Taig mini lathe

sly_shooter

sly_shooter

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Are the Taig mini lathes decent for doing tips and ferrules?
It doesn't look like is would be good for shaft cleaning though.

They are priced around $450 or so with what is needed.
Also, I see used ones on eBay sometimes.

I would also play around with it and make other things, maybe
collets, and if I get bored I'll try to make a pen. I've seen these
lathes used for pen making.
 
They are actually very tight and accurate for your needs. There is a guy named Carter that sells many Taig parts very reasonable, I will post the link at the end.
You can buy the basic Taig set up and do any tip , ferrule, and shaft cleaning you would need to do with a few mods.
I would see Lee aka Brianna and get one of his 4 foot doves he offers. They match up great with that set up and turns your small aig into a nice repair lathe in no time.
I would say for under $500.00 you could be set to do almost any shaft repair at a very cheap price.
I deal with Mr. Cater for all my Taig needs, he is a great guy to deal with. Plus , for little investment, you really can't lose IMO.
Hope this helps,
Jim Lee

http://www.cartertools.com/catalog.html
 
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we are also a taig dealer with a strong background in cue lathes we also have our our lathe which is more money but does a lot more ours you can put a shaft or but through 2 chucks front and rear
also dc motor control for exact speed control

see it on our web page
www.briannaproducts.com
 
How does this compare to harbour freight

I dont know much about lathes....so this is in the same price range as the harbour freight mini-lathes...i guess iwth constant coupon they are around 100 cheaper...are they similar? Thanks
 
ramw5p said:
I dont know much about lathes....so this is in the same price range as the harbour freight mini-lathes...i guess iwth constant coupon they are around 100 cheaper...are they similar? Thanks
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You have several choices my friend. Unique has what's called a cue companion. It is made specifically for cues. It is most likely the top choice for cue repair, but it's not cheap and you'll be limited later down the road.

http://uniqueinc.com/cue_repair_lathes

Chris Hightower sells something for repairs, but it is also not cheap and you'll be limited later down the road.

http://cuesmith.com/index.php?menu1=menu_lathes&page=cue_lathe_micro_3

TSP&B sell something similar.

Lee Malakoff briannaproducts.com sells a lathe on here and it boasts some very accurate tolerances which would blow any other machine out of the water for the price, considering what he is saying is true. I myself am considering buying one of these lathes.... depending on what it's limits are.

You could get a harbor freight mini. It is going to do what you want....... but for now. You're going to get tired of doing tips, ferrules, and more tips and more ferrules. You will have to get Chris Hightower's book, and possibly his vids.

All of unique's products, Hightower's have a top of the line model lathe that will do whatever you want. You will have to spend in excess of 3K, but you will be happy for a long time. If you are considering toying around with cues, this is eventually the direction you will want to go if you decide it's for you.

If not, just PM TSP&B. He will probably be able to make you one that's better than the taig for around the same price, maybe a bit more and you can to much more with it.
 
hightower

Hightower has a line of cue lathes also.. I would seek a used hightower lathe
which are built to build and repair cues specificaly...It would be worth a phone call..



http://www.cuesmith.com/
 
chuckpilegis said:
Taig head stock
http://www.cartertools.com/specific.html
Do you bore out the spindle hole to be able to get a shaft through
Its only .343
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For the record, if you ask Nich Carter for his bored out spindle, he will sell you one that a shaft tip side will fit through. It is only a few bucks extra. You may want to tell nick what you intend to use the spindle for. He will point this out if he knows it is for cue work.

Jim.
 
Mc2 said:
For the record, if you ask Nich Carter for his bored out spindle, he will sell you one that a shaft tip side will fit through. It is only a few bucks extra. You may want to tell nick what you intend to use the spindle for. He will point this out if he knows it is for cue work.

Jim.
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I have talked to Nick and he told me that he could not get the larger taig hole through head stock.. But if you call taig they will have no problem sell you the correct head stock I believe its a .582 through hole or something along those lines. They will also sell the head stock in a reverse configuration as well..
 
JBCustomCues said:
I have talked to Nick and he told me that he could not get the larger taig hole through head stock.. But if you call taig they will have no problem sell you the correct head stock I believe its a .582 through hole or something along those lines. They will also sell the head stock in a reverse configuration as well..
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Hmm... I thought a shaft would fit through. I thought I read 5/8 would pass through, but looking at pics and doesn't look like it will, unless I am going to do a snooker shaft.. hehe

I have a barely used one from eBay with many extras on the way now.
Now I think I'll have to look at getting one of those extended dovetails.
I seen some pics on the internet of someone extending it themselves, I'll have to look into that.
 
sly_shooter said:
Hmm... I thought a shaft would fit through. I thought I read 5/8 would pass through, but looking at pics and doesn't look like it will, unless I am going to do a snooker shaft.. hehe

I have a barely used one from eBay with many extras on the way now.
Now I think I'll have to look at getting one of those extended dovetails.
I seen some pics on the internet of someone extending it themselves, I'll have to look into that.
Click to expand...

Oh so YOU got that one - a GREAT eBay deal - I was second behind you and kicked myself for not bidding higher - if for no other reason than to make it a little more painful for the winner :eek:

I'm glad someone here got it!!

Gary

P.S. If you should change your mind about it down the road - keep me in mind OK?
 
I got a small taig headstock with indexing from Chris a few years back to use on the pantograph that I built. I don't use It for tips, just the panto work, but It will easily fit shafts through the spindle hole without a problem.
 
GEBrown said:
Oh so YOU got that one - a GREAT eBay deal - I was second behind you and kicked myself for not bidding higher - if for no other reason than to make it a little more painful for the winner :eek:

I'm glad someone here got it!!

Gary

P.S. If you should change your mind about it down the road - keep me in mind OK?
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I'd say gee thanks for driving up the price, but I think that was his minimum anyways. Well, anyways, I still won't be able to pass a shaft through the spindle. I was told by a Taig Guru I probably have to go though someone like Hightower to get the bigger spindle. I guess Taig makes a bigger spindle but they make it for someone, and I'm guessing that someone is Hightower. I sent an email and am waiting for a reply, I can try to conver what I have to a hightower lathe, I have most of the parts already, just mostly need a larger spindle and the bed extension.
 
Cue Crazy said:
I got a small taig headstock with indexing from Chris a few years back to use on the pantograph that I built. I don't use It for tips, just the panto work, but It will easily fit shafts through the spindle hole without a problem.
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Thanks, I'm going to ask Chris what he can do for me. I just really need a bigger spindle, and the bed extension would be nice. I see a bed extension on his site, I', not sure if that's what I need to work on the whole shaft.
 
sly_shooter said:
I'd say gee thanks for driving up the price, but I think that was his minimum anyways. Well, anyways, I still won't be able to pass a shaft through the spindle. I was told by a Taig Guru I probably have to go though someone like Hightower to get the bigger spindle. I guess Taig makes a bigger spindle but they make it for someone, and I'm guessing that someone is Hightower. I sent an email and am waiting for a reply, I can try to conver what I have to a hightower lathe, I have most of the parts already, just mostly need a larger spindle and the bed extension.
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I do not see a email about this. I checked my spam filter and did not see one there either. My correct email address is cueman@cuesmith.com
I check it a few times a day, so if you sent something it must have got lost if you are still waiting for an answer.
 
cueman said:
I do not see a email about this. I checked my spam filter and did not see one there either. My correct email address is cueman@cuesmith.com
I check it a few times a day, so if you sent something it must have got lost if you are still waiting for an answer.
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Chris I just sent You a email regarding a few things I need.
 
sly_shooter said:
I'd say gee thanks for driving up the price, but I think that was his minimum anyways. Well, anyways, I still won't be able to pass a shaft through the spindle. I was told by a Taig Guru I probably have to go though someone like Hightower to get the bigger spindle. I guess Taig makes a bigger spindle but they make it for someone, and I'm guessing that someone is Hightower. I sent an email and am waiting for a reply, I can try to conver what I have to a hightower lathe, I have most of the parts already, just mostly need a larger spindle and the bed extension.
Click to expand...

Oops - hopefully I was mis-interpreted - I didn't artificially drive up the price. :frown:
 
cueman said:
I do not see a email about this. I checked my spam filter and did not see one there either. My correct email address is cueman@cuesmith.com
I check it a few times a day, so if you sent something it must have got lost if you are still waiting for an answer.
Click to expand...

Hmmm.. I'll send the email to you again now. Thanks
 
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