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Thread: Lathe Chuck Question

  1. #16
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    Aug 2005
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    Northern New Jersey
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    Brice...Cues break down into two pieces with the joint being at the midpoint. Each section is about 29" plus or minus about 1/2". This is the standard for American cues. It also allows them to fit into a cue case for travel which usually supports up to a 30" max section.

    Only 'house cues' are one piece and live only in the pool hall or at home. House cues are also the cheapest cue available and desirable for abuse at a pool hall.

    Therefore, my delta lathe can support 29" butt section with plenty of room to spare.

    I will only make the butt section (the back end). It will be 29" long and range from 1 1/4" dia at the end to 7/8" dia at the joint to mate with common shafts.

    The shaft section (front end) will be purchased from a major cue company in lieu of making one. They are 29" long, 7/8" dia at the joint and 1/2" at the tip. Modern composite materials and spliced construction on a factory made high performance shaft cannot be replicated by a small custom cue maker nor the hobbyist working in his garage. A shaft is what makes a cue perform and define most of the cue’s character. The butt is only decorative but does allow for weight adjustment.

    I built a spindle support using roller blade wheels. However, since I'm only making the butt, and the butt is pretty robust in diameter, whipping should not be an issue.

    Here’s a CAD drawing of my concept...
    Slide1.jpg
    Thank goodness for SMC and wood dough.

  2. #17
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    Aug 2005
    Location
    Northern New Jersey
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    The cue will have base material of curly maple (white) for the aft and fore grip sections. The other woods will be macassar ebony (black), redheart (reddish) and canary wood (medium brown).

    The sections will be held together with a centralized 3/4" maple dowel to ensure a crisp feel when stroking. A high quality slow set epoxy with a black resin dye will be used for all construction.

    The finish will be a two part automotive epoxy urethane that is available in a special dual bladder spray can know as 2K.

    I'm also considering making the aft grip removable to support different lengths that are sometimes needed. This will give the cue a nice custom feature that I don't see anyone doing and not rely on cheesy aftermarket add-ons. But, at the end of the day, it will all fit into a cue case. Here's a pic of that concept...

    Slide2.jpg
    Thank goodness for SMC and wood dough.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
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    TX, NM or on the road
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    I would go with a collet chuck. The last picture with the sports butt, I would buy an extra of the screw together mechanism and use the threaded portion with a piece of scrap to create my "driver" that would fit in the collet, and it would drive my blank for turning. As to the blank, I would buy a dowel and glue all of my segments to it. To do this I would buy a 4 jaw chuck, a cheap wood chuck, such as a PSI utility chuck. I would drill all of my segments using the 4 jaw chuck and slide them on the dowel as I glue it all together.

    Confusing? Yes, I will see if I can draw this out and get back to you.

    What size dowel will you use for the core?
    Last edited by Marvin Hasenak; 05-04-2018 at 8:32 PM. Reason: Needed dowel size??

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    San Diego, Ca
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    1,647
    Thanks for the explanation. Keep in mind that with "only" a 28" section of the cue, that you will, nevertheless, want to use steady rest. Why? Well a 2-1/2 foot piece with someone cutting on it may move around a bit. But if you know that what I'm saying (based on experience) is wrong then proceed as you wish.
    Last edited by Brice Rogers; 05-04-2018 at 11:12 PM.

  5. #20
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    Aug 2005
    Location
    Northern New Jersey
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    Regarding the comment about having a spindle support, I plan to build this simple jig instead of using a support that I made earlier.

    Since the butt section of a cue is a linear taper, this simple jig will provide a 'live tool' using my router. With very shallow passes, I anticipate negligible deflection. The jig will have adjustment for the degree of taper even though it's essentially a fixed amount on all cues.

    I anticipate that a live tool will also allow me to work with non-wood materials like ivorine, plastic, silver and brass that will be inlays into the cue (spindle). It will also allow me to deal with varying densities of wood as shown in the pic above for my first cue.

    Any thoughts are appreciated.

    If it doesn't work, I will have the most gorgeous stakes for my tomato plants! All the neighbors will be green with envy!

    Lathe Duplicator (simplified).jpg
    Thank goodness for SMC and wood dough.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
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    TX, NM or on the road
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    With a collet chuck and gluing up the blank so that you have extra on the headstock end, the dowel will fit in the collet. The collet will keep it all on center and not crush the dowel. Build the segmented part in sections about 6" long, drill and then glue them on the dowel core. Leaving dowel on each end. I have made pepper mill blanks this way, using 3" long segments literally stacked and glued together on 1/2 dowels.


  7. #22
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Cambridge Vermont
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    2,282
    Most pool cues have a rubber bumper on the butt end to protect the cue when it's rested on something (a rack, the floor, etc). Could you use that hole for a worm screw then, if too large glue a dowel inside that then could accept the screw for the bumper? I'm new to turning so I'm more trying to learn what people do (I'm not blessed with a turning club near by).

  8. #23
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    Thanks Marvin. That's what I was kind of thinking. Good confirmation.
    -Jeff
    Thank goodness for SMC and wood dough.

  9. #24
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    Aug 2005
    Location
    Northern New Jersey
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    Hi Alex,
    Most cues have a removable rubber bumper that allows access to the weight bolt in the butt. These weights are adjustable to the user by using a bigger or smaller bolt.

    Since my cue is for me, I will likely turn the cue to my desired weight and bore it appropriately. I do not anticipate having a bolt at all. So, your idea is valid.
    -Jeff
    Thank goodness for SMC and wood dough.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    TX, NM or on the road
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    845
    Do you have a drill press? If you do, you can do your drilling on the drill press and skip buying the 4 jaw chuck.

    I also recommend making a plug for the tailstock end out of Delrin or glued together Corian. Something that your live center will not try to find the softest spot and try to go off center. Something as simple as a 1.5" cube with a 3/4" hole drilled about 1/2" deep will work. Slide it on the end of the dowel.

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