VERY basic elementary questions/info

Well, I might confuse you more, but here goes:

Even though a hole is small, 3/16" or 1/4", a boring bar or reamer should get you a straight and aligned hole moreso than a drill bit. That is because a boring bar or reamer is generally stiffer than a drill bit. Drill bits wander, you can often see it as you are drilling a hole. And smaller diameter drill bits wander more than bigger bits.

Now, I did say "should" because it also depends on your ability to align your reamer or boring bar accurately in your cross slide. And, I would agree that a nice carbide drill bit will be really stiff and should give you a nice straight hole But carbide bits are in a class of their own - much different than your more common HSS drill bits.

And I agree with Joey, that a reamer/boring bar is used to true up and clean up a pre-drilled hole of nearly the same diameter.

None of the above matters so awfully much on a ferrule, other than you'd like a pretty good fit so that you get a good glue bond. But when you get around to installing your first joint pin, then alignment and straightness become paramount.

Finally, unless your reamer or boring bar are mis-marked, then they should give you a hole the size that they are marked, given that they are installed/aligned correctly. Do you have a caliper? You should, either digital or analog, doesn't matter so much as a reputable brand. Then you can use your caliper to measure your cutting tool. You might be surprised at how far off some drill bits can be, for example.

I can only imagine that your reamer/boring bar was not aligned exactly on-center with your headstock chuck centerline. That could mean the cross slide was out just a few thousands or the reamer/boring bar was at an angle to the centerline of the chuck.

Hope this helps.

Gary

P.S. I agree you've got to try things first - experience is the best teacher. When you don't get the result you expect, then come here, explain what you did, what your result was, and ask "What happened?" But yes, be careful.

P.P.S (or is it P.S.S?) Put that ivory ferrule away in a safe place until you get your procedure down pat. An elephant was killed so that you could have that little piece of ivory - don't waste it.



Thanks Gary, a wealth of info there, and no worries, I won't be drilling into that ivory ferrule until I get this completely figured out, I had the ferrule way before I got the lathe so I can hold onto it awhile longer.
 
First off - Double D REALLY knows about machining - so you should
pay lots of attention to his advice.

Second off - most of us have been where you are at one time.

Personally, I don't have a lot of patience with people who are not
willing to spend the time to learn how to do something right, but it sounds
like you are happy to just fool around with your own cues for the
time being, with the occasional foray into a friends cue.

IMHO - the guys suggesting you pursue additional avenues of information
are likely to be assuming you will soon want to go into cue work,
just like they did. Maybe, but maybe not.

Third off - are you $h1tting me??????

I just Googled "youtube boring lathe" and got 498,000 hits.

GO watch one.

Sometimes it takes tuff love.
Dale

I KNOW Double D KNOWS machining, I read every post of his I can and I value his help and knowledge, and I've watched ALOT on youtube, but nothing that really answered my question specifically, and I still watch when I get time sitting at work.

And NO, I'm NOT getting into cue work like the rest of these guys, doing my own and occassionally doing a tip for a buddy but no "business" work, I know too little to be messing with someone else's cue
 
I think you should start at the beginning before just trying stuff with your lathe and its tools/parts. If the lathe can work on metal and wood, it can certainly tear you apart and the first clue you will have is when the deed is done. As mentioned, google is a good place to find things out.

I DID start at the beginning, I didn't just get the lathe yesterday but also like I mentioned, I am not in a position to go take any kind of classes right now, so why WOULDN'T I want to play with the lathe and figure things out ?? Being in auto parts MOST of my life, building countless race engines and running a dyno countless times, also as an EX safety coordinator in a sawmill, getting hurt is the least of my worries, I'm probably more safe than you are and certainly more safe than the average guy. I know what the lathe does, just because I don't know what a certain tool does, doesn't mean I'm gonna hurt myself.
 
That is because a boring bar or reamer is generally stiffer than a drill bit. Drill bits wander, you can often see it as you are drilling a hole. And smaller diameter drill bits wander more than bigger bits.

Good point Gary,

After a center drill, I believe that every drilled hole that is not going to be bored should start out with a very short stub drill bit that can not deflect like a long one and one should peck drill with caution. Once the stub drill establishes the path within the blind hole, one can change to a longer bit that will tend to follow the established hole if performed at the right speed and insertion rate.

If reaming is the final step, one should used a reamer that is longer so it has some flex and can also follow the drill's path. I like chucking reamers that stick out of my tail stock chuck about 6 or 7 inches.

JMO.

Rick G
 
:rolleyes: why even bother if you've got to be a smartass about it :rolleyes:

with almost 5 MILLION search results, do you just might think I was seeking a specific name.....

I'm not being a smart ass. Most of the suppliers I have found for EVERYTHING were via Google or a search here.

If you aren't even going to do a bit of your own searching then I guess I shouldn't bother.

However, I have some extra Guhring scew length 7.9mm HSS bits that work perfectly with the Atlas 3/8-10 piloted bit that I'll sell you.

Other than that. Enco, MSC, High Quality Tools in California(they have the indexable cutters you want too:tcgt's: ask for Don and tell him you want the tcgt 32.51 h01 inserts Randy Kramer ordered: triangles), Grainger, and Discount tools to name a few.

I'm not going to split hairs here and say it is pretty frustrating to see a post like this. You received a good amount of sound advice and now you want specific suppliers by name.

Then again, why do I even bother?
 
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I'm not being a smart ass. Most of the suppliers I have found for EVERYTHING were via Google or a search here.

If you aren't even going to do a bit of your own searching then I guess I shouldn't bother.

However, I have some extra Guhring scew length 7.9mm HSS bits that work perfectly with the Atlas 3/8-10 piloted bit that I'll sell you.

Other than that. Enco, MSC, High Quality Tools in California(they have the indexable cutters you want too:tcgt's: ask for Don and tell him you want the tcgt 32.51 h01 inserts Randy Kramer ordered: triangles), Grainger, and Discount tools to name a few.

I'm not going to split hairs here and say it is pretty frustrating to see a post like this. You received a good amount of sound advice and now you want specific suppliers by name.

Then again, why do I even bother?

Geeez Randy, lighten up. You are very correct, I have received some extremely good advice in this post and I very much appreciate it. My only reason for inquiring about a specific supplier from Kim is because of our close proximity to each other. Thank you very much for your contribution, I value your info.
 
I'm not being a smart ass.
Then again, why do I even bother?

Hey Randy,

Why do any of us even bother. I like to believe that we share and learn info from each other. I am in my shop a lot and take a lot of breaks while machines are running or glue up is curing and hang on AZ.

That being said, most of us here are just loser CM geeks with nothing better to. At least that is my story.

JMO,

Rick

PS: will you be attending The Worminator's Cue Show in June?
 
I'm not being a smart ass. Most of the suppliers I have found for EVERYTHING were via Google or a search here.

If you aren't even going to do a bit of your own searching then I guess I shouldn't bother.

However, I have some extra Guhring scew length 7.9mm HSS bits that work perfectly with the Atlas 3/8-10 piloted bit that I'll sell you.

Other than that. Enco, MSC, High Quality Tools in California(they have the indexable cutters you want too:tcgt's: ask for Don and tell him you want the tcgt 32.51 h01 inserts Randy Kramer ordered: triangles), Grainger, and Discount tools to name a few.

I'm not going to split hairs here and say it is pretty frustrating to see a post like this. You received a good amount of sound advice and now you want specific suppliers by name.

Then again, why do I even bother?

32.51 is kinda sharp.
I like 32.52. Great for tips too.
Thanks DZ and RHN.
 
Brickcues...... thanks for taking the time to read my post and provide me some answers. That makes sense and I understand to use the boring bars for an odd size tenon. You got me a little confused though. I have to drill with a 1/4 bit and tap the ferrule with a 5/16-18 tap (<<< I understand that part). Where I'm confused is you then say to tap the 5/16 with a 3/8 x 10 or whatever 3/8 I want to use. How can I use a 3/8 tap in a 5/16 hole ??? And if I have already tapped my ferrule to 5/16-18 then WHAT am I tapping to 3/8 x 10 ??? I have the tool used to thread the tenon but my Coker is practically brand new (I am the 1st original owner) so I'm hoping the tenon is already threaded.

Thank you again for taking the time to help me.

A lot of cuemakers used the 5/16 x 18 threads on their tenons and you drill with .250 or 1/4 in drill and tap with 5/16 x 18. I make my tenons .320 and then drill .312 or 5/16 and tap with 3/8 x 6 or radial. I do not thread the tenon and let the ferrule create the threads as it goes on the tenon. I also do not use capped ferrules as I prefer the wood touching the tip just as Southwest and DPK.

Meucci used to have a .375 or 3/8 inch tenon and he just slipped the ferrule on with glue to hold with no cap. He now has a 5/16 x 18 capped ferrule with about an 1/8 inch gap or hollow between the tenon and ferrule cap.

Predator uses a capped ferrule that is bored to .400. The tenon and the ferrule must match up precisely with the ferrule just touching the shaft at the end of the tenon and the tenon just touching the cap on the ferrule. It is also a slip fit and just held on with glue.

If you want to know what holes to drill and what taps to use on the holes, www.Prathercue.com has a chart on their web site under "Tools". Look for drill and tap chart.

I also glue with wood glue as epoxy leaves a glue line.

Hope this helps,
Alex Brick
 
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If you want some very well done machine shop tutorials go to you tubes mrpete222 chanel they are well done in HD by a retired shop teacher, lots of good info,hope this helps.
Wayde
 
The best thing you could do is purchase a DVD from Chris Hightower. It shows you everything you are asking about on a lathe just like yours.
 
Geeez Randy, lighten up. You are very correct, I have received some extremely good advice in this post and I very much appreciate it. My only reason for inquiring about a specific supplier from Kim is because of our close proximity to each other. Thank you very much for your contribution, I value your info.

Sorry... I guess it was being called a smart ass that got to me. I appreciate you saying thank you.

Rick: Don't think I'll make it to Ohio. HOWEVER, I think I will be in Vegas for a couple of days for the BCA!! :) Look for the short guy with the TALL glass of Scotch.. :)
 
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Sorry... I guess it was being called a smart ass that got to me. I appreciate you saying thank you.


My apologies to you Randy, I shouldn't have said that and I should have thought about it before i posted, I am sorry.

I DO value your opinion and info and I thank you for contributing to my post. :thumbup:
 
yes that's true...

Boring bars are used to cut holes of various sizes by locating the bar off axis of the workpiece.

Drills and reamers are used for making holes on axis.

Buy a machining book or take classes--not 'cuemaking' classes, machining classes.

dld

but remember that boring the holes will give you a much truer to center line hole than drilling EVER can.

It sometimes even makes sense to center drill it very small, then bore a starter hole for whatever size drill bit you're going to use, that will start the drill bit more perfectly on center.

Jaden

Jaden
 
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