Not even rookie status questions

icbm

icbm

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Esteemed cuemakers, I am an experienced wood turner and took one turn at making a cue. This did not turn out well at the joint. For the prescision needed I know I either need a metal lathe at the very least. I cannot currently afford a Chris Hightower cueman delux or even the new Brianna lathe that Lee put on his site. In absence of this type of machinery my questions are:

Has anyone here ever tried or succeeded in making a cue with a drill press and a wood lathe?

I can do the taper and inlay work with what I have so if I had a metal lathe could I do the joint work on it? If so how in hell do you use a micrometer? I have only a rough idea of what they do. What does a micrometer do in cuemaking?

Lastly, I have a blue print a machinist buddy of mine made for converting a basic wood lathe into a cue tapering and point cutting jig. Has anyone in here done something or seen something similar work?

Thank you in advance for any help and I humble myself to your knowledge
 
I believe I've heard Chris Hightower say that he has set up many wood lathes for cue making in the past. However, as you point out, you may be hard pressed to do accurate joint work with that type of set-up.

Technically, a digital or dial caliper rather than a micrometer is most often used in cue making. It's used to measure inside and outside diameters of parts and materials, and is not hard to use. They are relatively inexpensive, but essential tools. The biggest challenge is not dropping it on the floor... :)
 
icbm said:
Esteemed cuemakers, I am an experienced wood turner and took one turn at making a cue. This did not turn out well at the joint. For the prescision needed I know I either need a metal lathe at the very least. I cannot currently afford a Chris Hightower cueman delux or even the new Brianna lathe that Lee put on his site. In absence of this type of machinery my questions are:

Has anyone here ever tried or succeeded in making a cue with a drill press and a wood lathe?

I can do the taper and inlay work with what I have so if I had a metal lathe could I do the joint work on it? If so how in hell do you use a micrometer? I have only a rough idea of what they do. What does a micrometer do in cuemaking?

Lastly, I have a blue print a machinist buddy of mine made for converting a basic wood lathe into a cue tapering and point cutting jig. Has anyone in here done something or seen something similar work?

Thank you in advance for any help and I humble myself to your knowledge
Click to expand...

Is it possible to cross the ocean in a row boat? Yes. Is it worth the effort? No. Unless it is a challenge for your psyche thing that you are driven to do, you best get other equipment to make a great cue product.

All cue makers use wood lathes to sand, file, and put sealers and epoxies on blanks between centers. So if you start cue making don't get rid of the wood lathe, they are a very useful tool in the process.

Good Luck,

Rick G
 
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Thanx guys. I feel like a buffon about my micrometer questions. Had I just wiki searched it(thnx for the link btw) I'd have discovered that it is just another term for calipers. I have been using several different varieties of calipers during my turnings.

As to if this is me wanting to conquer this with what I have, well yes and no. I would love nothing more than to be able to jump into cue making with both feet. However several things preclude this from happening. 1.I am a wood turnr first and I love my art. 2.As I mentioned the satuff is expensive. I would love to (and one day will) have a cueman delux, porper or Brianna lathe. For now I'd like to get a metal lathe or other suitable equipment(IE the drill press I asked about earlier in my OP) and make a go of it that way. Learning thru trial and error made me a better wood turner. Learning thru the hard way(using a modified wood lathe as I described and a metal lathe for joint work) could help me(I hope) when the day comes that I can afford a cuelathe. (8 years from retirement from the air force possibily)

Again thanx for your responses and I hope to hear more feedback
 
if you run up on a decent metal lathe,you wont need a cue lathe.when looking for a metal lathe dont go for something to small.some basic specs would be something like this for the minimum.

bore through spindle 1.5 inch
swing 10.0 inch
length between centers 40.0 inch

you can convert to mm
look around i bet you can find a nice used machine.

bill
 
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