Lathe advice needed!!!

[RogiBear]

I am a complete novice to turning. However I'm in need of a lathe to carry work out on snooker cues. Tapering down blanks, drilling and fitting ferrules etc. The problem is I need a C2C of about 62" I have heard that you can use record lathes and use longer bars to extend them. Using a centre steady to stop vibrations etc. Would this be my best bet or are there other alternatives without spending 1000's? Any specific tools you would recommend?

Cheers

 

[dj.]

If you are wanting to turn something as specific as a snooker cue then the cheapest option would be to rig up a home made lathe utilizing a headstock of some description & making the rest from some dry stable timber.
That way you could make it a long as you need with a tool rest as long as the lathe, that way you can make a single pass along the whole length. I`ve seen this done by a chap who turned walking sticks with great success.


Regards.

dj.

 

[RogiBear]

If you are wanting to turn something as specific as a snooker cue then the cheapest option would be to rig up a home made lathe utilizing a headstock of some description & making the rest from some dry stable timber.
That way you could make it a long as you need with a tool rest as long as the lathe, that way you can make a single pass along the whole length. I`ve seen this done by a chap who turned walking sticks with great success.


Regards.

dj.

Ok, thanks for that. Be kind if I have this completely wrong. So if I were to do this are you saying I wouldn't need a tail? Or could I use a tail and just make the bit in between. Also is there a particular motor size I would require or speed setting for this type of work?

Thanks in advance

 

[chipmunk]

Hi,
I think dj was suggesting that you cannibalize any lathe and mount the headstock and tailstock where they need to be for your cues.

You don't need a powerful lathe for spindle turning such as this - I'd have thought any mini lathe of 1/2 HP (375 Watts) or more would be fine.

Your biggest problem will be flex in the cue away from the head and tailstocks and so at least one steady would be a good idea IMHO as you say in the OP but there in lies a snag. Without a continuous lathe bed how do you move the steady?

I think you need a good solid bench to mount the head and tail stocks and give you somewhere to attach the steady or steadies.

HTH
Jon

 

[marcros]

is a lathe essential? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R8WH8f-rnI is worth a watch. I would have thought that for drilling you could make a jig to centre everything.

Looks pretty easy stuff- this chap makes a cue in a little under 5 minutes.

 

[RogiBear]

Hi,
I think dj was suggesting that you cannibalize any lathe and mount the headstock and tailstock where they need to be for your cues.

You don't need a powerful lathe for spindle turning such as this - I'd have thought any mini lathe of 1/2 HP (375 Watts) or more would be fine.

Your biggest problem will be flex in the cue away from the head and tailstocks and so at least one steady would be a good idea IMHO as you say in the OP but there in lies a snag. Without a continuous lathe bed how do you move the steady?

I think you need a good solid bench to mount the head and tail stocks and give you somewhere to attach the steady or steadies.

HTH
Jon

OK, thanks for explaining. Although it sounds as though it would do the job, although it won't have the flexibility of making different size cues due to the fixed tail unless I create a method to fix it in different positions. (probably should have said that earlier ) As it will be used used for both one piece and 3/4 split cues. So range of ~18" - 60" in length. So would you say using bars like the record lathes would be the best bet?

 

[RogiBear]

is a lathe essential? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R8WH8f-rnI is worth a watch. I would have thought that for drilling you could make a jig to centre everything.

Looks pretty easy stuff- this chap makes a cue in a little under 5 minutes.

For a 3/4 it probably is possible without a lathe, like you say with a jig. However on a 1 piece sometimes you need to dril from the base about 14-18" which i don't think I'd trust without one.

 

[chipmunk]

Well I'm not a fan of Record bed-bar lathes for several reasons but in this case because the bars sag and should be turned relatively frequently. So I'd caution against installing longer bars which are even more likely to sag!

One solution to your problem would be to buy two cheap cast iron bed lathes with sliding headstocks and bolt the beds in-line on a long bench.

Something like this lathe...
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-hobby-series-awvsl1000-woodturning-lathe-prod886609/
and another bed of the same type in-line.

Alternatively you could buy a lathe with a bed extension and just have a gap between the lathe and the bed extension with the tailstock and steady rest on the extension.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-hobby-series-ah-1218-woodturning-lathe-prod890268/
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-hobby-ah-1218-and-ah-1218vs-bed-extension-prod895545/

HTH
Jon

 

[dickm]

My previous lathe was a Tyme Avon which came from a guy who made snooker cues for a living. It had an original maker's extension bed, so there was support at about two thirds of total length (about 60"). The bars on the Avon were thinner than on the CL models, but didn't ever seem to show any sag.

 

[Steve922]

It can be fairly easy to extend smaller lathes. I have a Record DML24,one of the cheapest good lathes. I replaced the bed bars with 1 3/8 round bar in about 15 minutes to make it 48" and it is VERY sturdy.

As pointed out above, for thinner work such as cues a middle support will be essential.