I had a fellow cuemaker in my shop today and the argument/discussion was whether or not to thread the joint ring and butt cap. The argument "for" was that one cannot rely solely on the glue to hold these items on without the help of threading. The argument "against" was that if you have more than one stitch ring in those areas it is difficult to keep them lined up because they have a tendency to slip as you thread these items onto the tenon. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
To thread or not to thread
- Thread starter RSCue
- Start date
How many un-threaded joint rings and butt caps made by American cue makers have you seen fail and come loose?
I think the adheasives we use today are plenty strong to hold them on with out threading.
Of course it is faster and easier on the assembler if they are threaded.
Slap on the glue and screw the piece on.
No clamps needed as the glue sets.
If I were doing production cues I would prefer to have them threaded.
I always thread my Ferrule tenon not because I think it is a better way but because I dont need to clamp it while the epoxy sets up.
Just my humble opinion.
I think the adheasives we use today are plenty strong to hold them on with out threading.
Of course it is faster and easier on the assembler if they are threaded.
Slap on the glue and screw the piece on.
No clamps needed as the glue sets.
If I were doing production cues I would prefer to have them threaded.
I always thread my Ferrule tenon not because I think it is a better way but because I dont need to clamp it while the epoxy sets up.
Just my humble opinion.
As long as you sand the inside of the phenolic tube ringwork to remove any "mold release" lubricants and prepare the surfaces properly, there's no need to thread, assuming you're using good epoxies.
I have a 5/8 tap I run through the ring. It doesn't really thread it but scores a thread that the epoxy can get into and form an epoxy thread. I have in the past cut an inside groove in the ring with a Dremal tool to add some mechanical hold along with the glue. When you are building a joint ring it is best to use a slow drying glue so you can have plenty of time to get it correct. You can also build you ring sets on a mandrel. Then install a completed ring, stitches and all. A Delrin mandrel works well. You can also build up the rings gluing them one at a time. Lots of ways to do it and they all work.
Doesn't matter how you do it so long as you do it right. If you sleeve on the components, then you need to be sure your tollerances are smooth & tight. Without adhesive, the parts should slide on with friction, meaning that they are touching the tenon 360 degrees. Too tight & the rings will break or bend while putting them on. I bore everything to the exact ID so everything fits the tenon the same. Been building cues for ten years & they seem to be popular playing cues, almost all with sleeved components. None are coming back to me because the parts are falling off.
Threading things on is fine, too. It's best if your joint collars have a reciever cut in the end so it threads mostly on then the last 1/8" or so sleeves. This eliminates the glue gap associated with threaded parts. It was a trick I found to be essential when I was threading stuff. As for rings slipping, you have to do things a little bit different. It's easiest to make the ring pack separate from the cue so it all slides on as a single ring.
Threading things on is fine, too. It's best if your joint collars have a reciever cut in the end so it threads mostly on then the last 1/8" or so sleeves. This eliminates the glue gap associated with threaded parts. It was a trick I found to be essential when I was threading stuff. As for rings slipping, you have to do things a little bit different. It's easiest to make the ring pack separate from the cue so it all slides on as a single ring.
Thank you all for your responses. I am just glad that I won the argument. I was told by a prominent cue builder that threads were not needed and I have always just sleeved them on. Early on, I threaded these items and had trouble with the stitch rings so I went to the sleeve method. I have never had any problems with items coming off but my fellow cue builder disagrees totally. Thanks again. Russ
Ding ding ding.
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> I've never installed a ring set,but I've done around 100 Meucci-type ferrules with a 5/16 or 3/8 unthreaded tenon,and even a few with 1/4 tenons,and I always run the appropriate sized tap into the ferrule for a little "grip" once the glue sets. They crack often,but none have EVER come back for being loose. Tommy D.
How would you properly align the rings etc if they were threaded? I'm sure it's possible, but seems to me that it might be hard to do.
You don't thread the rings. Just the collars above them.
Yeah, I think the terminology may be getting a little confused here. The items I tend to thread are butt caps and joint collars. Rings are just bored to fit the non-threaded portion of the tenon.
Personally I like the aspect of putting things under compression while the epoxy dries, and I don't feel that I can get enough clamping pressure with the blank just being held by my chuck, so I thread. With live tooling utilizing a single profile thread mill, setup time is nil and offers a better product IMHO, but that's just me. Not knocking those that don't, but I like the machining aspect of it too. Not to mention you don't have to tie up a machine or clamping setup either...just move on to the next one.
Regards,
Frank
Personally I like the aspect of putting things under compression while the epoxy dries, and I don't feel that I can get enough clamping pressure with the blank just being held by my chuck, so I thread. With live tooling utilizing a single profile thread mill, setup time is nil and offers a better product IMHO, but that's just me. Not knocking those that don't, but I like the machining aspect of it too. Not to mention you don't have to tie up a machine or clamping setup either...just move on to the next one.
Regards,
Frank