lathes

[sanderson]

What is the simplest lathe/system to turn grips and reel seats? I'm a year and 15 rods into the rabbit hole(so, been busy working on em)
. Can ya nurse me into the next phase of rod MAKING? I know there is info on this, but searching leads to the topic drifting beyond what a newbie needs to get started. Look back to when you turned your first seat or grip, that's what I want to read. Thanks in advance.

[fireman10]

I've been super happy with my Sherline. Great instructional video's on You tube. Jeff Wagner has some really cool arbors for doing reel seats and mortising on this lathe as well.

[kentuckyjim]

I know some very fine rod makers who use a threaded rod and a drill
For grips and reel seats. A lot of beautiful, well built rods have been made with very simple tools. No need to be to get caught up in the tool buying phase, but tool shopping and buying can be a lot of fun too!



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[sanderson]

Kentuckyjim, I'm not familiar with a "threaded rod", what would that refer to?

[kentuckyjim]

Its a hardware store item.It’s just a metal rod with threads from end to end available in many diameters and lengths. Buy one foot of quarter inch with the nuts to match. Put your glued cork on it, tighten it on with the nuts. Chuck it in your drill and you have a portable lathe ready to go


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[oldschoolcane]

The rod is called all thread, basically your compressing the cork between nuts and washers on the threaded shaft and turning them into your grip. Can be done on a lathe or drill press. The reelseat insert would need to be done on a lathe, many different lathes and all of them would work. I suppose a drill press may work but its slower and probably not ideal for this.

[BigTJ]

The simplest is probably a wood lathe or maybe the power turning lathes sold by mud hole. A used wood lathe can be had for $200 used on Craigslist and do a lot of good stuff. Just be sure to find one with a chuck.

John

[6tUc05]

All you need for a good inexpensive wood lathe for turning handles and inserts is a good electric hand drill with a 3/8" chuck. You can make a stand for holding the drill from scrap 2" X 4" lumber and a hose clamp. Plans for how to make one are found all over the place. YouTube will most likely even have videos on how. Handles and inserts are short enough that you don't need a tailstock and centering device. I see no need to spend the money on one of the miniature lathes when you probably already have a good hand drill. If not, they are much cheaper than a mini-lahe; new or used. Spend the extra $s on a good spindle gouge and parting tool (I prefer the inexpensive flat plate Sorby parting tool, as the kerf is only 1/8" and they are very easy to use, being held in one hand). The spindle gouge for turning the inserts. Sandpaper is typically used for shaping handles; but, a 4-in-hand file can also be used. I personally know of a now deceased graphite rod builder who used an old-fashioned "egg-beater" hand drill and a 4-in-hand file, and a bit of fine sandpaper, to routinely turn out superb cork handles! So, nothing fancy or expensive is necessary.

[henkverhaar]

I have a number of wood lathes, that all seriously predate my bamboo rod building activities (although not my intermittent plastic rod building). I've been using all of them for making rod parts (grips, reel seats, ferrule stations). Any small, halfway decent bench top wood lathe (preferably with a hollow headstock spindle) would be sufficient...

[sanderson]

good stuff. I think I'll rig something for my drill, I don't sell my rods, so the end user won't be disappointed in the result.

[Jdcross]

I did much as 6tUc05 did and built an electric drill holder with a large hose clamp.
I sanded my corks after they were on the rod blank so I had to support the butt section while sanding the corks down.
So I bought a bearing race with a 1/2" or so hole and mounted the bearing in a vertical piece of wood on a t-type base.

I'd clamp the butt, in various ways, into the drill.
Then I'd build up the blank with masking tape and wedge it into the center of the bearing.
At an appropriate distance from the drill I'd screw the bearing mount to a bench and turn my corks.
The trick was to get the bearing the right distance away from the rod butt to dampen any wobbling when sanding the corks.
Worked very well for 30 or so rods.

[6tUc05]

You give credit where credit is NOT due! I have NOT used the hand drill set up that I described for turning either cork handles or inserts. I am ONLY familiar with them. I purchased my 12" throw, 42" bed cast iron body Rockwell/Delta wood lathe some years Before I started turning handles and inserts. I had made several bushels of turning chips before I got into bamboo fly rods. Appreciate the thought though!

Cheers!

[jim royston]

Or go full tilt boogie and get a Myford Super 7, something like Mike's

[herkileez]

I built my lathe around a corded 1/2" drill, plywood frame, with roller assembly. Works well for me, and all I need.

[sanderson]

those are impressive, Herk !

[herkileez]

Thanks S !

Here's a few more, my point being that you don't need a high-end setup to do some nice work....

[6tUc05]

John...

The answer to your question is YES! The answer is based solely on how long the 'bed" is and the distal method of controlling whip. Excentricity is a function of the accuracy of the original set up and turning. I would politely submit that your grips are NOT perfectly concentric unless you go through the steps a master machinist goes through to ensure the concentricity of their turnings. For precise concentricity, the original set up requires checking the concentricity of the "stock" as held with the chuck jaws using a dial indicator (this is especially critical IF the jaws are NOT self-centering, as was characteristic of the older 4-jaw chucks [each jaw was independantly set!]), and ensuring that the tail end is likewise accurately centered using the same instrumentation. All of this is done prior to turning the lathe on. (Based on comments by my fellow fly fisherman and retired Master Machinist friend.) The Jacobs chuck of an electric drill is just as likely to be "precise" in their holding capability as the jaws of any "off the shelf" 3- or 4-jaw lathe chuck. Moreover, the bearings for the spindle of a lathe also are am important factor in attaining concentricity. Your intentions are admirable; but, your " guessing" has some holes in it.

Regards!

[BigTJ]

6tUc05 why answer questions about something you admittedly have never done? Probably ought to leave responses to somebody who has experience. There are likely trade offs you aren’t aware of.

I know my grips aren’t perfectly concentric but they are darn close. I can tell because I check my setup and my results. What concerns me is telling some person who has no idea what they are doing to go for it and they don’t pay attention to the setup and end up with an egg shaped grip.

The other part of my question - which I deleted - was if these home made jigs can turn a rod with glued up rings. I deleted it when I realized it was a stupid question.

I kind of have a hard time getting my head wrapped around these drill lathe setups when a much more useful and accurate wood lathe can be had for $200 used but different strokes for different folks.

John

[6tUc05]

You are even more presumptive that I had thought based on your standard responses. I dare say I have turned more cords of wood/cork than you have. Why not ask yourself your own question? It often pays to look in the mirror on occasion.

Your first erroneous assumption is that everyone who wants to turn cork handles has the financial means to spend ± $200.00 for a lathe to turn maybe a half dozen handles a year, or possibly only the one. Your second erroneous assumption is that the OP "has no idea what they are doing". Is it perhaps you who "has no idea"! More over, is it really any of your business? We ALL had to learn by some means at one time or another.

I can definitely understand your admitted difficulty at "getting (your) head wrapped around" things.

Ignorance is excusable; stupidity is not!

Frank

[BigTJ]

Hey Frank,

I’m not talking about just the OP. I’m talking about anybody who reads this thread - I used the wording “some person”. These answers are a resource for a lot of people. I was a beginner once and have learned the hard way that a lot of answers are posted on these boards by people who haven’t actually done what they comment on like they are an expert. You said above you haven’t used one of these drill setups yourself. If you don’t understand the trade offs from personal experience with one of these drill setups it sort of doesn’t matter how much experience you have from anything else.

As far as the OP goes he has made 15 rods in a year so $200 for a used wood lathe probably isn’t a stretch and pretty clearly isn’t going to be a one off.

It also seems a pretty fair assumption that anybody who isn’t sure about what lathe to buy and doesn’t have one probably has to get information about how to construct one themselves somewhere else. Apparently you agree with the YouTube suggestion. Otherwise they would most likely not ask the question in the first place. Even if they did have some idea, I suspect they would appreciate the perspective that a mid-aligned turning shaft can throw the turned object off-center. Given your staunchly-defended wood turning expertise above you no doubt agree with me on that point too.

John