Wood Lathe...

Yeah I think the question is about a steady rest.

Most anything I use a wood lathe for does'nt require one, and the concave live center is what is mostly used to hold the end of the shaft. They are basically few operations usually done with them. Operations that could be done are things like shaft sanding, cleaning, and sealing. Some people use one with a small motor and foot control mounted on it for wrapping also. They have been modified with a low RPM motor for spraying also (caution with spraying though as the motor could ignite some sprays if the correct types are'nt used or the fumes, and/or are not ventlated correctly). I guess you could work off of a steady bearing if you had one made to fit it, but a lathe better suited for operations like that would be the best way to go. Woodlathes would not be My first choice for working tips off a steady, but It's been done. The best way is coming out of a headstock with a collet IMO, and most wood lathes have no through hole for that, as well as no crosslide for when that is needed.

Greg
 
> I can tell you that some of the Chinese wood lathes can be impossible to find a chuck for,because of the spindle thread. The one I bought for 99.00 from a traveling tool company had a spindle thread of 18mm-2.5,and the chuck I bought from Chris is 3/4-16,so I went to a machine shop and had adapters made to fit the big chuck and the 1/2-20 Jacobs on the tailstock. These are 1.500 x 3.000 CR steel,internally threaded 18mm-2.5,and deep enough that they bottom out on the tailstock and spindle,with a 1/2 long tenon on the end,threaded to fit the new chucks. I didn't start machine shop school until several years after this,and didn't know anyone that hook me up on them,so I paid 35.00 each for them. A friend that wanted to learn to do his own shafts bought the same lathe I did but got a friend to cut the metric threads off the spindle and rethread it 3/4-16 and had a 4" Bison chuck GIVEN to him,dammit. Add the cost of the 2 chucks and adapters and I spent twice as much to get it spinning shafts as I did for the machine,but from what I hear here,that is almost normal. Tommy D.
 
will8834,,,,,,,,,, harborfreight.com sells a cheap lathe steady rest,,,what I did was replace the steel wheels with urethane skateboard wheels (wal-mart skateboard less than $10),,,required a little crafting, works fine,,,need to keep the wheels clean and they must not touch/roll against each other,,,,,,,,,,,,,,jflan
 
Suggestions

Being the cheap guy that I am, I think I know exactly what our friend is looking for. I started off with the same questions a couple of years ago, and I found it very frustrating that cuemakers would not offer any guidance or advice. All you would be told is "Buy Hightowers book", or "you can't build a cue without a metal lathe." Well, I eventually did buy the book and video, but I did so after purchasing my first $99 wood lathe. Here's some of what what I learned:

1. You are not going to build a cue with your $99 wood lathe. Rewraps and tip work will also be very difficult. The main problem is the vibration you get from the flimsy construction of the bed and the inaccurate centering between the headstock and the tailstock. These lathes are basically for new woodturners (like all of us were once) that want to turn some wood and get their feet wet. Keep the parts though, I still use mine to spin a metal cutting circular blade and I have used the other parts in various jigs in my shop.

2. My third lathe (after the $99 model) was another Chinese wood lathe, but it was a much improved model. It had a revolving headstock (for bowl turning) a heavy duty bed and plenty of length for turning 29 to 30 inch cue components. After buying a special four jaw chuck for the lathe, and an M2 taper drill chuck for the tailstock, I figured I was ready to make a cue. Well, I eventually did make a cue with this lathe (sorta kinda). I spent days turning some Wenge and Zebra wood down from 2" by 2" squares. As I got close to the right diameter, I would stop and check the size with my calipers. After turning and reaming a solid tenon joint to join the woods together, I glued and clamped them on the lathe.
3. The next day I drilled the joint pin hole by letting the joint end roll on some urethane skating wheels that I had adopted to a piece of pine at just the right height. The drill chuck in the tailstock reamed the hole pretty well.
4. I then started turning the wood again to center it on the new joint pin. When I got real close to the diameter that I wanted on each end of the cue, I worked on a gentle taper from the joint end to the butt. I finished this using a lot of sandpaper on the wood as the lathe turned. Result? A straight handle/Forearm that looked pretty good.
5. Shaft? Forget making a shaft on a wood lathe.It could be done, but believe me, you don't want to go there. It would be cheaper to go to the store and buy one that you can adapt. That is exactly what I did for this cue. A Minnesota Fats cue shaft was placed on my handmade forearm. I took the tailstock off my wood lathe and turned the whole assembled cue to turn the shaft down and match the forearm's joint diameter.
6. I can play with the cue I made, and it is reasonably straight. But it is nothing that I would sell or even give away. There are just too many imperfections. The Wenge was a tough wood to start off with, and I would not recommend it.
7. You can do tips and other work on a wood lathe if you make jigs like I have described here. But, you are really really taking the hard road my friend.
I just started playing with my new (used) 20" metal lathe, and Geez! This is so much easier. I have already made a jig to double the capacity of the lathe, and I look forward to turning out some nice shafts on it. Even so, I can already see the advantage of having taper bars and a larger spindle bore for Forearms.
8. I think learning this craft is an adventure that can be enjoyed as a hobby without throwing two grand or more at it right off. Hightower and Porper make good quality machines, but if you want to install tips only, I would suggest you start with a Taig Micro Lathe or a Sherline. They will both adapt easily and they have the features of a full metal lathe. You can make a simple steady rest out of a wooden plank and some table felt. Don't ask Taig for a longer bed though. One of our cue making friends has that market all tied up (smile). I wonder sometimes how he did this, but it is a fact. Taig will not sell you a long bed. You can make it yourself or pay The Man for it.
Good luck!
 
Krypto said:
Being the cheap guy that I am, I think I know exactly what our friend is looking for. I started off with the same questions a couple of years ago, and I found it very frustrating that cuemakers would not offer any guidance or advice. All you would be told is "Buy Hightowers book", or "you can't build a cue without a metal lathe." Well, I eventually did buy the book and video, but I did so after purchasing my first $99 wood lathe. Here's some of what what I learned:

1. You are not going to build a cue with your $99 wood lathe. Rewraps and tip work will also be very difficult. The main problem is the vibration you get from the flimsy construction of the bed and the inaccurate centering between the headstock and the tailstock. These lathes are basically for new woodturners (like all of us were once) that want to turn some wood and get their feet wet. Keep the parts though, I still use mine to spin a metal cutting circular blade and I have used the other parts in various jigs in my shop.

2. My third lathe (after the $99 model) was another Chinese wood lathe, but it was a much improved model. It had a revolving headstock (for bowl turning) a heavy duty bed and plenty of length for turning 29 to 30 inch cue components. After buying a special four jaw chuck for the lathe, and an M2 taper drill chuck for the tailstock, I figured I was ready to make a cue. Well, I eventually did make a cue with this lathe (sorta kinda). I spent days turning some Wenge and Zebra wood down from 2" by 2" squares. As I got close to the right diameter, I would stop and check the size with my calipers. After turning and reaming a solid tenon joint to join the woods together, I glued and clamped them on the lathe.
3. The next day I drilled the joint pin hole by letting the joint end roll on some urethane skating wheels that I had adopted to a piece of pine at just the right height. The drill chuck in the tailstock reamed the hole pretty well.
4. I then started turning the wood again to center it on the new joint pin. When I got real close to the diameter that I wanted on each end of the cue, I worked on a gentle taper from the joint end to the butt. I finished this using a lot of sandpaper on the wood as the lathe turned. Result? A straight handle/Forearm that looked pretty good.
5. Shaft? Forget making a shaft on a wood lathe.It could be done, but believe me, you don't want to go there. It would be cheaper to go to the store and buy one that you can adapt. That is exactly what I did for this cue. A Minnesota Fats cue shaft was placed on my handmade forearm. I took the tailstock off my wood lathe and turned the whole assembled cue to turn the shaft down and match the forearm's joint diameter.
6. I can play with the cue I made, and it is reasonably straight. But it is nothing that I would sell or even give away. There are just too many imperfections. The Wenge was a tough wood to start off with, and I would not recommend it.
7. You can do tips and other work on a wood lathe if you make jigs like I have described here. But, you are really really taking the hard road my friend.
I just started playing with my new (used) 20" metal lathe, and Geez! This is so much easier. I have already made a jig to double the capacity of the lathe, and I look forward to turning out some nice shafts on it. Even so, I can already see the advantage of having taper bars and a larger spindle bore for Forearms.
8. I think learning this craft is an adventure that can be enjoyed as a hobby without throwing two grand or more at it right off. Hightower and Porper make good quality machines, but if you want to install tips only, I would suggest you start with a Taig Micro Lathe or a Sherline. They will both adapt easily and they have the features of a full metal lathe. You can make a simple steady rest out of a wooden plank and some table felt. Don't ask Taig for a longer bed though. One of our cue making friends has that market all tied up (smile). I wonder sometimes how he did this, but it is a fact. Taig will not sell you a long bed. You can make it yourself or pay The Man for it.
Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks this was the info I was looking.
 
tiag

Krypto said:
Being the cheap guy that I am, I think I know exactly what our friend is looking for. I started off with the same questions a couple of years ago, and I found it very frustrating that cuemakers would not offer any guidance or advice. All you would be told is "Buy Hightowers book", or "you can't build a cue without a metal lathe." Well, I eventually did buy the book and video, but I did so after purchasing my first $99 wood lathe. Here's some of what what I learned:

1. You are not going to build a cue with your $99 wood lathe. Rewraps and tip work will also be very difficult. The main problem is the vibration you get from the flimsy construction of the bed and the inaccurate centering between the headstock and the tailstock. These lathes are basically for new woodturners (like all of us were once) that want to turn some wood and get their feet wet. Keep the parts though, I still use mine to spin a metal cutting circular blade and I have used the other parts in various jigs in my shop.

2. My third lathe (after the $99 model) was another Chinese wood lathe, but it was a much improved model. It had a revolving headstock (for bowl turning) a heavy duty bed and plenty of length for turning 29 to 30 inch cue components. After buying a special four jaw chuck for the lathe, and an M2 taper drill chuck for the tailstock, I figured I was ready to make a cue. Well, I eventually did make a cue with this lathe (sorta kinda). I spent days turning some Wenge and Zebra wood down from 2" by 2" squares. As I got close to the right diameter, I would stop and check the size with my calipers. After turning and reaming a solid tenon joint to join the woods together, I glued and clamped them on the lathe.
3. The next day I drilled the joint pin hole by letting the joint end roll on some urethane skating wheels that I had adopted to a piece of pine at just the right height. The drill chuck in the tailstock reamed the hole pretty well.
4. I then started turning the wood again to center it on the new joint pin. When I got real close to the diameter that I wanted on each end of the cue, I worked on a gentle taper from the joint end to the butt. I finished this using a lot of sandpaper on the wood as the lathe turned. Result? A straight handle/Forearm that looked pretty good.
5. Shaft? Forget making a shaft on a wood lathe.It could be done, but believe me, you don't want to go there. It would be cheaper to go to the store and buy one that you can adapt. That is exactly what I did for this cue. A Minnesota Fats cue shaft was placed on my handmade forearm. I took the tailstock off my wood lathe and turned the whole assembled cue to turn the shaft down and match the forearm's joint diameter.
6. I can play with the cue I made, and it is reasonably straight. But it is nothing that I would sell or even give away. There are just too many imperfections. The Wenge was a tough wood to start off with, and I would not recommend it.
7. You can do tips and other work on a wood lathe if you make jigs like I have described here. But, you are really really taking the hard road my friend.
I just started playing with my new (used) 20" metal lathe, and Geez! This is so much easier. I have already made a jig to double the capacity of the lathe, and I look forward to turning out some nice shafts on it. Even so, I can already see the advantage of having taper bars and a larger spindle bore for Forearms.
8. I think learning this craft is an adventure that can be enjoyed as a hobby without throwing two grand or more at it right off. Hightower and Porper make good quality machines, but if you want to install tips only, I would suggest you start with a Taig Micro Lathe or a Sherline. They will both adapt easily and they have the features of a full metal lathe. You can make a simple steady rest out of a wooden plank and some table felt. Don't ask Taig for a longer bed though. One of our cue making friends has that market all tied up (smile). I wonder sometimes how he did this, but it is a fact. Taig will not sell you a long bed. You can make it yourself or pay The Man for it.
Good luck!
Click to expand...



I got Tiag to qoute me something with a 1.5 inch spindle bore and a 34inch bed......
 
Yes, Please Share Your Good Fortune

If Taig would make such a machine, it would sell very well. I would buy one myself if it is anywhere near their standard lathe prices. I would like to know more info on this quote also, as I have called them and e-mailed them, and they refuse to even offer a longer bed (much less a larger spindle bore). I hope I am wrong, but they could be steering you back to a popular cuemaker and lathe designer that posts here on AZ regularly. That is exactly where they referred me on my inquiry. Again, nice equipment, but the price is higher than what one could buy a nice used metal lathe for. Control = money folks.
 
Tiag

RSB-Refugee said:
What did they say?

Tracy
Click to expand...


Its saved on my work computer. Let me get back to you Monday. Plus I dont remember when i got it, so my little blurb could be outdated.
 
Last edited:
Ring said:
Its saved on my work computer. Let me get back to you Monday. Plus I dont remember when i got it, so my little blurb could be outdated.
Click to expand...


Ok, I went down stairs and turned on my work computer (oh the effort I put out for you guys)

My qoute is from Jan 05. It was for the lathe with a 1 3/8 spindle bore. I didnt ask for a longer bed cause I figured that I could mount that piece on a bench or something so didnt need the longer bed.

$395 plus $120 for 2 chucks.

I didnt do it cause I thought I could get a better bang for my buck by buying a bigger used lathe and then getting a wood lathe for shaft/finishing/ wrapping etc.

I just wanted a nice big heavy lathe, and I thats what I got. (Clausing Colechester 13x36)
 
Ring said:
Ok, I went down stairs and turned on my work computer (oh the effort I put out for you guys)

My qoute is from Jan 05. It was for the lathe with a 1 3/8 spindle bore. I didnt ask for a longer bed cause I figured that I could mount that piece on a bench or something so didnt need the longer bed.

$395 plus $120 for 2 chucks.

I didnt do it cause I thought I could get a better bang for my buck by buying a bigger used lathe and then getting a wood lathe for shaft/finishing/ wrapping etc.

I just wanted a nice big heavy lathe, and I thats what I got. (Clausing Colechester 13x36)
Click to expand...
Good choice.
Imo, one cannot make solid cues without metal lathe.
 
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