Pool Cue Live Center

About the pool cue live center

We designed this center at the request of some of our customers who use our machines (or modifications of our machines) to make pool cues. They needed a live center with an extended nose to give them room for their cutters. The extended nose allows them to start cutting from the tip of the pool cue without needing extra material to hold onto.

The center body itself is case-harden steel, which turns on two preloaded sealed ball bearings. It is fitted with a #0 Morse taper to fit our tailstock. The run-out of the 60-degree tip of the live center is .0025″ or less.

NOTE: Due to the length of this live center in relation to the location of the bearings, there will be side play of anywhere from .002” to .004” at the tip. This center was designed for front-load and for lower-tolerance work (such as pool cues). It was not designed to eliminate side-load or to machine-tight tolerance parts. Regarding side-load, you also have to consider the amount of movement you will have in your tailstock spindle and body and that this will increase when the tailstock spindle is further out. See our short video showing side load. The point does move under considerable pressure, but it also bounces back as soon as the side load is removed.

The sealed bearings are permanently lubricated and require no maintenance.

NOTE: The bearings are pressed in at the factory. Preload on the bearings is adjusted before the nose piece is installed. Once assembled, the Pool Cue Live Center is not considered user-serviceable.

Click on the Videos tab above to watch videos showing the Pool Cue Live Center Tolerances and of a billiard cue being turned on a custom-built Sherline lathe using it.