Novice question:

I am interested in turning my own handles for a couple of rods that I am building, however, I don't want to shell out the $$ for a lathe. Anyone have any bright ideas for an alternative? Could it be done with a drill lathe?

Plans to convert a drill press into a vertical lathe were in a not so far past issue of RodMaker.

Grizzly sells an inexpensive hobby lathe which is powered by a hand drill. It may be what you're looking for. Less than $50 I think. Do a search as I'm sure it's been mentioned here many times.

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Bought the hobby lathe from Grizzly AND one of their hand drills to fit for less than $100. Perfect for the occasional turner like me. Look at their web site & read about that lathe. You may already own a drill that will work. If so, Tom's right...you're looking at less than $50. Best of luck.

Jay

Thanks for the suggestions I will take a look.

I built a lathe for turning cork out of a drill and was wondering if anyone knows if I could turn wood handles on it using a Dremel tool instead of chisels?

Wood is going to require a bit more substance - more heft and more power. Not saying you couldn't do it, but sometimes making do with less than is required only make the job more frustrating. When you come right down to it, you can turn/carve a wood handle with a pocketknife, but there will be some drawbacks.


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Your might like this idea [www.peninsulaflyfishers.org]

Mike

I used my hobby lathe from Grizzly for the first time tonight. Worked great. Sets up fast and easy; having Andy's mandrels made it a snap, too, of course. Thanks to Stan and Mike for ideas on the hobby lathe!!

Putter
Williston, ND

Thanks for the link. I have made a similar lathe with a drill but without the bearring. It gave me an idea to try.