Wow, I've been doing it the hard way.

[Graciocues]

It seems like I learn something new everyday. Do you seasoned builders have any unique tricks that took years to find? This could involve tips, centering, sealing, playability, etc.

This is my wow!
I learned to heat a pin to remove it. A customer wanted a broken pin removed, too short to use a torch, HHHMMM What do I do.
I mounted the cue in the lathe and turned the front edge flat, With a 1/8 drill bit bored a hole into the center of the pin (1/2" - 3/4" deep). Grabed my visegrips and out it came. From start to end (4 min.) was quicker than I could heat the pin up.
The cue was warm, not hot enough to ruin the joint or clear.
I pull all my pins this way and never worry about damaging clear. I did break a bit once, common sense could have prevented that though.

[rhncue]

Originally Posted by Graciocues

It seems like I learn something new everyday. Do you seasoned builders have any unique tricks that took years to find? This could involve tips, centering, sealing, playability, etc.

This is my wow!
I learned to heat a pin to remove it. A customer wanted a broken pin removed, too short to use a torch, HHHMMM What do I do.
I mounted the cue in the lathe and turned the front edge flat, With a 1/8 drill bit bored a hole into the center of the pin (1/2" - 3/4" deep). Grabed my visegrips and out it came. From start to end (4 min.) was quicker than I could heat the pin up.
The cue was warm, not hot enough to ruin the joint or clear.
I pull all my pins this way and never worry about damaging clear. I did break a bit once, common sense could have prevented that though.

Thomas Wayne gave this description for pin removal on RSB back in the nineties. I've used it a number of times myself with great success. What he describes was to drill a hole about half or a third of the way into the pin with a smaller bit such as an 1/8". Next remove the bit and rotate it end for end in the tail stock chuck so that the flutes are in the chuck jaws and the shank of the bit is in the hole previously drilled. Now you put the lathe into reverse and with the tail stock not locked down but free to move along the rails, you put pressure on the back of the tail stock, pushing the reversed bit into the pin. This creates friction between the bit and pin and once you see the bit become red, you release the pressure on the tail stock. This will now allow the pin and bit both to cool down and the pin and bit will friction weld themselves together. The heat from the bit rubbing in the pin will melt the glue and the lathe, being in reverse, will screw the pin out of the joint. By using this procedure, there is no great amount of extra heat developed that can ruin a joint or finish. I've done the same thing on glued in weight bolts. Just used a larger bit.

Dick