I have been looking for a 'mini lathe' for quite a while now, and have been reading previous posts about them. Although being mini they are still relatively large and heavy, considering a i dont have an actual workshop.

Ive come across a couple of 'pen lathe's. They are even smaller than mini lathes and i am wondering if anybody uses these for turning cork handles?



[www.epinions.com]

Calvin

What is the bed length? You would need enough room between centers to accommadate a grip. For cork and EVA, you might want to consider a Grizzley hobby lathe? [www.rodbuilding.org] Less than 10 pounds, and very portable. Carry outside and set on saw horses. Do a search here for grizzley and select ALL DATES and you will get a ton of info/opinions

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Here are some things to consider.

What Mike mentioned is your biggest consideration. The Jet Pen Lathe that you mentioned has a distance between centers of 8," and very little swing over bed. Jet's next step up is the mini-lathe, which has 14" between centers and plenty of swing over bed. While the swing over bed probably wouldn't present a problem, the 8" distance between centers likely would present a problem. It would mean that the longest grip you could turn is 8". From what I could find in just a little research, the cost of stepping up to the mini-lathe would be another $70-100. Further, it doesn't look like the mini would take that much more room than the pen lathe.

All that being said, I rarely turn more than 8" of cork at a time. My fly rod grips are never over 8", and I use split grips (and no foregrips) for my bass rods. But, all my mandrels are pretty long (15-18"). You might have trouble finding mandrels that short.

Finally, here's the big deal. At some point, you're gonna' want to turn something (candlesticks maybe) that's longer than 8".

Calvin

I really looked at the one Mike talked about. I have a little more room and ended going with a larger one. However I now wish I would have gone with the one that is just a step up form this one. I think mike is right you really want something that has as long a distance between centers as you can.
[www.grizzly.com]





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2006 09:57AM by Alan Royce.

Calvin I have a Grizzley hobby lathe that I have replaced with a penn state lathe and I would be happy to sell it to you with the grizzley drill that fits [Makita or other drills will not fit] . I had to buy a Grizzley China drill to make it work. It works very well for cork and is very portable. The reason I replaced it was I found turning very enjoyable and simply upgraded to a more powerful and longer machine. I am sure that this would do the grips for you, as I have turned many with it. It is like new. If you are interested, send me an EMail @ bob@zendextool.com I think that 60.00 plus shipping would be a fair price. To the best of my recolection, I think the set up cost me about 150 by the time I found someonelses drill would not work.

If you get into a wood lathe, I would suggest a PSI Turncrafter Pro, Jet, Rikon, etc over the Grizzley wood lathe for their versatility, etc. All standard lathe accessories, chucks, etc. fit them where that may not be the case with the Grizzley, Harbor Frieght, etc. They are not that much more (still get them for under $200)

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Calvin,

What Mike Barkley and others have stated is very good advice. I bought a small pen lathe for very little money at a sale price of ~$80.00. Since I do mostly fly rod grips, I thought it would be okay. First, it was hardly adequate for my needs and second it was a piece of junk. The tail stock had to be unscrewed from underneath the bed every time you wanted to move it and you could not align the head stock and tail stock. Every piece of cork I turned was off center. Third, once you have a lathe, the idea of using it for wood or other materials for grips will surface. I eventually followed the advice of several rodbuilders here on the forum and bought a midi lathe (Jet, Rikon, Delta, and Penn State Industires all make good ones). I also bought the bed extension. I am now turning wood grips and I have the capability of making longer grips for surf rods and the like. My advice is to bite the bullet and get something that will not cause more frustration than pleasure.

My frugality (my wife says I'm just cheap) cost me $80.00+ and a good amount of frustration and loud cursing in my garage. Get yourself something good. If you buy it from a tool place, examine the models on display for alignment. Ask the sales people how to align the lathe. Good luck.

Mike Blomme

Thanks for the info everyone, if it were not for your replies i would have gone and bought one. I am not one for going all out and buying the best stuff out there, rather just getting only what i need, but being frugal can have its drawbacks. I have been shopping recently at Cabela's online thinking i would be saving a bunch of money, but because i live in Canada, the duty costs to bring it over the border was half the entire value of the shipment!! To top it off i bought some auger parts for my strikemaster and i got charged $80 in duty!

Sometimes it is better to buy the good stuff because it can save you money and grief in the long run

calvin

If cork and eva are all you're worried about turning, the Grizzly hobby lathe is adequate. I have one screwed down to a saw horse so that I can simply pick it up and take it outside when I need to use it. Simple and light is how to describe this.

If you're gonna be turning wood, then I would probably go with a full mini lathe setup.

Bob Metzger I tried to email you about hobby lathe, but email bounced back. You can email me @ ajessup@mtaonline.net about lathe.Thanks

The bed length between centers is a key spec when selecting a lathe. The pen lathes just don't provide enough flexibility for doing cork. I settled on the Turncrafter Pro which has 17" between centers, as I do a number of 14" grips for steelhead/salmon rods and foregrips on spey rods. It's worked out great so far and have not regretted spending the money, which wasn't much to begin with.

Terry