Full Size Metal Lathe Recommendation

D

DeeDeeCues

Well-known member
dendweller said:
If you're looking for something to do while you wait for that lathe maybe you could decide what joint pin you're planning on using. Then you can figure out what taps and drill bits you need. If you're going to use weight, that's another drill bit and tap, probably long ones. I don't build cues, I work on my own stuff and it's amazing how much stuff I've bought and I stick to one joint pin and one type of weight.
If you're going to want to use thread on ferrules you'll need a compression die and a tap for that.

And given you're going to be waiting you can order a lot of this stuff from cuefits on ebay, takes a while to get from china but it's a pretty inexpensive way to get them, and you have the time.
Click to expand...

Also boring bars, quick change tool holder, a good drill chuck, parting tools, etc.. You'll need a way to cut wood to length, initial turning from square to round. I'd suggest buying another lathe for initial turning.

The mid America lathe is okay for working on the ends of cues, but I wouldn't want to try to build a full cue on it. If I were going to attempt it, I'd buy a second carriage and modify it to run on a taper bar.
 
D

dendweller

Well-known member
DeeDeeCues said:
Also boring bars, quick change tool holder, a good drill chuck, parting tools, etc.. You'll need a way to cut wood to length, initial turning from square to round. I'd suggest buying another lathe for initial turning.

The mid America lathe is okay for working on the ends of cues, but I wouldn't want to try to build a full cue on it. If I were going to attempt it, I'd buy a second carriage and modify it to run on a taper bar.
Click to expand...
And maybe before you buy most of that, get a house cue and make it two piece and make it play like you like a cue to play, what ever that takes.
If your still want to go forward, then buy the above.
 
Last edited:
kling&allen

kling&allen

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
MoscowSlims said:
soooo any recommendations on my above post??
Click to expand...

I have the exact lathe. It's great to learn on. Eventually you will want to get a quick change tool post. Buy the real one from little machine shop and not the Amazon fakes.

I eventually upgraded the motor to one of the brushless chinese sewing machine ones for better torque and speed control.

I have a taper bar for tapering, but added steppers to my crossslide that can do the same thing via GRBL.

I suggest a cheap DRO. Any Taig ones will work, this one has served me well (or make your own).

www.ebay.com

Taig Peatool Micro Mini Mill Lathe DRO Digital Read Out Cross Slide | eBay

A nice setup that does not get in the way of normal usage. Takes a minute or two to install. Even the Allens are Taig SAE-sized. Mounts into the Taig T-Slots. Removes just as fast if you need to disassemble your lathe for maintenance.
www.ebay.com

Because of incredible flex in the Taig tailstock, most people bore their holes instead of drilling to size. Check out cuesmith.com for mini boring bars.

I like to use pin gauges, but you'll need to decide how you want to measure stuff including hole diameter.

There's a new cue builders group on Facebook that you should check out, as it has lots of posts about this lathe.

Buy some cheap wood to learn on. You'll have lots of kindling for campfires in the coming year(s).
 
S

Ssonerai

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
That said, I will fully admit that I am in the process of converting the cut machine I designed and made to cnc. I'm mostly doing this to learn more about cnc.
Click to expand...

I'm envious.
Don't seem to be that smart, but would love to try.....after all the other projects. :)

In response to the OP, I have multiple metal lathes but taper and shape blanks on a metal planer because it is fairly fast and fool-proof especially starting with squares..
Not that i am an overly prolific builder.
Also know at least one guy that set up for production - the go-to method used to be converting table saw with an automatic carriage, carrying centers to mount the blank, and a taper bar.

What people are trying to tell you is visualize the work you want to do, then tool up for that process. Not necessarily what everyone else imagines when they see cuemakers and decide to take a crack at it. (I'm not saying that disparagingly. we all more or less started there) But you have to open up you mind about the multiple methods to accomplish a given task, and the tools you can build to attain it.

smt
 
D

DeeDeeCues

Well-known member
Ssonerai said:
I'm envious.
Don't seem to be that smart, but would love to try.....after all the other projects. :)

In response to the OP, I have multiple metal lathes but taper and shape blanks on a metal planer because it is fairly fast and fool-proof especially starting with squares..
Not that i am an overly prolific builder.
Also know at least one guy that set up for production - the go-to method used to be converting table saw with an automatic carriage, carrying centers to mount the blank, and a taper bar.

What people are trying to tell you is visualize the work you want to do, then tool up for that process. Not necessarily what everyone else imagines when they see cuemakers and decide to take a crack at it. (I'm not saying that disparagingly. we all more or less started there) But you have to open up you mind about the multiple methods to accomplish a given task, and the tools you can build to attain it.

smt
Click to expand...

Thanks. I had a pretty big jumpstart on the cnc thing. I was fortunate enough to start my career designing CNC machines. The mechanical side is second nature at this point.

I know all about having to many projects....
 
S

Ssonerai

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The mechanical side is second nature at this point.
Click to expand...

I'm all about mechanical.
But stuck still doing cams and gears for logic, sometimes some light pneumatic control....

It's the whole electrons thing. :)
 
D

DeeDeeCues

Well-known member
Ssonerai said:
I'm all about mechanical.
But stuck still doing cams and gears for logic, sometimes some light pneumatic control....

It's the whole electrons thing. :)
Click to expand...

I hear you. Fortunately I talked to a lot of electrical engineers when I was doing design and learned some things.

Seeing things you have made is always outstanding.
 
P

PracticeChampion

Well-known member
dendweller said:
If you want to get some ideas you might look around at accessories on midAmerica and Cueman Billiards.

Far as a lathe goes, midAmerica is a nice lathe but there are no taper bars or cnc so no way to set up a repeatable shaft taper. Cueman has a turnkey solution that has taper bars and a leadscrew instead of a gear rack if you want to pay for it.

Unique products has all the machines you need including cnc etc. You've probably seen that site given that's who made your repair lathe.

All depends on where you want to start and how much you want to spend.
Click to expand...
Been thinking about this... I wonder if you could put a cueman carriage on a mid America and then use his taper bar system
 
P

PracticeChampion

Well-known member
Edge technology for tail stock centering, can zero it out in about 3-5 mins.

That said I have an Xtra tailstock that I keep set for my preferred taper on butts

Center drill bits and a center finder
 
kling&allen

kling&allen

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
PracticeChampion said:
Been thinking about this... I wonder if you could put a cueman carriage on a mid America and then use his taper bar system
Click to expand...

You don't even need to replace the entire cross slide/carriage, just modify the top slide with the spring/roller attachment. The vertical alignment is different on the midamerica.
 
T

tg_vegas

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
You can also do a liittle mix and match to put together what you need. I have the 70" cuesmith bed with a Mid-America large bore four chuck headstock, tailstock, and steady rests. The 70" bed allows me the ability to work on one-piece cues. I also have the cuesmith router/tapering setup with power feed. Despite a previous comment, once you get the taperbar setup the way you like it, repeatable tapers are NOT difficult on this combo. If you are just getting started, both MA and CS have fairly complete packages put together that at least gets you the basics.

The little stuff adds up fast as well. Dies, parts, taps, wood inventory, tips, ferrules, pins and inserts, stains and coatings, epoxy, ventilation, dust and chip collection, etc.
 
T

tg_vegas

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
PracticeChampion said:
Haven't seen a cueman in awhile, any chance you got a picture of the way it works
Click to expand...

The taper bar has a straight bar on the bottom which can be set to whatever fixed taper you would want. So if you wanted to do a straight conical taper, you would set the bearing to run on the bottom of the taper bar. The black delrin bar on top is flexible, allowing you to do custom tapers. So if for instance you want what is often referred to as a "pro-taper", you can set the profile on the black bar that you want, and lock the bearing to run on the upper bar instead. The slide is compound in that there are two upper slides. One holds the router, and the other is spring loaded to hold the bearing onto the bar. As the slide package moves up and down the bed, the bearing will determine the router position.

It did require riser blocks under my headstock and tailstock but they came with the package. You can see the riser under the gold colored headstock for example.



Router Mounted 2a.jpg
adsf
 
kling&allen

kling&allen

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
tg_vegas said:
The taper bar has a straight bar on the bottom which can be set to whatever fixed taper you would want. So if you wanted to do a straight conical taper, you would set the bearing to run on the bottom of the taper bar. The black delrin bar on top is flexible, allowing you to do custom tapers. So if for instance you want what is often referred to as a "pro-taper", you can set the profile on the black bar that you want, and lock the bearing to run on the upper bar instead. The slide is compound in that there are two upper slides. One holds the router, and the other is spring loaded to hold the bearing onto the bar. As the slide package moves up and down the bed, the bearing will determine the router position.

It did require riser blocks under my headstock and tailstock but they came with the package. You can see the riser under the gold colored headstock for example.



View attachment 701857adsf
Click to expand...

Here's the spring-loaded lower part of the top slide.

1685398281874.png


1685398306077.png
 
DaveK

DaveK

Still crazy after all these years
Silver Member
MoscowSlims said:
I have experience working on a watchmakers/jewelers lathe. My father taught me, as he is an experienced watchmaker thats worked for quality companies like Tiffany's and Cartier. But these lathes are very different and a fraction of the size of cue lathes.
Click to expand...

Cool. I am not a cuemaker, but have a few lathes (largest now an ML7, large enough for jump cue butts) ... and speaking of fractional sizes and watchmakers here is my latest (#6) :

turns.jpg


Sorry for the distraction, please carry on :)

Dave
 
P

PracticeChampion

Well-known member
tg_vegas said:
The taper bar has a straight bar on the bottom which can be set to whatever fixed taper you would want. So if you wanted to do a straight conical taper, you would set the bearing to run on the bottom of the taper bar. The black delrin bar on top is flexible, allowing you to do custom tapers. So if for instance you want what is often referred to as a "pro-taper", you can set the profile on the black bar that you want, and lock the bearing to run on the upper bar instead. The slide is compound in that there are two upper slides. One holds the router, and the other is spring loaded to hold the bearing onto the bar. As the slide package moves up and down the bed, the bearing will determine the router position.

It did require riser blocks under my headstock and tailstock but they came with the package. You can see the riser under the gold colored headstock for example.



View attachment 701857adsf
Click to expand...
Awesome.... Gears are turning 🤔

Minus the taper bar and mines all mid-america I have the same set-up
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top