Having shaft diameter reduced - worth researching "the right shop?"

[ShootingArts]

This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Then again, you can grab the shaft at each end of the pro taper section, stabilize the loose end, and turn away half this amount or a bit more then just fine sandpaper to finish. Several options on the tooling used to avoid push off.

What can't be done at 28"-30" is easily done at 14"-16" especially if you aren't trying to put pressure on the shaft using a center on one end.

If a shaft is so badly out of true that flexing it a time or two and grabbing just the pro section in a lathe won't let it run true then the shaft is junk and would probably warp again after turning down. You can sand a crap shaft down but odds are it will warp again, time to start with a new blank,.

 

[Mcues]

It's not that complicated to follow the taper and bring it to 12.75

 

[Renegade_56]

Don't matter how you hold it, you can't turn a shaft just .01.

I have the equipment and tooling to do it. I don't plan to turn a shaft .01. I plan to take half of that off before starting sanding.

Here is a free how to. Grab the pro taper section between two sets of jaws. Go through the chuck and stabilize the loose end. Viola as Smorg used to say.

It is a mistake to think because you can't do something, others can't.

Hu

Word!

 

[Renegade_56]

Then again, you can grab the shaft at each end of the pro taper section, stabilize the loose end, and turn away half this amount or a bit more then just fine sandpaper to finish. Several options on the tooling used to avoid push off.

What can't be done at 28"-30" is easily done at 14"-16" especially if you aren't trying to put pressure on the shaft using a center on one end.

If a shaft is so badly out of true that flexing it a time or two and grabbing just the pro section in a lathe won't let it run true then the shaft is junk and would probably warp again after turning down. You can sand a crap shaft down but odds are it will warp again, time to start with a new blank,.

So you are talking about rigging it to just remove a small amount off the pro taper section, supposedly, and assuming it even is a pro taper. You are just hacking the shaft geometry. Resizing should not change the way the hit feels. That is a rig set up I would never do. If you change the pro taper you also have to change how it blends into the rest of the taper. Do you clamp that between 3 jaws as well?

 

[LC3]

A good point here. To duplicate a shaft I measure at tip, joint, and every two inches in between. Perhaps one inch in areas where a parabolic arc is used. When designing my shaft I found the action of a shaft to be very sensitive to slight changes in this area.

The amount LC3 is wanting removed is on the fifty yard line between cutting then sanding or just sanding. Easy to end up with a shaft that isn't round with the slight taper desired. The shaft needs a measurement in the bridge area before making any changes when I think about it, just cleaning and polishing, normal treatment of a shaft, may have it down to 12.75mm or less in places. I have compressed some shafts more than that with just a very firm polishing. New shafts, not something I do to a customer's.

There is an issue we haven't touched on here since the original conversation was just reducing the bridging area. When talking about duplicating a shaft joint to tip there is a question of ethics in some cue builder's minds. I could have easily copied a quality shaft when I was starting out. I spent several months and went through over a dozen cue blanks before I had a shaft that delivered my hit starting with a good blank and designing my own taper. I suspect that my shaft profile is very close to what some others use but I copied nobody.

If a cue builder is still active and another shaft is desired with the same profile as one of theirs getting the shaft from them is something I recommend. There can be good reasons not to, but this should be first consideration. As a general statement, I don't copy shafts unless a cue builder is no longer available.

Hu

Great point, Hu! I wasn't thinking about having the taper copied, because I assume a thinner shaft would benefit from a slight adjustment to the taper.

The cue is an old Viking. I'll follow your advice and have them turn down the shaft. I want to have the shaft turned down because 13mm feels a little thick in my bridge hand. I've used other cues with a 12.75mm shaft, and that felt better. I'm also curious about 12.5mm. I'll probably go to SBE this weekend, so I'll stop by the Viking booth, talk to them about it, and see if they have a 12.5mm V-Pro I can try.

Thanks again!

 

[Cyclone]

Don't matter how you hold it, you can't turn a shaft just .01.

I have the equipment and tooling to do it. I don't plan to turn a shaft .01. I plan to take half of that off before starting sanding.

Here is a free how to. Grab the pro taper section between two sets of jaws. Go through the chuck and stabilize the loose end. Viola as Smorg used to say.

It is a mistake to think because you can't do something, others can't.

Hu

Its not that we “can’t” chuck it up that way and turn it, it is just an extraordinarily bad idea. Great way to take unnecessary risks with a customers expensive shaft. For a .005” adjustment.

 

[Canadian cue]

It has been my experience that with that little of a diameter reduction, it is tip size that is making any amount of difference to the hit. With the amount of runout most aged shafts have it is pretty difficult to recut the entire shaft profile. if it were my customer, I would turn the last couple inches of the cue to a few thou over and then using sandpaper blend it back down the shaft. When you get to the finer grits you can sand the ferrule to size. Then reseal and buff out the shaft. I have found the biggest mistake most newbies do is use to fine a grit to start. If you do that you stand the chance of creating an out of round shaft. Sanding is quite effective if done correctly, but like any other skill takes a bit of time to learn the nuances.

 

[ShootingArts]

Its not that we “can’t” chuck it up that way and turn it, it is just an extraordinarily bad idea. Great way to take unnecessary risks with a customers expensive shaft. For a .005” adjustment.

Depends on your equipment and experience, the shaft too. Every shaft has end grain and face grain, some with more face grain than others. Very easy to sand a shaft out of round if it has much face grain. I prefer cutting a shaft within a couple thousandths to finish and have it dead nuts round. I have never ruined a shaft or blank doing things my way so I suppose the proof is in the pudding.

I was a machinist long before I did more than dabble a bit with cues. Later, with my own shop I set up the machinery and used it. Different strokes for different folks but I have machined to dimensions that couldn't be measured, they had to be gauged. My benchrest rifle I built unofficially bombed the world record for 10.5 pound rifles. Not where the record would be recognized so I didn't have the pressure on me that my friend Jef Fowler had on him when he set the record that stood for over a decade but still a pretty fair indication of my machine and fitting ability. I was using Jef's fantastic handmade 66 grain bullets, the fitting and loading was my doing.

Whatever cranks somebody's tractor. If they aren't comfortable lathe turning a shaft or don't have the equipment there are other options.

Hu