lathes

[herkileez]

Hey John,
In answer to:
"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."...It's not a stupid question.
I use my drill/lathe to turn grips both on the blank and on a mandrill. I prefer on the rod, as reaming a grip done on a mandrill can be a PITA IMA. I made up different adaptors to accommodate both methods. My buddy has done over 600 rods, using the same setup I have. Neither of us has ever had an issue with symmetry of our grips.

[6tUc05]

John...

I have used this setup for turning small objects; just not rod handles. I have even used a drill so mounted on 2" X 4"s with a commercial grip reamer mounted in the drill to ream out cork handles to fit the rod (primarily graphite rods in our clubs [Texas FlyFishers in Houston, TX] Rod Building Course, which I, as Director of Education, implemented). I am self-taught as a rod builder, though I did have some tutelage from a Master Custom Rod Builder, now deceased, during my formative years with fly rods; so,I am quite familiar with the pitfalls that line the way to most all things. I am definitely self-taught when it comes to wood turning. My library on the subject is almost as voluminous as that on fly fishing. As I progressed I did attend a few of the Texas Wood Tuners annual gatherings and learned a bit. Just because the OP has made 15 rods in a year does NOT mean that he has ever sold any. Given the size of my family, and the fact that I have built a rod for every son, and some of my daughters-in-law, grandkids, and a few friends, does mean that I have ever sold as single rod, or that all expenses were "out-of-pocket". I have received reimbursement for "salvaging a few bamboo rods, but not enough to induce a $200.00 investment in a lathe.

As a mid-octogenarian, I still try to stick to the old adage "Look before you leap"!

Frank

PS: An egg-shaped grip might be ideal or some!

You have a PM.

[BigTJ]

Hey John,
In answer to:
"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."...It's not a stupid question.
I use my drill/lathe to turn grips both on the blank and on a mandrill. I prefer on the rod, as reaming a grip done on a mandrill can be a PITA IMA. I made up different adaptors to accommodate both methods. My buddy has done over 600 rods, using the same setup I have. Neither of us has ever had an issue with symmetry of our grips.

Thanks for the info - direct glue up is preferred not just for the PITA factor but for the integrity factor. A grip that has air pockets in it - which are likely on a mandril-turned grip, especially the longer ones - can cause a squeak at worst a grip failure. I know because some of my early preformed grip builds failed on me years ago.

Good to hear your grips come out shaped properly. The only point I wanted to make there is some decent skill and care needs to go into the setup of the jig and how it is aligned to ensure the rod turns as truely as possible. Of course the same holds when buying a used lathe you need to check for tail stock alignment there too.

Cheers,

John

[sanderson]

I suppose I could have phrased the question, OP, differently. I was looking for "first attempt" stories of the equipment and direction others took when they made their first grips. My next, or next after that, are not going to be put on hold if I don't figure out how to turn a grip. Fish don't mind being caught by a "store bought" grip. I fish and gift my rods. The gifts go to the people I fish with. I have some pride in my work, but I don't worry about screwing something up, and I have the time to do it wrong, and have the time to do it over...after doing it wrong.

[kimk]

I was taught to turn grips on graphite blanks using an electric drill. If the blank does not have a seat mounted wrap the but end tightly with thread or string to prevent splitting. Wrap a drill bit with masking tape so that it is a friction fit to inside of the hollow blank. Sit outside with the drill held between your thigh and belly. ( Substantial belly is a plus here ) Loosely hold the far end of the rod with one hand, allowing it to spin freely but in control, and sand with the other hand. Start off with 60 or 80 grit to get the general shape and transition to 100 to shape. Finish with 150.
I have used this with threaded rod and it works just as well. Wrap the far end of the rod with masking tape so the threads don't chew up your hand.
You can fashion a lathe made with a mounted drill but if you try to turn wooden seats you will eventually tear out the drill bearings. They are made for vertical pressure not horizontal pressure. Same with using a drill press except more expensive.
AgMD

[6tUc05]

Given the varied uses made of today's electric hand drills, I doubt that extended horizontal use would cause serious damage to the bearings of a modern drill. Perhaps "once upon a time".

[LeeO]

I torqued apart two blanks using a drill, cradling the grip with sandpaper in my hand.

[Titelines]

Thanks for the info - direct glue up is preferred not just for the PITA factor but for the integrity factor. A grip that has air pockets in it - which are likely on a mandril-turned grip, especially the longer ones - can cause a squeak at worst a grip failure. I know because some of my early preformed grip builds failed on me years ago.

Good to hear your grips come out shaped properly. The only point I wanted to make there is some decent skill and care needs to go into the setup of the jig and how it is aligned to ensure the rod turns as truely as possible. Of course the same holds when buying a used lathe you need to check for tail stock alignment there too.

Cheers,

John

You won't have to worry about the integrity of the grip to the blank or any kinds of voids if you turn the rod blank under the grip to a round profile. Turning the blank under the grip won't affect the action of the rod at all, and since the cork rings are already bored with a hole in the middle, it's easy to push the grip up onto the blank. Seen a few but sections blow up when folks have been forming the grip. I'd much rather do that off the rod, and then glue the grip to the blank. You don't have to take the blank down much to get to a round cross section, and it's pretty easy to ream the grip out to the diameter of the rod blank that's been turned.

Mark

[BigTJ]

Good point Mark. I actually make the taper flat under the grip so I don’t have to turn it. Figured that out after a couple restorations.
The post above was in recognition of the fact most folks have a tapered blank under the grip.

John

[Titelines]

Yeah, I learned long ago it's a lot easier for me to turn the butt section down and slide on the grip than to try and make a grip on the blank, and then form the grip. i can turn the reel seat station at the same time too. Works especially well for rods that have a swell at the butt too.

Mark

[BigTJ]

I still glue the corks on one at a time. I have a bunch of Garrison cork cutters so it goes pretty fast.

John.

[Titelines]

Yeah, I know a bunch of guys who do it that way and they seem to do all right with it. Just a personal preference on my part. I just prefer doing that kind of work off the blank.

Mark

[skhawley]

Hi Sanderson,

I just bought a Sherline with a 17" bed on CL for $400. I used my 1942 Atlas DP for my cork grips but moved to the Lathe because I wanted to get into making reel seats, reel seat hardware, ferrules, and whatever else i can spin up. I'm no master machinist, but it wasn't too hard to figure out how to turn a test ferrule. I focused on matching OD and ID of a step down ferrule that i had on hand, learned that it's much easier to test on softer material than high carbon steel lag bolts. One thing to think of is the lathe can be the cheap part to buy, all the tooling needed to do what you want to do can get expensive. I turned some mesquite wood to hold my Pearllsall's silk bobbins and it was really easy.




Sean

[StePhDen]

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.

Is there a video on how his mortising tool works? I am intrigued but it’s hard to tell how it functions just based on the photo.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[6tUc05]

How about a photo of the referenced mortising tool? I do it with a router and jig al a Tony Spezio.

[henkverhaar]

It's a mandrel that allows you to do off-center turning. It was designed for a machinist/metal lathe, with a 'fixed' tool holder, but the technique can also be done, sort of freehand, on a wood lathe with an eccentric chuck - just keep in mind that you need to keep the cutting part of your chisel right at center height (easy to do on a metal lathe, not so much on a wood lathe) for the mortise to come out straight and symmetric.

[Bill Moschler]

I have tried mandrels. My strong preference is to make the handle on the blank. I would not do that with a drill lathe. I use a 3 jaw chuck and chuck the blank about 3" from the end of the handle. The end gets a wrap and finish, drilled with a drill center, and run with a live center. The part of the blank sticking through the lathe spindle gets a outrigger guide to keep it from whipping. For me it is a pure sanding operation. Nothing that could "catch". I am very much aware that I am risking an expensive blank during this process but still that is the way I like to do it. So far I have done about 30 this way. I use a wood lathe for this operation. I think the spindle hole is 5/8 inch. I have had some spinning rod blanks that would not fit. Looking back, I wish I had bought a metal lathe also. But they were not as available and cheap at the time I was buying equipment. The only blank I have delaminated was the first one I tried to turn a ferrule station on. A chinese blank and I am not sure it was glued very well. I re glued it and proceeded. I bought some new cutting tools to try to reduce the force on the blank.