I am looking at making some custom spey grips and am in need of a lathe now. I am torn between buying a cheap one from somewhere like harbor frieght for 100.00 or so or making my own. I have a small 1550 rpm motor from a rock tumbleing kit that I think may work but I will have to find a way to 'build it'
Question is am I better off picking one up or making my own. I do not want to spend as much making one and end up with some lesser quaility product.
I will need to turn grips around 13-15" over all.

Should I turn on a steel mandral to reduce 'flexing' of such a long grip?

Can I turn a number of materials together or should I do them seperate and then assemble?

Thanks much for the help!

I would buy a lathe...there are going to be useful parts of a lathe that I think you would have a tough time finding for a home made lathe and the motor may be too fast for applications of cork turning but I doubt it has enough torque to turn wood usefully.

I bought a good craftsman lathe at a flea market for 75$ so look around.
Also get a good mandrel it makes turning so much easier

You can turn some materials together, I've done wood and cork at the same time but it takes some getting used to and using a couple different techniques on the same grip.

In addition to a lathe you will need at least one chuck, mandrels and a good live center. 15 inch qrip will require a good sized bed since the working range is reduced by chucks and tailstocks. You might want to look at the penn state industries turncrafter pro with a bed extension available. I suspect that the rock tumbler motor would be underpowered. The actual cost is much higher when you add the necessary accessories. YOu might also want to do a search on the forum for information on lathes. Good luck

John
God bless the troops and USA

Building your own with all the various parts could end up costing more than buying a finished product and as stated above the tumbler motor is questionable for lathe us.

As for size, most "Mini Lathes" will handle 12" or so and "Midi lathes" up to maybe 18". Turning something as long as 15" will require a mandrel of at least 3/8" dia. even then you will probably getting a little flexing if applying pressure. Cork shouldn't be a problem.

As for turning various materials together, many of us do it successfully, it takes some practice and different techniques as each material reduces when turned at different rates. For example if you have a hard material such as some woods next to something as soft a cork, you must be careful not to turn the cork down to a finished diameter less that the adjacent wood.

I personally use a variable speed mini I bought at Harbor Freight and am quite pleased with it.

The next issue you face is tools!

Are you able to get a chuck for Harbour freight lathes? I tried turning a cork ring handle on one and it is not easy due to the flex in the cork. If you can get a chuck and use mandrels it may work alright. the one I tried just had a cone shape tail stock so i`m not sure what you would do with that either if that is interchangeable or not. I just use a drill mounted in a stand and a rod drying stand to support the mandrel. It has its limits, but it does great for turning cork .

Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

As for a mandrel, I have used 3/8 inch steel rods from Lowes. Just glue up your rings on the mandrel that has been "waxed" with a candle, clamp them up until dry, then you can chuck it up in a lathe and trun the grip. When done, it is easy to push the cork off of the mandrel because of the candle wax. However, you are limited on grip length using the Harbor Freight Mini-Lathe; I don't think you can get much more than about 9" out of it.

Like John said, the lathe itself is just one part of the equation! You will need 4 jaw chuck, drill chuck, mandrels, turning tools and a way to sharpen them. A bed extension makes boring you stock a snap. If you're hoping to do the things/materials that you want, I doubt that anything home made will even come close. Many, if not most, of the cheap lathes will not accept the chucks and accesories that you will want. There really isn't a shortcut that you will be happy with.

Go with a known lathe such as Turncrafter Pro, Jet, Ricon, etc.

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!!

Eric,
Purchase a lathe.
I purchased a lathe, and then purchased the necessary accessories.
I had about the same amount of money in the accessories as in the lathe itself.
By accessories, I mean extra chuck, several different tail stock piecs. i.e. fixed, rotating, chuck etc.
different manderals - i used all sizes of threaded rods.
Cutting tools, files, sanding equipement, etc.

All in all money well spent and the lathe works totally for my needs now. But without the extra accessories, I wouldn't have been able to do many of the things that are now very simple to do with the extra parts for the lathe.

Take care
Roger

"Shop around" - I just purchased (another) GRIZZLY model 8690 complete with chuck, live tail stock, a couple of pen mandrels, drill chuck ... in short everything short of the turning tools for $80.00 from a wood turner who was upgraded to another (ie: newer, faster, larger) machine. Simply it was in his way and he wanted it gone. Pity I couldn't talk him into parting with the tools as well

Eric,

On Mike Barkley's referral of the TurnCrafter Pro, I bought one with the bed extension and haven't looked back. Just wish I had gotten the variable speed model, which is the next big thing on my list. The conversion kit.

Bill in WV

Bill,

You would love the VS conversion! It's a 10 min job and well worth it!

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!!

I like the grizzle one from what I have seen, anyone care to comment on it? How it works worth pricking one up? Thanks for all the information.
Eric

Eric what model???

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!!

Sorry, 8690 model. But for 46.00 can you turn down the hobby one for doing cork? Maybe I should go that route first to get a few under my belt. Anyone like the hobby lathe for cork only? I have seen a few people say it works for them. Thanks

Eric,

I used the Hobby lathe for several years for cork and EVA and loved it until I got the bug for turning. It's a nice set up. [www.rodbuilding.org] I would recommend the heavy duty 1/2" drill they sell also to ensure compatibility. Some drill don't fit.

If you have any questions or need any help. shoot me an e-mail.

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!!