tools needed for making cues

brilliance

brilliance

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What tools do I need to start making sneaky petes?

Can somebody list good brand & model of tools so I can start researching. Also is there any DVD or book usefull? Thanks
 
brilliance said:
What tools do I need to start making sneaky petes?

Can somebody list good brand & model of tools so I can start researching. Also is there any DVD or book usefull? Thanks
Click to expand...


Buy Chris Hightowers' books and dvds' on cuemaking. he will also sell you a lathe. Good first step as any :)

Mario
 
I think it's time well spent trying to do some research on your own. As Mario suggested, buy Chris's book and some dvd's, that way you have not really spent any money and you can better determine if this is for you. Although sneaky petes are easier to make than a cue with tons of inlays, you still have to master and grasp quite a few concepts. I'm not a machinist by trade, if that's your starting point, it certainly helps, but if your starting from scratch, your ambition should probably be to master simpler tasks first, like replacing a tip, a ferrule or doing a nice clean wrap job.
 
yes.... what everyone said....Chris Hightower's book and the DVD's............ also go to the archives of Ask The Cue Maker on this forum and read ALL the back posts.... they are full of information that is essential ................. ask Questions......... but please make sure that you don't ask a question that has already been asked and answered many times............... I know that I did that 9 years ago when I was starting out and I got a lot of offensive comments.......... LOL

good luck

Kim
 
Are you sure you want to spend some $2000+ to make sneaky petes?

It snowfalls from there. Next thing you know you're in it for thousands of dollars and no cues made yet.
 
You can make a sneaky pete with a bandsaw, a table saw and some jigs. Having a planer and a jointer also helps. To finish the blank you'll need a lathe and a way to taper the butt.
 
gutshot said:
You can make a sneaky pete with a bandsaw, a table saw and some jigs. Having a planer and a jointer also helps. To finish the blank you'll need a lathe and a way to taper the butt.
Click to expand...

aaaaaand there you are at $2000 ........................ LOL



Kim
 
deadbeat said:
Thick, thick wallet. 2k in only would be nice.
Click to expand...

" ABSOLUTELY....
Wait til some TOOLING IS NEEDED -
Cutters, drills, taps, chucks. etc-
Don't forget cue supplies-pins, bushings, bumpers, phenolic,
and YES cue shafts and blanks....
I recommend get about 6 k or so-
THAT WILL GET YOU THE BASICS, With a decent stock of items,
TO GET STARTED-
ONLY GOING UP FROM THERE THOUGH"
Cue really should have good finish too-or will end up warping"
Unless you turn out to be as good as say
JOHNNY SHOWMAN or Craig Peterson-
These 2 guys have produced some phenominal cues
with next to nothing regards to equipment and cue shop :bow-down::bow-down::bow-down:
 
I think I spent 10k, 12 or so years ago, and still have not made a cue! Ha ha.

One of the things I bought then was a Taig CNC mill. It sat untouched since I’m guessing 2006. I finally have a use for it in my day job to modify some PCB’s. I got it out of the closet this week, dusted it off, and except for a dead PC CMOS battery, it works great. I’m going to take it into the office where I’m building a shop and let it live there for a bit.

And now I see Taig sells an ER16 headstock. (They did not when I bought it). So I called them up and ordered it. That’s another 150 with zero cues made.

:):):)
 
Can somebody list good brand & model of tools so I can start researching.
Click to expand...

Is the assumption that you have no woodwhacking or machine tools at the moment?
Or do you already have some sort of "shop" and just want to know how to make it more cue-specific?

Are you already a maker (from scratch) of wooden or metal objects, or "0" experience?

Does your question consider converting house cues, or is the intention to make sneakies starting with raw lumber?

"Sneaky" to me means full splice joint. Is that part of the plan, or do you want to start with more Merry widow style (plain butt)?

You can buy blanks, which reduces the wood inventory and wood machinery requirements?

smt
 
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Also ... Unique Products sells well designed equipment and the DVD's on how to operate them.
Their portable Cue Companion is fully capable of making a Sneaky Pete cue from a one piece bar cue and comes with all the tooling and instructions and on how to do so.

https://www.uniqueinc.com/cue_companion

It is a portable unit that can be taken to events for on the spot repairs.
One of the nice features is that it is finger friendly.
Smooth, quiet, and accurate.
 
WilleeCue said:
Also ... Unique Products sells well designed equipment and the DVD's on how to operate them.
Their portable Cue Companion is fully capable of making a Sneaky Pete cue from a one piece bar cue and comes with all the tooling and instructions and on how to do so.

https://www.uniqueinc.com/cue_companion

It is a portable unit that can be taken to events for on the spot repairs.
One of the nice features is that it is finger friendly.
Smooth, quiet, and accurate.
Click to expand...

Good luck in tapering with that.
 
iusedtoberich said:
I think I spent 10k, 12 or so years ago, and still have not made a cue! Ha ha.

One of the things I bought then was a Taig CNC mill. It sat untouched since I’m guessing 2006. I finally have a use for it in my day job to modify some PCB’s. I got it out of the closet this week, dusted it off, and except for a dead PC CMOS battery, it works great. I’m going to take it into the office where I’m building a shop and let it live there for a bit.

And now I see Taig sells an ER16 headstock. (They did not when I bought it). So I called them up and ordered it. That’s another 150 with zero cues made.

:):):)
Click to expand...

A Taig CNC mill is not one of the pieces of cue making equipment you would use much except to do inlays in cues that are 90% made. Even then you would need to do a lot of "other" work to accomplish that. (like designing the inlays, developing the G-code. making fixtures to hold the cue ... ect_)
 
Yes, that was only one piece. I also had a full woodworking shop, a metal lathe, a Bridgeport mill, (they were from before my cuemaking interest), a cnc router, a saw tapering machine, etc, 2 Hightower lathes, wood, etc.

I lost interest. I kept everything but sold the saw machine.
 
iusedtoberich said:
Yes, that was only one piece. I also had a full woodworking shop, a metal lathe, a Bridgeport mill, (they were from before my cuemaking interest), a cnc router, a saw tapering machine, etc, 2 Hightower lathes, wood, etc.

I lost interest. I kept everything but sold the saw machine.
Click to expand...

I know exactly what you mean ... their are periods I go through that I just dont feel the need. Sounds like you have enough equipment to make about any cue you desire.
Never .... ever ... sell your wood.
 
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