Shop Tour & More

Now, what's a shop without a refrigerator. We have it over stocked with Sprite, Ginger Ale, Orange, Heineken, Snapple, lots of Snapple, Heineken and Pepsi. Oh yeah, did we mention Heineken? One important note... once a Heineken gets popped, all machines are shut down for the duration as the day is over at that point. And, if you ever come to visit be sure to have a 12 pack when you ring the bell. You'll get brownie points and maybe a better deal. :-)

Cue LathesThere are many different manufacturers of desktop cue lathes and equipment for building cues. Over the years we've purchased many pre-owned models from all three manufacturers and resold them to new cue makers. As such we've toyed with them and each prove to be viable for making cues. We thought we'd offer you our experience with them so you can make a sound decision as to your needs.From the list of popular manufacturers there are the Porper Model B Q-Lathe, Chris Hightower's line of Cue Smith Lathes and last but surely not least is Unique Products Cue Making Equipment.To start off with, the photo's you see here are actual machines which we currently use in our shop. None were purchased new. We'll relate a sad but true story. One of our clients called us one day and told us he was quitting making cues. As such, he had the Unique Products line of cue making equipment. He had purchased all three machines new from Unique. He purchased the Taper Shaper with the quiet router and an assortment of parts and tooling as well as the inlay machine attachment (cost new was almost $5500). He also purchased the Cue Maker Lathe with all the bells and whistles (cost new was $4300). Here he spent almost $10,000. We purchased the entire package for a fraction of the original cost. When we got the equipment, the inlay attachment was brand new as it was never used. The taper shaper was also new and never used. The cue maker lathe had minimal use on it. So, what is the moral to this story? The purchasing of equipment is a very serious decision and much thought should be given to it. Read and learn as much as you can. Talk to cue makers as cue building, while as rewarding as it may be, it surely full of pitfalls, let downs, mistakes, problems, time consuming and an expensive proposition. You are not going to get the equipment on a Monday, cut wood on Tuesday, put the cue together on Wednesday, finish it on Thursday and sell it on Friday. It's not going to happen! Make sure this is what you want to do or try out before you invest thousands into something that will be nothing more than dust collectors in your shop.We receive numerous phone calls from newbie cue makers who want advice on what cue making equipment to buy. To relieve ourselves of repeating the same thing over and over again to callers, we've decided to put this page up. Now for a review of each so perhaps you can make a better decision. We have not been compensated for these reviews and they are totally our opinion based on our experience with all three manufacturers.Joe Porper makes a really nice machine that is fully capable of making cues. It's large and fairly stable. There are many different attachments for all the various tasks of making cues. The cost of his unit is almost $4000.Chris Hightower makes what we believe to be the best cue making equipment for both ease of use, accuracy and cost. His Deluxe Cue Smith� lathe is a dynamite piece of equipment. To start off with, he actually uses one in addition to other machines to build his own cues. That in itself speaks volumes on his behalf. The headstock is machined to very high tolerances and everything is fixed so nothing needs adjustment. Additionally, his headstock has a rear chuck to hold work pieces dead on center. This feature is invaluable for precision. His taper bar is a little cumbersome to set-up but once you have it dialed in, it never needs adjustment. The machine is stable and solid. The cost is only $2700 with all the bells and whistles.Unique Products builds a fine line of cue making equipment. Their Taper Shaper is a dynamite piece of equipment and does an excellent job of tapering shafts and butts. We've found this machine to be the best on the market for taking passes on wood. The base price is $2895. While the cost is high, the quality and precision is equally as high.Unique also makes a Cue Maker Lathe that is rock solid and extremely accurate. Like the Hightower lathe, the Unique has a method of holding the work piece on center and the machine does a multiple of different tasks. If you add the automatic cutter feed, it does a super job of taking passes. The base price is $3195.So what's all this mean? If you're just starting out with a limited budget, we highly recommend Hightower's machines. His equipment is fine for those of you just starting out and you won't outgrow it. It's a very useful machine, one that will return it's cost over and over again.At some point, as you gain experience, you can move up to floor lathes, milling machines and even perhaps a CNC. Start out small and slow until you gain more and more knowledge. If you have limited room, you can add the Unique Taper Shaper as an additional machine so you would have a dedicated tapering machine. The Unique Taper Shaper does a better job than the Hightower in cuts but only comes with a standard taper. The Hightower can be adjusted. We like the Unique line of equipment but the cost is considerably higher. If you have the money, go for it as you will surely not be disappointed.Well, that's about it for now. We do hope you've found this interesting and that this proves useful to you in making a decision. Good luck! Unique Products Taper Shaper & Cue Maker Lathe SOLD!!!   . These are the actual units we purchased from a client who found cue making not to be for him. We had planned on reselling them but after setting them up and trying them out, we've decided to keep them as we can always use more equipment. The taper shaper comes with a standard taper bar and that's it. We've modified it to duplicate our custom taper so it's proving to be a very useful piece of equipment.We also decided to keep the Cue Maker Lathe but it's overkill for what we're using it for. We use it to install tips, ferrules and installing new tenons. While it can build a cue, we haven't tried it for that purpose. At our cost which was at a fraction of the new price, we can keep it for what we're using it for.We still have the inlay machine attachment and haven't done anything with it as we have our own inlay machine and CNC. Perhaps one day we'll offer it out for sale.At a new cost of almost $10,000 for the Taper Shaper, Cue Maker Lathe and Inlay Machine, they're dyanmite! I don't know if they're worth that kind of money but they do a really fine job. Hightower Lathe? Hightower lathe? While this unit may look or resemble a Hightower lathe, it's our own creation. The bed is a one piece dovetail extrusion assembly. The headstock is the same as Hightower uses but we've purchased it privately. We did purchase the motor from Hightower as we didn't want to bother wiring it up. All the other parts were purchased from the manufacturer and we did the assembly. We use this lathe for facing off, cutting rings, wraps and some sanding. We even have a quick change tool post on this lathe which is a dynamite little feature.You may be able to find out who the actual manufacturer is but they do not sell the headstock or other proprietary Hightower equipment. So, don't bother spinning your wheels, wasting people's time to only be told they're not available. If you're looking to build your own, for the few dollars profit that Hightower makes on his unit, it is well worth the money to have him for support. Porper Model "B" Q-Lathe SOLD!!! Here's our review and opinion on this lathe.We just bought a slightly used Porper Q-Lathe. Actually it's like new with hardly any use. We've decided to keep this one as it's in perfect condition. It's a nice lathe and convenient to work on. We'll probably use this for tips, ferrules and wraps. It can do a whole lot more as you can construct an entire cue from start to finish.

This is a Delta vacuum system which is hooked up to our doweling machine and that's is. It allows for a large capacity and is perfect for short runs.

There is no such thing as 'overkill' when it comes to dust collection. Especially where your health is concerned. We have runs as far away as 50 feet and open two ports on two separate machines - the suction is still incredible. You can see some of our runs in other areas of our shop tour. We use 6" metal piping for all our main runs with 4" down tubes to the various machines.

This is our compressor which sends air to 8 separate stations throughout the shop. If you buy a compressor, buy one with a belt drive.

Every shop needs plenty of work space. This is one station out of three which we have.

This is a custom made manual pantograph for doing inlay work. It has a 35,000 RPM Dremel router which allows us to use a .015 bit for super fine points. This machine allows us to work from the joint to the butt in one pass without removing and setting up the work piece.

We bought this Veneer Press in 1986 and it is absolutely 'overkill' but it does a super job of pressing veneers together. Once the veneers are glued up, they appear as if they are one veneer. It makes perfect looking veneers in cues. It doesn't get any better.

Now here is one useless tool for cue makers. We do occasionally use it but it really wasn't necessary. We needed something to buy one day while visiting Lowes.For the few times per year that we use it, we're glad we have it. :-)

Here is the Custom Rear Chuck which we installed on all our lathes. This is invaluable in holding each workpiece steady and on center.If you're interested in ordering one you can click here.

This is the router set-up on our 14" X 40" tapering lathe. It's really a Porter Cable laminate trimmer and our own six flute router blade for super smooth cuts. It does a super job of cutting and the vacuum hose gets nearly all the large, small and fine dust particles thanks to our Wood Sucker Cyclone dust collector.

Here is the Jacobs Super Chuck. We have one on every lathe. They're big, heavy and accurate. They hold bits, centers, etc with precision and are super steady.

This is the Atlas six jaw chuck that we use on each lathe. We think it's a necessary addition if you want precision. Some lathes sport a Bison six jaw chuck. This photo shows the Atlas.

This is our 9" X 20" lathe. We use this for small tasks such as installing tips and ferrules. We got this Harbor Freight model at a bargain price but personally, stick to Grizzly.

This is the same Milling Machine as the previous section but with a CNC Rotary Table added. We had no intentions of going to this set-up as the previous set-up was sufficient and worked just fine. We recently moved the machine and the alignment of the spin index to the tail stock got thrown off. As such, we had a choice of spending time readjusting the old method or going this route. This newer set-up is ballistic and the only way to go. It's a no brainer to divide 360 degrees by whatever you want to do. Only takes a few seconds to program (and as Jackie Gleason use to say), "and away we gooooo".

This is one method of cutting points using a customized MSC milling machine. It is set-up to do just cutting of points. It has a DRO for getting consistent specs and always being able to return to zero (where ever we set zero) with precision. Take note and look at that special 90 degree blade; it cuts incredibly accurate with exceptionally smooth passes! The points come out perfect with each point ending at the very same place. That's precision!NOTE: This set-up is our old method of cutting points. It works fine and the cost is reasonable for all the component parts. You can now see our newer version of this Milling Machine utilizing a CNC Rotary Table by going back to our Shop Tour page and viewing the next picture.

This is another Vectrax 14" X 40" lathe with a Acu-Rite DRO (Digital Read-Out) installed. This is a really nice lathe and perhaps overkill but once you get use to using it, there is nothing like it for accuracy and repetitive tasks.The DRO sure comes in handy when doing various tasks. It helps us maintain very rigid standards in the components that we build.This lathe has a Bison 6 jaw chuck with a 3/4" Jacobs Super Chuck in the tailstock. It also utilizes our own custom 3 jaw rear chuck; the same as is on all our lathes.

This is our 14" X 40" Vectrax tapering lathe, specifically set-up to offset the tail stock. If you note, you'll see the boring head and 'live' center on the tail stock. This allows us to offset the center without going through the hassle of actually moving the tail stock. All adjustments are made on the boring head itself. A great time saver. The cost is about $500 for the American made set-up and worth every penny. You can purchase the import (and support overseas firms for about $350 or so but you won't have American steel and accuracy). It's not an entirely necessary set-up but it certainly does save time and aggravation.And... please don't call us for part numbers unless we know you.

Here's our Grizzly 13" X 40" Lathe. It sports a Atlas Six Jaw Chuck and Jacobs Super chuck in the tail stock. It also has a three jaw chuck on the left of the spindle bore to hold the work piece precisely on center.

Here's our Align-Rite CNC. It's probably the best there is on the market in this price range. The next step up would be a Techo-Isel for around 25k+. If you want info about this unit, call Matt at Align-Rite; tell him we sent you. He'll take good care of you.We're running Mastercam software which is the most powerful design software available on the market today.We use this CNC to make component parts and taper shafts from time to time. Take a look at the keyboard as we don't have to worry about dust since it is all enclosed. Great gizmo and available at CompUSA.The inset photo shows a picture of Kevin, the latest addition to the Cue Components family. Kevin is responsible for the design and creation of butt sleeves and forearms which are sold through our web site. He's proficient in the use of Mastercam as his father is an authorized Mastercam distributor. Please read this in its entirety before you contact me.Up for sale is our Align-Rite CNC. This was their second and best design. Don't believe me but it was and is. They abandoned the design as it was too costly to build. It's works great and can hold tolerances. The-know-it-alls will insist you need more of everything but the truth is, this will satisfy 99% of anyone wanting to do this type of work. You don't need bigger, better or more.This unit will taper shafts and butts, cut pockets for inlays and cut the inlays themselves.We were running MasterCam software which is not included. We have all the hardware for you to run BobCad which is more than sufficient. No computer included.System is well maintained and looks exactly as is pictured. It's like new because we take care of our stuff.Price: $12,500.Terms: I will consider payments spread out over whatever we agree upon. Delivery/Pickup when final payment made.Financing: If you are credit worthy, we have a company that may be able to finance you.Barringer Financing: I will also consider financing (with a down payment) the right person known to me and who is credit worthy and I trust.Shipping: Buyer responsible for pick-up. We will crate it; period. You arrange for a trucking company to pick it up.Delivery By Joe: I will personally deliver it (and give you an autographed picture - LOL) within 4 hours of New Smyrna Beach which means most of south Florida, the west coast of Florida, parts of Georgia and up to parts of the panhandle. No, it does not include New York, Illinois, Canada or the rocket scientists in California. And no, you cannot pay me to deliver it elsewhere.Delivery By Joe, Does Include: We can deliver to parts of South Carolina as I make frequent trips there so anyplace on the way is also included such as I95 North to 26 West to I385. So, anywhere along this route is also available for delivery. You can also pick it up in the Greenville, SC area by appointment. No you cannot view it there as this is a pick up point only. The only place it can be viewed is in New Smyrna Beach.Email me directly: info [at] CueComponents.com or phone 386-424-0300Rules of engagement:1) Don't be a pinhead2) If you lowball me, don't expect a reply. In fact, expect a nasty reply.3) I don't live on the street nor will I be at anytime4) I can put food on my table without you5) Bottom-line - I'm not desperate to sell it6) If I can't sell it for a reasonable price, I'll use it as a boat anchor7) boat anchor for sale8) For the conspiracy theorists: NO, we are not going out-of-business, closing down nor is our business suffering. We don't use the thing nor do I have time to use it. It's just a paperweight these days collecting dust.9) This is a very simple deal. You want it, you need it, you pay for it and you get it. It's that simple. Let's not complicate it.