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SHOP FRONT. View of the front of the shop. Only 600 sq ft, but everything fits, at least for now. Notice the A/C, don’t want your cues to get to warm, or your cue maker. This is Texas! |
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JET LATHE. Heart of the shop is my 13x40 Belt Drive Jet Lathe. From tenons to tapping to cutting rings, all precise machining operations happen here. You can just see the Sony Digital Read Out above the tail stock. Belt Drive is slow for changing speeds, but vibration free operation makes for greater accuracy. |
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J-HEAD BRIDGEPORT. Picture shows aluminum plate being drilled. This plate became the fixture from which I cut my v-point fronts. All my spliced fronts are done on the Bridgeport . You may think a 2000lb machine is overkill for cutting wood, but try to re-cut a point into a front and hold a tolerance of .001 inch and you’ll appreciate every pound. Bigger is better! |
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CUTTING FRONT. Here you can see the Bridgeport in action, getting ready to cut points into a Birdseye Front. The Hardinge indexer and special driver allow me to exactly reposition the cue to make numerous point patterns and re-cuts. |
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BLUDWORTH CNC. Here is a close up of my 4 head/4 axis CNC machine. I very seldom use the 4 head feature of the machine, but it is nice when you have a lot of turning work to do. The great feature of this machine is that it can inlay the whole length of the cue from one setting. Then with a change of cutters, you can turn the cue with out removing it. As with all of Leonard’s machinery, it’s built like a tank. |
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SHAFT RACK. These shafts are about half way thru their 10 passes required before they become finished shafts. Takes a lot of time, makes a lot of saw dust, but sure makes a great shaft. |
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These are a few of the cues being readied for the 2002 Hopkins Show at Valley Forge. I like to let them "rest" at several stages of construction. Since they are constructed mainly from natural materials, you need to let them expand and contract so that they find their natural state. This technique produces cues that want to stay straight. |
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Another group of super sharp point fronts. This group has a bit of everything. 8 points, 4 over 4/ 4 points with 4 veneers/4 points re-cut and 6 points re-cut. |
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