What it takes to build quality cues!
Wood selection!
You must first find a good wood source. Make sure all of the woods have been kiln dried. Most woods come with a moisture content of about 6.5 to 8.5. This is ok. The supplier will tell you it was down to 6.5 or 7 when it was shipped. Wood will pick up a lot of moisture during shipping.[ Wood will change over night in your shop. Keep the air/conditioner on about 72 day and night. In the winter time don’t let direct heat blow on the wood. This will cause it to check. [cause several cracks]. About 68 degrees is about right during the winter month’s. So check it with your moisture meter. A reading of 6 to 7 is fine. Don’t be alarmed if it reads to high. Just dry it on the shelf. [ always stick the meter prongs in the “end grain’ of the wood]. After receiving your wood, select what your going to use. Then you center drill each end and turn it between centers. Then you treat it in a solution for a few minutes. [ a wood stabilizer].Then let it dry, and dry and dry, for up to 3 weeks, or more. When you have time go back and turn cut and begin to shelf dry all your woods. Stack two inches apart, and cross stack the same way. Let plenty of room temperature air circulate around your woods. Shafts you should be hung up from the ferrule end. Heavy end down. A cup hook works fine.
Fronts, and handles cored!
If using woods as ebony, or coca-bolo, or any heavy wood, I re-center drill one end and then bore a ¾” hole from one end to the other and plug this hole with a piece of hard rock maple. This will make the cue front lighter, and will also help stabilize the front. I do the handles the same way. Most of my cues, regardless of what woods, I bore out and plug this same manner. Again, stabilizing the forearms and handles.
Turning between centers, and assembly!
Now you turn it between centers again, and start shaping it with a taper. Cut tenons on each end, then center drill and drill and tap each end. When cutting tennons on the ends, be sure to keep the material “between” centers. This way it will always turn in the same location, [ same center]. Then do the same to your handle wood stock. These pieces of wood could take up to 4 or more month’s to “dry” before they are ready to be assembled for a cue. I have wood that has been drying for over 20 years. After you assemble the cue, you can then cut your butt sleeve and install it on the rear of the cue. Now you dip it again and let it hang for several days and in some cases, several month’s. When it’s ready for turn cutting, you turn cut a small amount [ maybe .010 thousands per cut] of woods off several times over several weeks and or month’s. When turn cutting I take the same amount of wood off with each pass, including the wrap channel. By doing this, the wood is exposed equally through out it’s length, and surface area, cuts the same.. Another words take the same surface amount off with each cut. Some cue makers cut the wrap channel only on the last cut. I don’t believe in this method.
The Butt, and Inlaying,
It’s now been cut a min., of 5 times. It’s over sized by about .030 thousands of an inch. [Inlay size] .
I have chosen the [wood ivory or whatever] I want for my inlay patterns. I place the material down on the vacuum table and begin cutting out male parts pattern. After this is complete, I cut the female pockets in the cue. I am a firm believer that if you cut the female pockets today, you should cut the male counter parts the same day. This cue should be inlayed and glued up the same day. Pockets and parts can shrink and swell after a time. Now I let the cue sit for a few days, and then turn cut it for the last time.
Installing the pin,
It’s now time to re-center drill the joint end of the butt. Center drill and make sure you drill deep enough with a relief in the face. If you fail to recess the drilled hole, the cue shaft will not “make’ up properly. Now you either tap or grind the pins threads. I grind mine. It makes the thread stay straight every time. Install the pin and glue it in. I, cold grind the edge of the pin, so it want heat up and bend. [ cold grind, means grind very slow and cool with water often].Just a little heat will warp the pin. The pin must be installed right, or the cue will roll as if it had a bent pin. I then turn the cue around placing it back in my engine lathe, and center drill and tap for the bumper.
Shafts!
These also take a long time to cut and season. I cut them to a given length, and center drill each end and again turn between centers. [ I dip the shafts to stabilize them].When removing wood from the shafts, I first start with the finished taper, profile. Meaning that it’s a larger size of the finished taper, but again, we cut off the same amount of wood on each pass. I cut the shafts a min., of 8 times. I normally cut my tenons just before the very last cut. I then install the ring work and trim the down on my engine lathe. Then take the last turn cut to within .004 thousands of an inch of my given finished size. Example, .844 down to finished size .840. This leaves me room to sand and prep for painting. I, center drill and tap or grind the threads as I have done with the butt joint end, as explained above.
Prep work, sanding and painting!
Now we take the cue, sand it down on my machine, then hand sand, and polish the ring work. Now it’s ready for paint. While this is in the paint booth, we go back to the shafts. Cut the tenons for the ferrules. Install the ferrule, trim down to size on the engine lathe. Then prep the shaft for painting as above.. After each have been painted several time along with wet sanding and compounding, we then cut the round corners of the channel area on each end. I at this point go back to the paint booth and give the butt one last coat of paint making sure I cover the entire wrap area with paint. Now it’s sealed. Finishing up!
Wrap it with linen or leather and Re-compound and buff out.
I hope this explains about cues. I could write on for days, but I think this will help you each understand about cue construction a little more.
Give me a few days and I’ll talk about shop machinery and what it takes.
Blud
Wood selection!
You must first find a good wood source. Make sure all of the woods have been kiln dried. Most woods come with a moisture content of about 6.5 to 8.5. This is ok. The supplier will tell you it was down to 6.5 or 7 when it was shipped. Wood will pick up a lot of moisture during shipping.[ Wood will change over night in your shop. Keep the air/conditioner on about 72 day and night. In the winter time don’t let direct heat blow on the wood. This will cause it to check. [cause several cracks]. About 68 degrees is about right during the winter month’s. So check it with your moisture meter. A reading of 6 to 7 is fine. Don’t be alarmed if it reads to high. Just dry it on the shelf. [ always stick the meter prongs in the “end grain’ of the wood]. After receiving your wood, select what your going to use. Then you center drill each end and turn it between centers. Then you treat it in a solution for a few minutes. [ a wood stabilizer].Then let it dry, and dry and dry, for up to 3 weeks, or more. When you have time go back and turn cut and begin to shelf dry all your woods. Stack two inches apart, and cross stack the same way. Let plenty of room temperature air circulate around your woods. Shafts you should be hung up from the ferrule end. Heavy end down. A cup hook works fine.
Fronts, and handles cored!
If using woods as ebony, or coca-bolo, or any heavy wood, I re-center drill one end and then bore a ¾” hole from one end to the other and plug this hole with a piece of hard rock maple. This will make the cue front lighter, and will also help stabilize the front. I do the handles the same way. Most of my cues, regardless of what woods, I bore out and plug this same manner. Again, stabilizing the forearms and handles.
Turning between centers, and assembly!
Now you turn it between centers again, and start shaping it with a taper. Cut tenons on each end, then center drill and drill and tap each end. When cutting tennons on the ends, be sure to keep the material “between” centers. This way it will always turn in the same location, [ same center]. Then do the same to your handle wood stock. These pieces of wood could take up to 4 or more month’s to “dry” before they are ready to be assembled for a cue. I have wood that has been drying for over 20 years. After you assemble the cue, you can then cut your butt sleeve and install it on the rear of the cue. Now you dip it again and let it hang for several days and in some cases, several month’s. When it’s ready for turn cutting, you turn cut a small amount [ maybe .010 thousands per cut] of woods off several times over several weeks and or month’s. When turn cutting I take the same amount of wood off with each pass, including the wrap channel. By doing this, the wood is exposed equally through out it’s length, and surface area, cuts the same.. Another words take the same surface amount off with each cut. Some cue makers cut the wrap channel only on the last cut. I don’t believe in this method.
The Butt, and Inlaying,
It’s now been cut a min., of 5 times. It’s over sized by about .030 thousands of an inch. [Inlay size] .
I have chosen the [wood ivory or whatever] I want for my inlay patterns. I place the material down on the vacuum table and begin cutting out male parts pattern. After this is complete, I cut the female pockets in the cue. I am a firm believer that if you cut the female pockets today, you should cut the male counter parts the same day. This cue should be inlayed and glued up the same day. Pockets and parts can shrink and swell after a time. Now I let the cue sit for a few days, and then turn cut it for the last time.
Installing the pin,
It’s now time to re-center drill the joint end of the butt. Center drill and make sure you drill deep enough with a relief in the face. If you fail to recess the drilled hole, the cue shaft will not “make’ up properly. Now you either tap or grind the pins threads. I grind mine. It makes the thread stay straight every time. Install the pin and glue it in. I, cold grind the edge of the pin, so it want heat up and bend. [ cold grind, means grind very slow and cool with water often].Just a little heat will warp the pin. The pin must be installed right, or the cue will roll as if it had a bent pin. I then turn the cue around placing it back in my engine lathe, and center drill and tap for the bumper.
Shafts!
These also take a long time to cut and season. I cut them to a given length, and center drill each end and again turn between centers. [ I dip the shafts to stabilize them].When removing wood from the shafts, I first start with the finished taper, profile. Meaning that it’s a larger size of the finished taper, but again, we cut off the same amount of wood on each pass. I cut the shafts a min., of 8 times. I normally cut my tenons just before the very last cut. I then install the ring work and trim the down on my engine lathe. Then take the last turn cut to within .004 thousands of an inch of my given finished size. Example, .844 down to finished size .840. This leaves me room to sand and prep for painting. I, center drill and tap or grind the threads as I have done with the butt joint end, as explained above.
Prep work, sanding and painting!
Now we take the cue, sand it down on my machine, then hand sand, and polish the ring work. Now it’s ready for paint. While this is in the paint booth, we go back to the shafts. Cut the tenons for the ferrules. Install the ferrule, trim down to size on the engine lathe. Then prep the shaft for painting as above.. After each have been painted several time along with wet sanding and compounding, we then cut the round corners of the channel area on each end. I at this point go back to the paint booth and give the butt one last coat of paint making sure I cover the entire wrap area with paint. Now it’s sealed. Finishing up!
Wrap it with linen or leather and Re-compound and buff out.
I hope this explains about cues. I could write on for days, but I think this will help you each understand about cue construction a little more.
Give me a few days and I’ll talk about shop machinery and what it takes.
Blud
