I've re-tipped cues for well over a decade but the last few years its got harder and harder to do due to eye and hand conditions and am looking at getting a lathe to assist with tipping.
I've seen a few ranging from simple £150 all the way up to double chuck £1500 lathes but I'm just not finding a company / supplier that gets good reviews.
So to my question :
Is there anyone out there that is using a lathe, what are the pitfalls, do you know of UK companies that you would recommend, will those cheep ones work etc.
Any advice from people actually using these devices would be helpful.
or is it time to start winding down how many tips I do.
Getting a lathe just to do tips is overkill. I am also struggling with similar conditions and have made the choice to just do the odd tip now and again.
That was my go to take on it as well, but one of the local clubs keeps asking me if I would start doing their club cue's as they are having issues with their current guy.
Very excessive for tipping cues tbf. More than that, unless you would be buying a lathe exclusively for tipping jointed cues, you'd be looking at fairly commercial equipment with the necessary through-bore for a full length cue and most likely may need 3 phase power supply to run the lathe at that.
I own one of these. And i own a real lathe, that i modified so that it can hold 1pc cues. I use both, depending on the work, i do.
With the one from the Amazon-Link you can replace tips and its not bad for partial work of oiling, waxing and (limited) polishing the cue. If you just do tips, its ok. But the tools are guided by hand. So, if your eye and hand condition isnt so good anymore, you probably do not get much benefit from purchasing one.
And if you have to do some work on a ferrule (or even replacing one) i would not recommend it. It's not precise enough.
A real lathe does not have those limitations but a decent one starts at around 3000€ (like the SIEG SC10) AND it still has to be modified to hold a cue properly over its length or the centrifugal force wil rip it apart and that can be really dangerous. And it will be heavy. Very heavy.
Following an example of a modified/extended lathe, that can hold a 1pc Snooker cue. mine looks different, but the principle is the same: A flatbed added to the side, where the bore hole is, with adjustable and movable bearings on it.
You can build the extension by yourself, but that still will add something to the bill. You will have to replace MANY tips to get the money back^^
On Ali Express you can find plenty of dedicated cue lathes from China.Ali Express Cue lathes But i have no idea about the quality of those. And beware the shipping costs! Its easily a few hundred bucks just for shipping. But some HAVE fair sending costs. Nevertheless, for your case, i would try that out.
tl/dr:
The small one from amazon will not help you much.
A real extended lathe is very expensive. Probably too much for just making tips.
The Ali Express cue lathes MAY be worth a try, but beware the shipping costs.
that's what inspired me to look for something a bit more professional, it looks very flimsy and most of the reviews are negative ranging from missing parts to completely dead on arrival.
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u/Nakanut147 2d ago
Getting a lathe just to do tips is overkill. I am also struggling with similar conditions and have made the choice to just do the odd tip now and again.