Have you ever bought something you aren't familiar with? Did you just jump in and buy it without doing any research? Since, from what I can tell, tenon threaders are pretty specific to the cue building/repair industry there isn't much information on the internet that doesn't link back to this forum. Your advice with regards to practicing is great but it does nothing to help me understand my choices in available tools.
Chris
Hi Chris,
Earlier you asked if you should just change the customer's shaft from a threaded ferrule to a non-threaded ferrule without telling them. In my opion, NO - if the customer knew that his/her ferrule was threaded and later found out it was no longer threaded, they could demand that you buy them a brand new shaft.
Joey and the others are right, in that there is no absolute right way or wrong way to do various operations when building a cue. You have seen that some thread their ferrules and that some don't. The gist of your question above leads me to think you are asking "What's the right way?" The "right way" is the way you decide you want to build your cues.
FWIW, I originally had some trouble using a compression die to cut my ferrule tenon. I was advised to use wax - I asked "What???? No glue will stick to wax!!" The reply I got was - "Just try it - You'll like it" I DID try it and I DO like it. But it's not for everyone, as Rick said.
When it comes to threading, there are 2 choices - tenon threading or live threading. Anyone that can cut a tenon can then mount a tenon threader and cut the threads. It takes some more equipment and expertise to do live threading. I would agree with the live threading camp that it is the best way, but I'm not set up to do that yet. If we had to wait to set up our lathes for live threading and then learn to get the technique down, we'd either not be making any shafts for that much longer or not threading them. So IMHO, a tenon threader is a stop-gap technique along the way.
IIRC, you have been making furniture for many years, so I would call you a master furniture builder. So, if I ask you, a master at your craft, "What is the right way to join a leg to a coffee table or a dining table?" Would you reply "The correct way is . . . " or would you reply "The way I have found best is . . . "? I'm guessing the latter. It's the same in cue building.
By the way, I'm glad you are here, your previous experience has a lot of carry-over to cue building, and I look forward to your sharing your knowledge/experience with us.
My 2 cents,
Gary