Cue Taper (for my Pal Joey)

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QUOTE=JoeyA]How difficult is it to put a precise, but unique taper on a cue?

There are some cue makers who offer different tapers that you can order for your custom cue.

But do companies like OB1 or Predator provide custom tapers to their customers? Is it difficult (expensive) to provide a custom taper for a particular shaft?

I am getting to the point now where I am ready to just crank up the drill, buy lots of fine grit sand paper and whittle away on my shafts a little at a time, using the digital caliper to obtain the exact taper I am looking for. I have had local cue repair places do mediocre work and I have had regional cue makers do lengthy (time wise) taper work.

Does anyone provide a service that you could specify the EXACT taper and it could be provided for by using lathes/CNC/computerized equipment that would uniformly take the taper down to the precise dimensions you request at a reasonable cost money wise and time wise?

For example at the ferrule and every 1 inch afterward:
12.50, 12.50, 12.50, 12.50, 12.52, 12.52, 12.53, 12.53, 12.54, 12.54, 12.56, 12.56, 12.58, 12.58, 12.60, 12.60m, then a gradual cone shape increase to the diameter of the shaft at the collar. I guess I am just wondering if the precision is technically available to do this type of tapering automatically & economically instead of hand checking the taper every 30 seconds of sanding on a lathe.

JoeyA[/QUOTE]
 
Cnc

Joey,

Technically this is child's play for someone with a CNC driven tapering machine. I say "technically" because in truth the operator has to know the fudge factor for his machine and the type of shaft he is cutting. If the shaft was extremely rigid like a hard steel bar simply drawing a picture, converting it to code and adding a few commands would get the job done. In the real world it takes a bit more work than that and there is still usually going to be some activity with the sandpaper especially in the area closer to midway between the ferule and joint.

Cutting something as limber as a cue shaft that precisely is still as much art as science, if someone checks behind your work!

Hu
 
Actually, this may sound easy but is extremely difficult to do. He's talking about 1/10 mm over a 16 inch length. This is only .004 ths. which comes down to .002 ths per side. The way he described doing it is the way it has to be done. By hand with fine sand paper and then it would be tough. One swipe with 320 grit could easily take of more than that.

Dick
 
rhncue said:
Actually, this may sound easy but is extremely difficult to do. He's talking about 1/10 mm over a 16 inch length. This is only .004 ths. which comes down to .002 ths per side. The way he described doing it is the way it has to be done. By hand with fine sand paper and then it would be tough. One swipe with 320 grit could easily take of more than that.

Dick
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I am thinking that I might purchase several sheets of 600-1000 grit and be resigned to spend an hour working on it by hand. I can be patient when I want something. :-)

Dick, what is the downside to using an electric drill and sanding by hand besides discomfort?

Thanks,
JoeyA
 
Cost??????

Dick and Hu, what would be the cost difference in just building another shaft to Joey's specs, versus retapering/sanding the existing shaft?

Jeffery
 
JoeyA said:
I am thinking that I might purchase several sheets of 600-1000 grit and be resigned to spend an hour working on it by hand. I can be patient when I want something. :-)

Dick, what is the downside to using an electric drill and sanding by hand besides discomfort?

Thanks,
JoeyA
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I don't think there is a down side to using a drill as a lathe. In this way material is removed completely around the shaft instead of more or less on just two sides. Just got to use fine abrasives so that you are polishing away, more than sanding, when trying to remove so little material as it would be easy to remove to much and once gone, it can not be replaced.

Dick
 
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s'portplayer said:
Dick and Hu, what would be the cost difference in just building another shaft to Joey's specs, versus retapering/sanding the existing shaft?

Jeffery
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It's a Bender shaft (unique threaded collar). Bender is the only one who has the machined thread.

Eventually I will have Mike Bender make an OB 1 shaft for my new Bender cue as soon as I have settled in with it.

At some time in the future, I will decide on PERMANENTLY using a low deflection shaft or a regular maple shaft with particular taper.
thanks,
JoeyA
 
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I prefer building

s'portplayer said:
Dick and Hu, what would be the cost difference in just building another shaft to Joey's specs, versus retapering/sanding the existing shaft?

Jeffery
Click to expand...


As Joey mentions he has an odd joint that I haven't gotten around to measuring to see what it is. I can draw any thread and have them cut by a NC shop if none of the handful of metal lathes available to me can cut that thread.

However, to respond to your question, I am cutting a shaft for someone right now rather than doing a tricky retaper on their original shaft. It is an old shaft and I would almost certainly get an egg shaped section or two if I used my machine to retaper it. This is a very thin shaft now and they want it still thinner.

Another issue is burnishing when making very fine changes to the shaft. Areas that have been burnished many times in the past are stable and will shrink very little. Newly cut wood will shrink quite a bit more when burnishing. It is far easier to deal with tiny taper changes when all of the wood is fresh cut instead of having to blend newly cut wood into areas of pro taper that are remaining unchanged.

Hu
 
Thanks Hu

Thanks alot for the answer Hu. Look forward to eating at the baitshop next time I'm down that way. How's business going?
 
Bowling Alley Wood Planks/shafts

I really appreciate the suggestions everyone has made.


If I may ask one more additional question:

Does anyone know of anyone who is sitting on some old bowling alley wood blanks that they use for making shafts?

Has anyone ever used a shaft made from the old bowling alley lanes? (ok that was two more) :-)

Thanks,
JoeyA
 
Joey, if you decide not to change the Bender shaft in favor of a new one, and want to unload it, let me know!
:p
 
Things are normal

s'portplayer said:
Thanks alot for the answer Hu. Look forward to eating at the baitshop next time I'm down that way. How's business going?
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The business is pretty normal for any of mine. Mostly staying too busy with spots of dead slack when I have to look for trouble to get into. Fortunately I don't have to look far, always a lot of stuff needing doing around the shop when someone isn't waiting on a job out.

Hit the bait shop recently. Killer po-boys!

Hu
 
JoeyA said:
I really appreciate the suggestions everyone has made.


If I may ask one more additional question:

Does anyone know of anyone who is sitting on some old bowling alley wood blanks that they use for making shafts?

Has anyone ever used a shaft made from the old bowling alley lanes? (ok that was two more) :-)

Thanks,
JoeyA
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Get a hold of Linds at EPT. I saw him dismantling a lane in his shop a year ago.
 
bandido said:
Get a hold of Linds at EPT. I saw him dismantling a lane in his shop a year ago.
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???????????????????????

LINDS?????????????

EPT??????????????

Give it up bandido. I don't know how to get in touch with either.
JoeyA
 
JoeyA said:
???????????????????????

LINDS?????????????

EPT??????????????

Give it up bandido. I don't know how to get in touch with either.
JoeyA
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Forum member LINDS of Linds Cues at www.easypooltutor.com continually searches and purchases used bowling alleys. I can get a couple for you and cnc taper it to your spec as all my high-end request are all ordered with the per inch taper spec supplied. I also have developed, together with a Filipino pro and test played by other Filipino pros, a new ferrule/ shaft combo that's close to your spec and really low deflection. Kind of surprised me to see your spec.
 
One thing you have to remember, is that if you like the way a cue plays, but don't like the taper, the cue will play differently if you change the taper.

I have run into this many times. A customer likes the way the OB-1 plays, but asks for it to be tapered completely different. I always decline initially. The expectation is that the cue shaft will play the same even though it is tapered differently, and that never happens.

I do offer a few different tapers to accomodate most requests, but I will not put an untested taper on an OB-1 cue shaft.

As far as an OB-1 for a Bender, I can cut that thread. I would need to know the joint diameter though.


Royce Bunnell
www.obcues.com
 
bandido said:
Forum member LINDS of Linds Cues at www.easypooltutor.com continually searches and purchases used bowling alleys. I can get a couple for you and cnc taper it to your spec as all my high-end request are all ordered with the per inch taper spec supplied. I also have developed, together with a Filipino pro and test played by other Filipino pros, a new ferrule/ shaft combo that's close to your spec and really low deflection. Kind of surprised me to see your spec.
Click to expand...

You must read all of my posts. You must know my hot buttons. You must know I am a sucker for the holy grail in pool equipment. :D

Please check your PM.

When is your new ferrule/shaft combo going to be available?

What is your opinion of the bowling alley blanks? Have you used them?


Thanks,
Joey
 
RBC said:
One thing you have to remember, is that if you like the way a cue plays, but don't like the taper, the cue will play differently if you change the taper.

I have run into this many times. A customer likes the way the OB-1 plays, but asks for it to be tapered completely different. I always decline initially. The expectation is that the cue shaft will play the same even though it is tapered differently, and that never happens.

I do offer a few different tapers to accomodate most requests, but I will not put an untested taper on an OB-1 cue shaft.

As far as an OB-1 for a Bender, I can cut that thread. I would need to know the joint diameter though.


Royce Bunnell
www.obcues.com
Click to expand...

I test really well ............and so does John Schmidt.
(He liked my OB-1) :)

I will measure the Bender joint with some digital calipers and have that info soon.

Thanks,
Joey A
 
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