Cue smith vs. standard wood lathe?

[motryeuei]

Anyone using a wood lathe like a delta or a cue smith? Advantages of a cue smith? Any advice from experienced users?

 

[muskyed]

Wood lathes don't have cross slides, also have a very small through bore, even the big ones, also no gear drive. I have a small Jet wood lathe, and also a top of the line Robust with a 25" swing and 3hp motor. The handwheel on the back end of the spindle has a hole less than 1/2" diameter. It is threaded and I screw my vacuum chuck air hose in there.
I also have a small bore Mid America cue lathe and just got a large bore Mid America cue lathe.
Cue lathes and wood lathes are two totally different animals. Cue lathes in some respects more resemble a machinest lathe.
My Mid America small bore cue lathe will be for sale shortly, $100's less than new, plus shipping, but no tax. Or could be picked up for no shipping.

 

[chuckpilegis]

When I had one , a wood lathe was only good for cleaning and polishing shafts

 

[slim123]

Anyone using a wood lathe like a delta or a cue smith? Advantages of a cue smith? Any advice from experienced users?

No, that was long ago, and i used my pocket knife, worked really well.
I went down the rabbit hole a long time ago, but it becomes an addiction. along like playing the game. The further you go the more you want to know then , you find a new plateau , above the previous one. better equipment costs more to own, more to operate . If the demand is up, the tool and wood prices climb

Join the rest of us, and, find that silly Rabbit that said this is a money making hobby

We are here because we love it

 

[kling&allen]

Anyone using a wood lathe like a delta or a cue smith? Advantages of a cue smith? Any advice from experienced users?

Cuesmith.com has an excellent book that many of us on here will recommend. It gives a good overview of the equipment.

I have a full size wood lathe for woodworking projects but, even with very good steady rests, you will struggle to accurately drill/bore holes and get good concentricity throughout the workpiece. It’s possible of course, but not easy. I made a few simple cues on mine before I bought a mid America. Even Rambow used a large bore headstock 110 years ago for good reason.

If I had time, room and money, I would have many lathes and CNCs for tapering, joint work, and finishing.

 

[muskyed]

I did just get my new large bore Mid America lathe setup with a quick release tool post and cross slide and headstock dial indicator setups. I also ordered a power drive router setup for it.
My wife is starting to question my ordering and I just smile, thankfully she just smiles back. In fact the only thing she asked was if I now could help out the couple bars we play pool at by our summerhouse, with their cues, and I said no problem. All was good then.
My Mid America basic repair lathe is now for sale for a fantastic price in the for sale forum.

 

[kling&allen]

I did just get my new large bore Mid America lathe setup with a quick release tool post and cross slide and headstock dial indicator setups. I also ordered a power drive router setup for it.
My wife is starting to question my ordering and I just smile, thankfully she just smiles back. In fact the only thing she asked was if I now could help out the couple bars we play pool at by our summerhouse, with their cues, and I said no problem. All was good then.
My Mid America basic repair lathe is now for sale for a fantastic price in the for sale forum.View attachment 723421View attachment 723422

I like the indicator mount on your cross slide, did you make that yourself?

 

[muskyed]

Yes I did, was quite simple actually. I had a couple of cheap dial indicators laying around and just used them. SSDiver sent me some ideas and pictures on his and I just went from there with what I had available laying around.
I did the cross slide piece with some aluminum angle for the back piece and mounted the dial indicator with one side of the angle. Just drilled and tapped a 1/4" mounting hole in the cross slide to mount the dial, and the back piece the indicator reads off, just mounts with a #10-24 screw and nut. The nut slides perfectly in the slot. I may look for a 10-24 thumb screw for that, so I don't need a screwdriver.
The dial mounted to the motor assembly, I just used a magnetic base setup I had laying around and eliminated the base. I took a piece of 1/4" aluminum and mounted it to that. It was really simple

 

[muskyed]

Just added a travel guage, about $16 and scrap aluminum I had laying around. Guage is mounted to a piece of aluminum about 10" long that clamps to the wood base when needed, otherwise is out of the way.