I Have been on the sidelines for a couple months or so reading about which cue lathe to purchase. I have
been wanting to purchase one for some time.. At first I chose a Deluxe from high tower. Seemed like this was the one most on this forum leaned towards.. I went online and was going to buy one along with the taper attachment, and a few hundred dollars worth of supplies..Well, the company wouldn't accept VISA cards, they wanted certified funds. I wasn't about to shell out that kind of money with no protection. So, I went to plan B, I purchased a porper MINI Q Lathe..(Using My Visa Card)
Here is my review of the Mini Q Lathe.
The Good:
1. Very Nice Wood Box With 2 Drawers.
2. Nice Handles And Latches.
3. 1st Class Headstock.
4. Great Chuck with 1-3/8" Hole thru spindle.
5. Powerfull reversing and Variable Speed motor.
6. Alluminum lathe bed adequate for tasks.
7. Performs tip And ferrule work With ease.
The Bad
1. Having to change set up between tipping and Shaft cleaning.
( Imagine being at a tournement and you have several customers
wanting new tips and their shafts cleaned. Forget it.)
2. Cheapie tailstock. (it does work tho)
3. Crossslide is fixed. (It would be better if it traveled the length of
the lathe bed.)
4. Drill chuck attachment is a little cheesey.
5. Rear steady rest with wheels not the greatest idea.
If your looking for a lathe to do your own cue repairs at home This is what you need. It will do as advertised. Although, i expected more for the money.
If your looking for a lathe to do repairs at tournements or your local bars, this one is slow. UNLESS you make some modifications as i did mine.
I can go from doing a tip and ferrule to polishing a shaft in an instant.
The head stock now remains on the left side for tipping and pollishing. I repositioned the crosslide to left also. The tailstock is on the right end of the lathe and remains there for both tasks. The rear steady rest is to the left of the headstock with the wheels removed. i cut a piece of wood with a V cut in it to bolt on in place of the wheels. I glued a piece of felt on the wood as not to scar the shafts. These Mods work great for me..Mods may not work for everyone. I will upload some pics as soon as i figure out how. Thanks for all the info.
been wanting to purchase one for some time.. At first I chose a Deluxe from high tower. Seemed like this was the one most on this forum leaned towards.. I went online and was going to buy one along with the taper attachment, and a few hundred dollars worth of supplies..Well, the company wouldn't accept VISA cards, they wanted certified funds. I wasn't about to shell out that kind of money with no protection. So, I went to plan B, I purchased a porper MINI Q Lathe..(Using My Visa Card)
Here is my review of the Mini Q Lathe.
The Good:
1. Very Nice Wood Box With 2 Drawers.
2. Nice Handles And Latches.
3. 1st Class Headstock.
4. Great Chuck with 1-3/8" Hole thru spindle.
5. Powerfull reversing and Variable Speed motor.
6. Alluminum lathe bed adequate for tasks.
7. Performs tip And ferrule work With ease.
The Bad
1. Having to change set up between tipping and Shaft cleaning.
( Imagine being at a tournement and you have several customers
wanting new tips and their shafts cleaned. Forget it.)
2. Cheapie tailstock. (it does work tho)
3. Crossslide is fixed. (It would be better if it traveled the length of
the lathe bed.)
4. Drill chuck attachment is a little cheesey.
5. Rear steady rest with wheels not the greatest idea.
If your looking for a lathe to do your own cue repairs at home This is what you need. It will do as advertised. Although, i expected more for the money.
If your looking for a lathe to do repairs at tournements or your local bars, this one is slow. UNLESS you make some modifications as i did mine.
I can go from doing a tip and ferrule to polishing a shaft in an instant.
The head stock now remains on the left side for tipping and pollishing. I repositioned the crosslide to left also. The tailstock is on the right end of the lathe and remains there for both tasks. The rear steady rest is to the left of the headstock with the wheels removed. i cut a piece of wood with a V cut in it to bolt on in place of the wheels. I glued a piece of felt on the wood as not to scar the shafts. These Mods work great for me..Mods may not work for everyone. I will upload some pics as soon as i figure out how. Thanks for all the info.
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I am sorry but I am confused. I owned Porpers 1st full Cue Building Lathe. I have also owned 2 HighTower Deluxe (3(?). You can not compare a Mini Cue Porper to a Deluxe Hightower.