Pool Cues?

Gord Rock

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Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
:eek:
A friend wants to know if I could turn a pool cue for him. My lathe is a midi lathe and not long enough to turn a cue in one piece. Does anyone know where I could get the hardware (I have no idea what it even looks like) to build a two- or three-piece pool cue. Also, anyone know of a tutorial on the web that could explain how to go about this?

For a newbie turner like me this seems like a big challenge and I'm just dumb enough to like a challenge.:thumb::rofl::rofl:

EDIT: Just realized, there must be some provision for the weight of the cue, as well. Any thoughts on that?
 
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I think that Vaughn is your go to guy on this question, give him a chance to wake up and I"m sure he'll be a great help!

Jay
 
6-8 hrs of labor will get you a stick that`ll be inferior to a 39.95 special from the billiards supply.....been there-done that:eek:
 
Gord, the other guys pretty much summed up what I've learned about making pool cues. If you're friend's a somewhat serious player, then I suspect he wouldn't be satisfied with one made on a midi lathe. The cue-making lathes I've seen are more like a metal lathe, with a precisely controlled tool bit carriage (or whatever it's called) to ensure a perfect taper.

This site has quite a bit of info and supplies, and as Frank mentioned, Google will show a whole lot of others:

http://www.cuesmith.com/

Perhaps you could make your friend a pool cue case instead?
 
Building on Vaughn's idea, maybe you could turn him a case that looks like a giant pool cue. He could get some good laughs out of walking into a pool hall with a cue that's two inches thick.:)
 
Thanks Kerry. An interesting read, and I guess it does show it's doable on a standard wood lathe. (And of course that prompted a search for pool cue turning blanks, which then ate up another hour or so skipping across the Intertube.) :p
 
I was kicking around on the FineWoodworking site tonight, trying to get more money's worth out of my one-year online "subscription". I don't know if non-subscribers can get to this item, but it's a PDF of a 4-page article called "Turning a Pool Cue":

Couldn't get in. I won't say turning a pool cue on a standard lathe is impossible. But, it nearly is. That long, slim form is just way too 'flexy' for decent turning. I have tried canes and walking sticks and ran into the same problem, even with a center steady-rest. That's why most kits for cues and canes involve couplings for making in sections. My canes have ended up with one end clamped in my big Neander post vice and being taken down with a drawknife.
 
Frank, nowadays about 99.99% of all cue sticks are done in sections. The article Kerry linked to is showing the making of a 2-piece cue, and he does indeed use a steady rest. I still think I'd prefer using a specially-made pool cue lathe, but the article does show it can be done, and how to do it.
 
Frank, nowadays about 99.99% of all cue sticks are done in sections. The article Kerry linked to is showing the making of a 2-piece cue, and he does indeed use a steady rest. I still think I'd prefer using a specially-made pool cue lathe, but the article does show it can be done, and how to do it.

I appreciate the "nowadays" update. I believe the last time I played pool was 1955. :eek:
 
Gord,

As an avid pool player myself, I went down this same road not too long ago.

The long and short of it is this: I wouldn't even bother trying to make a shaft. There are many, many high-quality shafts that have thousands of hours of R&D in them. And since the shaft is 90% of what will make a cue "feel" right to a player, I'd start with an aftermarket shaft.

You can then make the butt end of the cue yourself. Get yourself the proper joint and weight bolt, a nice blank, and go to town. You don't need to inlay points if you don't want to. They're just for decoration (some people think they change the feel of the hit, but I've never noticed a difference).

You can join this Yahoo group for some more information:

Cue Builders Yahoo group

HTH,

-Joe
 
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