questions about lathe or WTB cue lathe

gizmo

gizmo

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Im thinkin about tryin my hand at buildin cues and wanted to know what else I would need to purchase for this lathe to work for me to build cues.also was wanting a price idea if I bought this and its components that I need to make it work right from grizzly.G1495 Heavy-Duty Wood Lathe here is the link to the lathe I was lookin at http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2008/Main/128

all the pieces that I need I guess I would just buy from grizzly.or if anyone has a lathe forsale I might be interested in going that route.like the DELUXE CUE SMITH by hightower or something similar.Id appreciate any help.
thanks
 
what else I would need
You need machinery skills first before even thinking of building cues.
That's the wrong lathe.
 
well I think I can handle that part without a problem.I was simply askin if I could get this lathe to convert to what I need it to do.and what it would take and cost or if someone had one forsale thats ready to go.but ty for your input anyway
 
To build cues you need dead-on accuracy. To install a pin, you can't be off by a thousandth of an inch.
A wood lathe like that won't cut it.
A good metal lathe would be needed. Even the stock chuck they come with are sometimes not good enough.
 
Cue lathe

Hi Gizmo,

I think what Joey was trying to tell you is, although there IS a place for a wood lathe in a cue building shop, it's not the "tool of choice" for building cues. Most builders use either a metal lathe or a specialty lathe specifically designed for cuemaking.

Besides going through the Ask the Cuemaker and Cue Machinery forums from start to finish, I'd recommend Chris Hightowers book on cuemaking. This book should answer most all your questions about what you'll need to start building cues. It's a worthwhile investment if your truely interested.

Good luck!
 
Joey is right on

I have a wood lathe for cleaning and sanding shafts only. But for all the other work it is quite useless. Even a good metal lathe out of the box will take almost as much money as the machine cost in tooling, gauges, and time spent (if you paid yourself minimum wage) adapting it to cue work to make it really efficient and accurate.
The most turnkey setup is a cuesmith deluxe or a unique lathe and some others. They do a decent job, not in the same league as a well adapted metal lathe, but way faster to start putting out a fair cue. I have all the above and more. Each piece does certain tasks well.
 
Last edited:
olsonsview said:
I have a wood lathe for cleaning and sanding shafts only. But for all the other work it is quite useless. Even a good metal lathe out of the box will take almost as much money as the machine cost in tooling, gauges, and time spent (if you paid yourself minimum wage) adapting it to cue work to make it really efficient and accurate.
The most turnkey setup is a cuesmith deluxe or a unique lathe and some others. They do a decent job, not in the same league as a well adapted metal lathe, but way faster to start putting out a fair cue. I have all the above and more. Each piece does certain tasks well.
Click to expand...
save yourself sum money and buy theses tapes http://www.cuecomponents.com/cuebuvi.html
and sign up at your local voc tech
 
Bill The Cat has your answer , get the book and see for yourself ... It's an expensive hobby and more expensive if it's your livelyhood ... you have to wear more than one hat to build quality cues ... if you aren't able to visit a solid operation the book will give you some insight ...:cool:
 
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