Thread: Pool Cues (Work in Progress).

Originally Posted by Purpleheart

Well, I'm going to have a go at doing a "work in progress" thingy, on building a couple of pool cues.

I'm going to start out with the aim of building four, so hopefully at least one will be finished without a major "cue-tastrophy" befalling it.

I will also be trying to learn how to post smaller pictures....(attachments)

Cue 1- Will be mainly Australian Rosewood. I have turned down the shaft and the butt so they are only slightly oversize now, and ready for making look pretty. I have some walnut, purpleheart and thin strips of silver ash, which I will endeavour to cut and splict together to make a pattern of some sort. This cue will hopefully be finished in time to be a christmas gift for someone.

Cue 2 - The Butt will be a birds eyed maple core, and I have some strips of purpleheart, padauk and wenge to glue on, as well as some WA she-oak. It will probably get 2 shafts, one rock maple, and one birds eye. If this cue turns out well, I will probably want to keep it for myself.

Cue 3 - Rock maple butt core. Pieces of padauk and purpleheart still to be cut down, and some strips of maple to break up the colours. Probably just a shaft from rock maple. This is a design I have wanted to try for a while....stay tuned.

Cue 4 - The bits and pieces cue. This will be the most simple design so hopefully I won't mess it up. I have had this piece of bubinga lying around for a while, it will be cut down a bit more, and some other bits glues on to it as well. I should have started to turn in round before the end of the week.

Cheers

Looking forward to it Purpleheart. Cheers, Joe.

Well, I thought I had attached some pictures...but obviously not.

I'll try again........

OK - The photos worked that time.

Spent some time this afternoon sanding one side of the strips of wood nice and smooth. This was done on the "big-boy" belt sander. This machine is always hungry and particularly likes knuckles. Didn't get any today though !!

beauty thanks for doing a WIP Purple.. I'll be following this one for sure.

thanx for posting this thread, looks great so far and looking forward to the rest. you said if will hopefully be ready for xmas, how long do they usually take?

Originally Posted by ss_11000

thanx for posting this thread, looks great so far and looking forward to the rest. you said if will hopefully be ready for xmas, how long do they usually take?

I guess its not the sum total of time I spend on them, but its when I get the time to work on them.

Also, you cannot rush the work or the wood will warp (particularly turning the shaft). And then there is only soo much you can do in any one day, as you are often waiting for glue to dry.

Then again, it also depends on the complexity of the design...and so on...

Cheers.

PS - Any questions along the way, just ask and I will "try" to answer...

Today, the strips which were sanded nice and smooth and flat on one side yesterday, were fed through the drum sander, till they were nice and smooth and flat on both sides, and all the same size (thickness).

I used to do this by hand on the belt sander, using a vernier to check the thickness, but it was almost impossible to get a (near) perfect result.

Here are some of the strips after going through the drum sander.

Started to cut the piece of bubinga down to size, just roughly on the bandsaw.

Even managed to get a "glue-up" done today.

This is the only cue of the four that is having work done "in the square" as opposed to "in the round".

Now with lots of preparation done......tommorow, I get to play on the lathe............

Cheers.......

great photos PH, thanks.

Couldn't you fit an extra calmp in there somewhere ?

The 2 F clamps seen better days!

Great stuff, Purple. Love the grain on that greenish-looking timber (near the white ball here: http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...&d=1152606957). Is that wenge?

About using the drum sander: why is it crucial to have even thickness? (Since the cue is tapered, and the laminations are mostly at an angle anyway...?)

Originally Posted by Harry72

The 2 F clamps seen better days!

You might even say it's "F"d.

I think I got about 10 of them for $2 each from Supercheap Auto.

They come in handy in emergencies....