lathe modifications

D-Rock

D-Rock

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'll be picking up a mini-lathe from harbor freight in march. Its mostly just for fun use and building some parts around the house and shop so I'm not interested in a cue lathe only, but I want to do some light cue work with it. Mainly I'm looking at doing tips and ferrules, as well as making some 2 piece breaking cues out of about 30 house cues a friend gave me. What modifications will need to be made to the lathe to handle these simple tasks? Also, is there any information on the internet to get me started with doing the ferrules and joints? I just need a basic idea since I have lots of practice scrap. Thanks guys!!
 
D-Rock said:
I'll be picking up a mini-lathe from harbor freight in march. Its mostly just for fun use and building some parts around the house and shop so I'm not interested in a cue lathe only, but I want to do some light cue work with it. Mainly I'm looking at doing tips and ferrules, as well as making some 2 piece breaking cues out of about 30 house cues a friend gave me. What modifications will need to be made to the lathe to handle these simple tasks? Also, is there any information on the internet to get me started with doing the ferrules and joints? I just need a basic idea since I have lots of practice scrap. Thanks guys!!
Click to expand...

Tips and ferrules can be done pretty easily with a mini lathe, just need some shaft collets and some sort of outboard bearing so the shaft doesn't wobble around, as far as making sneaky petes out of house cues I think you'll need a miracle.
 
yea, after reading the specs i saw that lathe won't really do anything that I want to around the shop either. here is what I'm looking at now

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44859

or this perhaps

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5980

Its a shop lathe too, so thats why the second one would work best for me. But I truly want the ability to at least do a joint with the thing so I can get all these damn sticks out of the corner of my garage!!!!!
 
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> For doing joint work,you would need either a full size machine lathe,or one that is made specifically for cue work. Those mini lathes are just not big enough. Tommy D.
 
magnetardo said:
Tips and ferrules can be done pretty easily with a mini lathe, just need some shaft collets and some sort of outboard bearing so the shaft doesn't wobble around, as far as making sneaky petes out of house cues I think you'll need a miracle.
Click to expand...

I dont think you will need a miracle...I made this out of a Mcdermott house cue
 

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chuckpilegis said:
How did you get that thru a 5/8 bore (Chuck) thats on a HF minilathe
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3/4 but who's counting:) <20MM, actually>

You could do it the same way you would do it on a wood lathe,
but you would need to rig some viable extension to the bed.

Dale
 
chuckpilegis said:
How did you get that thru a 5/8 bore (Chuck) thats on a HF minilathe
Click to expand...

I didnt do it on a HF Mini....your right it wouldnt fit through the 3/4 bore in the chuck. An extension on the bed would let you do this. The guy said it would take a miracle....all it would take is a bed extension I believe, and to get it square, then you could make a simple 2 piece cue like the one I made
 
pdcue said:
3/4 but who's counting:) <20MM, actually>

You could do it the same way you would do it on a wood lathe,
but you would need to rig some viable extension to the bed.

Dale
Click to expand...

The spindle bore is 3/4" but the thru hole on the chuck is only 5/8"
 
compliments of Cross Canadian Ragweed.....

ftgokie said:
I didnt do it on a HF Mini....your right it wouldnt fit through the 3/4 bore in the chuck. An extension on the bed would let you do this. The guy said it would take a miracle....all it would take is a bed extension I believe, and to get it square, then you could make a simple 2 piece cue like the one I made
Click to expand...

THem boys from oklahoma make their cues all wrong...

They're too dam skinny....

And way too long....


hope your going well goat....

Baaaa,
Grey Ghost
 
:grin:
greyghost said:
THem boys from oklahoma make their cues all wrong...

They're too dam skinny....

And way too long....


hope your going well goat....

Baaaa,
Grey Ghost
Click to expand...

My mom and dad had a goat once that ate tin cans......

And the next door neighbor had a donkey that when it ran, it would fart...it was simply amazing.......it was called the Farting Donkey
 
ftgokie said:
:grin:

My mom and dad had a goat once that ate tin cans......

And the next door neighbor had a donkey that when it ran, it would fart...it was simply amazing.......it was called the Farting Donkey
Click to expand...

now thats funny....
 
ok, so all it takes is a bed extension to do some joint work? I would really like to convert some house cues, not build full cues, and I need the metal lathe for my shop, but the lathes that have 1 3/8 inch spindle bores are just way too huge for what I need around here. I'm not understanding how the joint work would work if you can't get the butt end through though.....but i've never run a lathe either.
 
> "....but i've never run a lathe either."

> THEN DON'T FOR A MINUTE. I mean no offense at all. As a machinist,repairman,and future cuemaker,and a person that has had close calls,I'm doing what I can to help keep you SAFE.

Please understand me bro,you can hurt yourself BAD doing something incorrectly on a mini-lathe like you describe,or a dedicated cue-lathe like the Hightower stuff or Brianna,but you can certainly KILL yourself on a 12x36 or other full sized machine lathe.

If you are dead-set on it,please take the time to learn the machine,or have someone more experienced show you basic safety things. Loosing your grip on a utility knife blade when your hands are less than 6 inches from the chuck at 1000RPM is something I promise you can happen.

In my case,I left the fresh blade coated with the oil from the bulk packaging,and lost my grip on the blade. I did a subconsciously smart thing and jerked my hands back as fast as I could,knowing the blade would be caught by the chuck in a few milliseconds. When it did catch it,it slung that blade into the wood paneling behind my mini-lathe hard enough it sunk into the paneling way over an inch deep :eek: :confused:.

A lot of it is common sense,but there are also things that only come up once in a while that can ding you up bad without luck on your side.

Something like accidentally not cutting the power feed off in time and crashing the toolpost into the chuck,or running a tool into a live center with speed on a bench lathe can result in an ER trip,the same thing on a full sized machine lathe at speed gets you a grenade in the chest and face,but without the explosion :yikes:. I'm not exaggerating in the slightest either,straight poop :cool:.

I encourage you to by all means go for it,but be safe is ALL I'm saying. I took an 18 month course to avoid what I speak of,and I still have to change my drawers on occasion :rolleyes:. Tommy D.
 
Stop and listen to Tommy. You don't need a lathe. You need knowledge first. Read, study, and read it over again. Take a machinist class, acquire Hightower's book, and learn it right without expecting short cuts.

D-Rock said:
ok, so all it takes is a bed extension to do some joint work? I would really like to convert some house cues, not build full cues, and I need the metal lathe for my shop, but the lathes that have 1 3/8 inch spindle bores are just way too huge for what I need around here. I'm not understanding how the joint work would work if you can't get the butt end through though.....but i've never run a lathe either.
Click to expand...
 
just because I haven't run a lathe does not mean I'm not knowledgeable. I have run just about every other type of equipment out there, including 8 years in the oilfield where one wrong slip can cost you your life. I appreciate your concern, i'll survive.
 
D-Rock said:
just because I haven't run a lathe does not mean I'm not knowledgeable. I have run just about every other type of equipment out there, including 8 years in the oilfield where one wrong slip can cost you your life. I appreciate your concern, i'll survive.
Click to expand...

In my experience, if your smart, mechanically inclined...safety concsious..and take the time to go in small steps, this is nothing to worry about....its not rocket science......but, you have to be very cautious as everyone has said...but you know this already. Even people that have been running lathes for years still get cuts, scrapes and bruises....so my advice is dont let anything discourage you.

Just be careful and take baby steps at first.......heck...do what I did, get a broomstick, cut it down, and make little dowels out of it just to get a feel for the machine......just take your time and be safe is all I have to say.......again, this isnt rocket science to running a lathe....the more you use it, the more you will figure out what all they can and cant do.

Good Luck and dont hesitate to ask questions on here, lots of very knowledgeable cuemakers on here that are more than willing to help out!

Shawn
 
You need a mid size from chris hightower. That the minimum u can get away with. You can build full cues on the with a little immagination.

Www. Cuesmith.com.

Comes with book videos all types if stuff for under 1500
 
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