Shaft joint question

pip9ball

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi,

I was given a predator shaft which needed to be turned down to .800" to match the butt of a cue. After turning the shaft down, I put the cue together and noticed that when fully assembled I am low on one side and high on the opposite. Upon further inspection of the shaft threads, it looks as if the original thread type was radial but was re-tapped by forcing a 3/8x10 pin into it. I think this retapping caused the threads to go off center.

1.) Have you seen this type of scenario before?

2.) What is the correct way to fix? drill, plug, and retap?

Thanks for all your help in advance!

-P
 
Most likely what has happened is you did not have the shaft running true in your lathe so you ended up cutting off more on one side that the other..
 
I would have plugged up that hole, put a new dead-one small center hole.
Measure the taper of the butt the first three inches.
Match that taper , get the collar down to .802 or so. Tap.
Then sand it down a little to match the butt's joint.

Now, you can just plug it up and retap. No room to sand.
 
I guess this could be the reason, however I spoke with the customer and he did inform me that this was a radial predator shaft that he threaded onto his 3/8x10 cue!

As I slowly joint the cue up I can see the pin change direction about 3/4 into the shaft.

What is the best way to fix this?

-P
 
JoeyInCali said:
I would have plugged up that hole, put a new dead-one small center hole.
Measure the taper of the butt the first three inches.
Match that taper , get the collar down to .802 or so. Tap.
Then sand it down a little to match the butt's joint.

Now, you can just plug it up and retap. No room to sand.

I pretty much did what you described other than plugging the hole up first. I assumed the shaft was a factory 3/8x10 from predator so I didn't think there was gonna be any problems. The shaft has already been finished with CA and is exactly .800" which is what the butt mic'd out at. I just need to center up the hole now.

What is the best material to use as a plug? maple, canvas?

Thanks,

Phillip
 
pip9ball said:
I pretty much did what you described other than plugging the hole up first. I assumed the shaft was a factory 3/8x10 from predator so I didn't think there was gonna be any problems. The shaft has already been finished with CA and is exactly .800" which is what the butt mic'd out at. I just need to center up the hole now.

What is the best material to use as a plug? maple, canvas?

Thanks,

Phillip
I like maple or bocote.
 
JoeyInCali said:
I like maple or bocote.

I'm with you Joey. I usually bore and use a .550 maple plug. I tried phenolic a couple times but it is difficult to tap. I'm using scrap Purple Heart at present as It costs hardly nothing and is easy to use.

Any time I do any joint work I use the butt of the cue as a mandrel. You can then immediately see if the shafts bore is consistent with the cues pin. When turning a shaft down it must run accurately between centers. Any time I'm going to turn a shaft I put a new center on the rear of the shaft so that the start of the threads doesn't affect the shaft running true.

Dick
 
rhncue said:
I'm with you Joey. I usually bore and use a .550 maple plug. I tried phenolic a couple times but it is difficult to tap. I'm using scrap Purple Heart at present as It costs hardly nothing and is easy to use.

Any time I do any joint work I use the butt of the cue as a mandrel. You can then immediately see if the shafts bore is consistent with the cues pin. When turning a shaft down it must run accurately between centers. Any time I'm going to turn a shaft I put a new center on the rear of the shaft so that the start of the threads doesn't affect the shaft running true.

Dick

Sounds like you have built a few cues:D
 
Thanks for the quick replies. I'll try a maple plug and see how that works. Any thing I should watch out for when installing the plug? Will 5 minute epoxy work in this area? What about glue relief...is this needed?

Thanks again,

Phillip
 
pip9ball said:
Thanks for the quick replies. I'll try a maple plug and see how that works. Any thing I should watch out for when installing the plug? Will 5 minute epoxy work in this area? What about glue relief...is this needed?

Thanks again,

Phillip

If I were doing it for my cue I would use something that needs to sit overnight to harden.
Get the plug to fit "slightly" snug and just cut some small relief channels (8-10 thou deep) the length of it in 4 places. Wet the plug and cavity with glue and wait 5 minutes before assembling. Use a stiff rubber band to hold it on the bottom till dry. Understand why I wouldn't use 5 minute glue?
 
Back
Top