deal with. As far as saving money, they will both be about the same and are both good buys. If you buy from either, and decide later down the road you don't want it, it won't be hard to resell and get nearly all of your money back, as both have a great reputation and their product is always in high demand.

Your time would best be spent educating yourself with knowledge. Only then will you know what to get. The real knowledge comes when you get what you wanted and actually start DOING.

Good Luck,

SK
 
lathe

I have only had my Cue Smith lathe for 4 months and I am still learning how to use it and how to build cues.

I haven't found anything that I can't do with it.

Kim
 
Cuesmith lathe

I own the Cuesmith Deluxe and I am very happy with the lathe and with the customer service that Chris provides. I have also heard good things about Todd's lathe's and I have even considered one of his lathes as a second lathe for certain tasks or for doing tournaments.

I think one of the biggest things to consider is whether you want to just do repairs or whether you would like to build some cues in the future.

If you decided you would like to try your hand at building cues, then Cuesmith Deluxe would be my recommendation hands down. Chris has a great cue building lathe and instructional videos and a book that can all be helpful as you get started.

If you are mainly just doing repairs, then maybe a Cuesmith Midsize or one of Todd's lathes would be best since they would be a little smaller and more portable in case you do tournaments or anything.

dakota
 
SK Custom Cues said:
If you were just going to repair, you would be ok with Todd's, but if you wanted all the options with the ability to make cues, you want the Hightower Deluxe. It's a no brainer. What also makes these guys very highly desirable is their customer service after the sale. They are both super guys, and either way, you will be happy. I have bought from both of them.
Click to expand...

I use Todd's lathe to build cues and it works great! :smile:
 
Last edited:
dakota said:
I own the Cuesmith Deluxe and I am very happy with the lathe and with the customer service that Chris provides. I have also heard good things about Todd's lathe's and I have even considered one of his lathes as a second lathe for certain tasks or for doing tournaments.

I think one of the biggest things to consider is whether you want to just do repairs or whether you would like to build some cues in the future.

If you decided you would like to try your hand at building cues, then Cuesmith Deluxe would be my recommendation hands down. Chris has a great cue building lathe and instructional videos and a book that can all be helpful as you get started.

If you are mainly just doing repairs, then maybe a Cuesmith Midsize or one of Todd's lathes would be best since they would be a little smaller and more portable in case you do tournaments or anything.

dakota
Click to expand...

Thanks alot dakota, do u think tht Cusmith's mid is similar to Todds Pro lathe?
 
comparison

In terms of just doing repairs, then I would say that the cuesmith mid size is probably the most comparable to Todd's lathe. If you contact Chris, he will be a great source for information and answering questions. He has been supplying people with repair and cue building lathes for years and his customer service is top notch.

I have also heard good things about Todd and his customer service, but cannot give you first hand knowledge the way I can with Chris.

Chris will certainly go above and beyond to help out his customers. Recently I was preparing to go and do repairs at one of my first tournaments and of course murphy's law kicked in and suddenly my lathe wouldn't turn on (2 days before the tourney). I called Chris and after about 15 minutes on the phone we had things torn apart and determined that a switch had gone bad from dust build up or something. After letting him know about the tournament, Chris went above and beyond and stayed with me on the phone for probably about 1/2 hour until I had the switch hot wired and at least had an option to help me complete the tourney that I had committed to do. He even went a step further and explained an option of using motor from my power feed in the event that i had any problem with that switch at the tournament.

Parts break and by no means did Chris need to go this extra mile, but that is the reason I will gladly buy from him over and over again. Every time I have called with anything that I need or any questions that I had, he always took the time away from whatever he was doing to help me out. I'm sure someone is waiting a little longer for one of his cues because of the time he has taken when I needed his help.. :eek:

Cuesmith is a top notch machine, but more importantly you get some of the very best customer service you could ever ask for.

Spencer

slimsam2k said:
Thanks alot dakota, do u think tht Cusmith's mid is similar to Todds Pro lathe?
Click to expand...
 
dakota said:
In terms of just doing repairs, then I would say that the cuesmith mid size is probably the most comparable to Todd's lathe. If you contact Chris, he will be a great source for information and answering questions. He has been supplying people with repair and cue building lathes for years and his customer service is top notch.

I have also heard good things about Todd and his customer service, but cannot give you first hand knowledge the way I can with Chris.

Chris will certainly go above and beyond to help out his customers. Recently I was preparing to go and do repairs at one of my first tournaments and of course murphy's law kicked in and suddenly my lathe wouldn't turn on (2 days before the tourney). I called Chris and after about 15 minutes on the phone we had things torn apart and determined that a switch had gone bad from dust build up or something. After letting him know about the tournament, Chris went above and beyond and stayed with me on the phone for probably about 1/2 hour until I had the switch hot wired and at least had an option to help me complete the tourney that I had committed to do. He even went a step further and explained an option of using motor from my power feed in the event that i had any problem with that switch at the tournament.

Parts break and by no means did Chris need to go this extra mile, but that is the reason I will gladly buy from him over and over again. Every time I have called with anything that I need or any questions that I had, he always took the time away from whatever he was doing to help me out. I'm sure someone is waiting a little longer for one of his cues because of the time he has taken when I needed his help.. :eek:

Cuesmith is a top notch machine, but more importantly you get some of the very best customer service you could ever ask for.

Spencer
Click to expand...

I agree with Spenc, Customer Service is very crucial when deciding to buy a lathe, I have heard superb things about Chris and I'm sure he an A++++++ guy.

Thanks alot for all the info.

Abdullah
 
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