Looking at 2 different lathe setups, any input?

L

lvlss42190

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have my own sort of harbor freight set up that is crude but functional for very basic things.

Anywho, I'm squirreling away some money for a better set up. I've narrowed it down to two options that I like.

The first is from Mid America pool. It is the basic lathe with 4 foot bed
http://www.midamericapool.com/index_files/Page324.htm

I've heard good things about items from here and they seem to be built fairly solid, but without physically seeing it it's hard to say. So I'm interested to see what some others think.

The other option that I'm looking at is the Shaftmaster portable lathe
It seems to be more compact, yet still built to last. I haven't been able to find
anything good or bad on this one so again If anyone has any input that would be great.

Here's the link for the shaftmaster:

http://shaftmaster.com/cue-lathes/
 
I use the MidAmericaPool lathe equipment ... I started with a basic setup and accumulated additional pieces over time as my needs grew ... Presently I have the 48 inch with large bore indexing headstock and the larger motor plus a router mount for my cross slide ... I use this machine to build and taper cues and shafts ... As well as most repair work ... The best advice I can give you regarding this machine is to make sure you have a nice thick work surface to mount on ... Since the bed is 48 inches and the dovetail width is around 2-1/4 inches there can be a little flex to it if it is not mounted well ... That slight flex can create some interesting effects ... I have had no issues since I beefed up my table top though. Todd also provided great support and customer service as well !

Good luck !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
lathes

I have one of Todd's lathe also....I bought the large bore professional,if you start with basic 4 footer you can expand it as you grow and you cant beat the service Todd will give you. If you buy the shaftmaster you will get a portable lathe that will do repairs. I also build cues with my lathe as well as do repairs. You can also take the basic lathe to tournaments so it could be classified as portable..just strap it to a hand truck...its now portable.

Joe
 
lvlss42190 said:
I have my own sort of harbor freight set up that is crude but functional for very basic things.

Anywho, I'm squirreling away some money for a better set up. I've narrowed it down to two options that I like.

The first is from Mid America pool. It is the basic lathe with 4 foot bed
http://www.midamericapool.com/index_files/Page324.htm

I've heard good things about items from here and they seem to be built fairly solid, but without physically seeing it it's hard to say. So I'm interested to see what some others think.

The other option that I'm looking at is the Shaftmaster portable lathe
It seems to be more compact, yet still built to last. I haven't been able to find
anything good or bad on this one so again If anyone has any input that would be great.

Here's the link for the shaftmaster:

http://shaftmaster.com/cue-lathes/
Click to expand...

Although I don't have a lot of experience with either one, I have watched the shaftmaster in use more than once and it left a lot to be desired. I don't think anyone has mentioned the Hightower equipment. He was the first to come up with the idea of using a taig lathe as a base and when you have trouble with one he's very knowledgeable on what the problem is. Both Chris and todd are very helpful.

Dick
 
+1 for Hightower Chris is extremely helpful which is a big selling point for me. I have not dealt with midamerica so I can't be of much help there... shaft master is very limited on what you can do.
 
shaftmaster

I have no desire to ever use one, but here are a few opinions.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=36260

Google shaftmaster opinion for more.

I've seen videos of guys making cues using their feet to drive the .....spindle(if you want to call what is was a spindle).

Point being is this. If you going to any big tournament, who are you going to want work on your cue? The guy with a drill operated lathe the holds your shaft with some rollers, or the guy next to him with a real lathe and collets?

If you really want to do it correctly....buy correct machinery. Buy once cry once. You'll mispend plenty on less expensive things...
 
lvlss42190 said:
I have my own sort of harbor freight set up that is crude but functional for very basic things.

Anywho, I'm squirreling away some money for a better set up. I've narrowed it down to two options that I like.

The first is from Mid America pool. It is the basic lathe with 4 foot bed
http://www.midamericapool.com/index_files/Page324.htm

I've heard good things about items from here and they seem to be built fairly solid, but without physically seeing it it's hard to say. So I'm interested to see what some others think.

The other option that I'm looking at is the Shaftmaster portable lathe
It seems to be more compact, yet still built to last. I haven't been able to find
anything good or bad on this one so again If anyone has any input that would be great.

Here's the link for the shaftmaster:

http://shaftmaster.com/cue-lathes/
Click to expand...

Don't know how hard you looked, but here is a thread you should read.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=304345&highlight=shaftmaster

Dale
 
jkan101 said:
I have one of Todd's lathe also....I bought the large bore professional,if you start with basic 4 footer you can expand it as you grow and you cant beat the service Todd will give you. ....
Joe
Click to expand...

This ^^^^^^^^^^^ Agreed 100%, and besides, the Shaftmaster guy is a tool.
You'll be so much happier with the Mid America option
 
Could you tell us what you will be using the lathe for?
The repair lathes from Todd, Bassel, Chris and Unique ar fine.
But if your ambition is to change tips, ferrules, fix a damaged shaft now and then I would recomend you also look at the mini metal lathes. Something like this: http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-x-22-Bench-Top-Metal-Lathe/G0602
will give you a whole other level of accuracy and sturdyness. You will also be able to do live threading, wich is a huge bonus.
The spindlebore is only 1" so you want be able to fit a cue butt through there, but you will be able to fit a shaft.
The length is only 22" so you want be able to fit a shaft between the centers.
But by using a delrin collet and the tailstock with a live center, you will still be able to clean shafts.
The cue repair lathes and the small metal lathes might look similar, but when you operate a 400lbs metal lathe vs a 40lbs cue repair lathe, you will see what i mean.
Add the fact, that with a metal lathe you can do a whole lot more than repair cues.
Cut your own screws, make your own fixtures, tools etc.
The small metal lathes can easily be found used for less than $1000 and they don`t take up much space.
 
lvlss42190 said:
I have my own sort of harbor freight set up that is crude but functional for very basic things.

Anywho, I'm squirreling away some money for a better set up. I've narrowed it down to two options that I like.

The first is from Mid America pool. It is the basic lathe with 4 foot bed
http://www.midamericapool.com/index_files/Page324.htm

I've heard good things about items from here and they seem to be built fairly solid, but without physically seeing it it's hard to say. So I'm interested to see what some others think.

The other option that I'm looking at is the Shaftmaster portable lathe
It seems to be more compact, yet still built to last. I haven't been able to find
anything good or bad on this one so again If anyone has any input that would be great.

Here's the link for the shaftmaster:

http://shaftmaster.com/cue-lathes/
Click to expand...


Go with Mid America...I use the Professional Cue Repair lathe and Todd is an awesome guy to work with.
 
jb1911 said:
I'm retired and like to work in my garage shop, mostly on wood projects but I do some gunsmithing and the like. I've been thinking of getting a mini lathe for metal working. Would this lathe work for changing tips and general shaft maintenance?

http://www.harborfreight.com/7-inch-x-12-inch-precision-mini-lathe-93799.html
Click to expand...

I've got two of those lathes. I've had one in the shop for years that I used for cutting off deco rings and put put on a polishing pad to shine pins before insertion. I would take it with me to tournaments for installing tips, ferrules and shat polishes. I finally just bought a second one so that I didn't have to tear down my set-up. I don't do tournaments any longer so I have it set up in my shop for tips. It is a very accurate lathe.

Dick
 
rhncue said:
I've got two of those lathes. I've had one in the shop for years that I used for cutting off deco rings and put put on a polishing pad to shine pins before insertion. I would take it with me to tournaments for installing tips, ferrules and shat polishes. I finally just bought a second one so that I didn't have to tear down my set-up. I don't do tournaments any longer so I have it set up in my shop for tips. It is a very accurate lathe.

Dick
Click to expand...

Thank you Sir, that's just what I wanted to hear.
 
jb1911 said:
I'm retired and like to work in my garage shop, mostly on wood projects but I do some gunsmithing and the like. I've been thinking of getting a mini lathe for metal working. Would this lathe work for changing tips and general shaft maintenance?

http://www.harborfreight.com/7-inch-x-12-inch-precision-mini-lathe-93799.html
Click to expand...

I work full time as a Machinist, and I've heard many people say the little harbor freight lathes are built pretty well actually. Look around your local craigslist postings, sometimes you can find a bench top lathe that's a little larger than the 7x12 for around the same price or even less. Takes a while, but if you're patient you might stumble upon a gold mine.

Also thank you everyone for your input, for some reason it never occurred to me to search the forums for a shaftmaster review. I'm almost 100% certain I'm going to be ordering through Midamerica in the near future. Unless by some stroke of luck I find a metal lathe of similar size for a good price..
 
Bite the bullet and get a hightower deluxe.... it will do everything right out of the box.

Kim
 
rhncue said:
I've got two of those lathes. I've had one in the shop for years that I used for cutting off deco rings and put put on a polishing pad to shine pins before insertion. I would take it with me to tournaments for installing tips, ferrules and shat polishes. I finally just bought a second one so that I didn't have to tear down my set-up. I don't do tournaments any longer so I have it set up in my shop for tips. It is a very accurate lathe.

Dick
Click to expand...

I just set one of these lathes up in my shop and have a couple of questions if you don't mind. What speed and cutter do you use when trimming the sides of the tip? The lathe really surprised me how nice it is, considering all the junk that Harbor Freight sells.

Thanks in advance for the help.
 
Kim Bye said:
Could you tell us what you will be using the lathe for?
The repair lathes from Todd, Bassel, Chris and Unique ar fine.
But if your ambition is to change tips, ferrules, fix a damaged shaft now and then I would recomend you also look at the mini metal lathes. Something like this: http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-x-22-Bench-Top-Metal-Lathe/G0602
will give you a whole other level of accuracy and sturdyness. You will also be able to do live threading, wich is a huge bonus.
The spindlebore is only 1" so you want be able to fit a cue butt through there, but you will be able to fit a shaft.
The length is only 22" so you want be able to fit a shaft between the centers.
But by using a delrin collet and the tailstock with a live center, you will still be able to clean shafts.
The cue repair lathes and the small metal lathes might look similar, but when you operate a 400lbs metal lathe vs a 40lbs cue repair lathe, you will see what i mean.
Add the fact, that with a metal lathe you can do a whole lot more than repair cues.
Cut your own screws, make your own fixtures, tools etc.
The small metal lathes can easily be found used for less than $1000 and they don`t take up much space.
Click to expand...


This lathe is not useful for cue repair...... If you want to turn metal get this lathe ..... if you want to repair cues get the proper equipment........ this is not it............

Kim
 
jb1911 said:
I just set one of these lathes up in my shop and have a couple of questions if you don't mind. What speed and cutter do you use when trimming the sides of the tip? The lathe really surprised me how nice it is, considering all the junk that Harbor Freight sells.

Thanks in advance for the help.
Click to expand...

I have a steady rest behind the lathe that has an internal 1.25 I.D. radial bearing mounted. I then have a delrin collar that fits the inside of the bearing. I slip the shaft into this collet which get's the shaft running true. I run the lathe as fast as the rear of the shaft stays steady. this is usually between 1000 and 1500 rpm.

I have a number of collets around the lathe so I slip an appropriate size in the chuck and face the front of the ferrule using a cheap carbide tool mounted in a quick change tool post. Once the face is cleaned up and squared, I take a piece of coarse sand paper and with the lathe going as slow as possible I sand the front of the ferrule. After gluing on the tip and wiping off the excess glue, I change the carbide bit to a carbide insert that is used for cutting aluminum. It's industry number is: TCGT32 52-ak

http://s97.photobucket.com/user/rhncue/media/DSC_0001-11.jpg.html?o=116

http://s97.photobucket.com/user/rhncue/media/DSC_0001-12.jpg.html?o=112

Dick
 
I've made a few upgrades to this lathe to make life simpler.

As you can see I put on a quick change tool post, a lever actuated tailstock lock, an adjustable rear shaft holder, although it worked perfectly I no longer use it as I bought one off of someone on this forum which looks much more professional.

Dick
 
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