My workshop

[matthias]

My workshop

Good morning steve
I didn't know, would expect a message for the full inbox..... I will empty it.
looking forward to it
cheers
matt

[DeanH]

My workshop

I can try, is it mathias or mathias12 or mathias121?

[vmax]

You're welcome, new one coming soon as well as a custom job for a member of the forum that should be finished soon.

Well I've finished the custom job for Mathias on the forum but can't tell him as his pm inbox is full, so could a moderator or someone give him a heads up about this

[vmax]

Just read through the whole thread in one hit, cheers for the updates and insights Vmax!

You're welcome, new one coming soon as well as a custom job for a member of the forum that should be finished soon, I hope

[vmax]

Would love to learn to make my own cues. I'm pretty handy with wood but have no idea what equipment I need or know where to start with a cue. I can't find any online guides at all.

This youtube video is where I started.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_RJUcyvr_s

[Mellow Yellow]

Would love to learn to make my own cues. I'm pretty handy with wood but have no idea what equipment I need or know where to start with a cue. I can't find any online guides at all.

there are plenty out there if you look :-)

making a cue is tricky!
making a good cue is very very tricky!

[nuts00]

Would love to learn to make my own cues. I'm pretty handy with wood but have no idea what equipment I need or know where to start with a cue. I can't find any online guides at all.

[jimmydregz]

Just read through the whole thread in one hit, cheers for the updates and insights Vmax!

[DeanH]

love the colour and figuring on the butt

[vmax]

Great work vmax!

Thanx, finished it this morning

https://www.flickr.com/photos/vmax4steve/shares/Q8GCYv

57 1/4 inches long, 9.5mm brass ferrule, 29.4mm diameter butt, balanced at 17 & 1/2 inches, 16.5 oz's, ash shaft with butterfly spliced black walnut butt, comes with a mini butt, if it suits anyone then pm me for a deal.

[the lone wolf]

Great work vmax!

[vmax]

Finished it last week, I've experimented with a thicker taper like John Higgins' cue, looks different when sighting down the shaft but plays very well, very solid hit, have retro fitted a badge and need to re-finish the butt but here are some pics of it prior the badge.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/vmax4steve/shares/M9W3J9

Been working on this one all last week, butterfly spliced 3/4 ash with black walnut butt, nearly finished.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/vmax4steve/shares/Y4n34t

[vmax]

Sounds good Steve.

I'm sure I read somewhere that some people plane them but I might be wrong.

Saw pics of Crispian Jones making his own once which looked interesting.

You can plane them as lead is very soft but the splices were to the correct length so I didn't want to plane any more off so 5 seconds on the belt sander is all it takes as they're pretty much flush anyway.

[Shockerz]

Make my own lead weights/plugs as I have a little kiln, pour the molten lead into a mould made by drilling 12mm holes into a small piece of 25mm plywood and when cool cut them to the desired length with the bandsaw, place them in the holes, give them a knock with a hammer and small drift to spread them for a tight fit and then level them on the belt sander. All nice and snug when the splices are glued on the top.

Sounds good Steve.

I'm sure I read somewhere that some people plane them but I might be wrong.

Saw pics of Crispian Jones making his own once which looked interesting.

[vmax]

So this is what I did this morning; I took off the clamps holding the amargo amargo splice, bench planed most of it off and then hand planed it to roundish, planing from the tips of the splices to the butt end so the plane followed the taper already set.
Then I hand planed the whole cue from butt to tip to get it about 1mm over size, then sanded it in four stages of 60 grade, 120 grade, 180 grade and finally 240 grade to about 0.5mm over size, sanded the cue twice the circumference at each stage.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/vmax4steve/shares/820nq5

Weighed the cue at this stage and it was 18.2 ounces and balanced at 19 inches so no need to add any extra weight. Decided to fit a mini butt, so set the cue in the lathe for drilling first with an 8mm bit, let it cool, then a 10, let it cool and then a 12 as I find drilling straight into the butt with a 12 makes the cue overheat and possibly delaminate the splices even though I'm drilling into the 10mm square of ash in the middle.
All bits were taken to the correct depth for the female part of the joint which only weighed 0.4 of an ounce or 11 grammes; the mini butt I cut from a length of solid ekki I had turned on the lathe last year for mini butts, drilled it the same as I did for the cue but had to cut a small ridge inside the 10mm hole for the 12.9mm flange on the male joint to sit into so it would make a wood to wood connection.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/vmax4steve/shares/937gz2

Cutting to final length, fitting the ferrule and final finishing will take place next week.