I currently use a bench top drill press turned on it's side as my "lathe" and threaded rods as mandrels.
It does an OK job for reshaping pre-made gripsand the like but I notice things can get out of round easily.
I've been reading about lathes and viewing the amazing work I find on this site.
I build about 20 rods a year and am adicted to rod building.

Is investing in a small lathe like the Pioneer I saw on the @#$%& website worth it.? ($400 with rod builders package)
Is Pioneer comparable to say the Jet,or Grizzly or Turn crafter (mud hole) brands I've seen?
It seems to have the options I see most desired, VS, 4 jaw chuck, 18" bed, 1/2 hp motor, cast iron base.
Looking for input from those who use or have bought mini lathes - Thanks

Contact Terry Henson, I am pretty sure he uses the Pioneer. I use another brand that is smaller and I wish I had an 18" I find I need both the 3 jaw and a 4 jaw as well as a live center for the tailstock and a drill chuck for the tailstock if you go beyond cork into turning wood for grips and reel seats.

Forgot to mention earlier....VS is definitly worth the extra price! Changing belt positions can be a pain and really inhibits flexibility when going fron turning to sanding to finishing. I wouldn't be without it.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2009 11:15PM by Phil Erickson.

Perfect timing...

I was just about to pull the lathe off the site. Pioneer's no longer importing it. It was the same castings as the TC Pro (probably same factory) and since we were able to pick them up at the dock, we didn't have to absorb the hefty freight charge on them, which is what allowed us to sell it with both chucks for that price. I've talked to just about every manufacturer this week and freight's going to be an issue. I've got something working on Pro VS's now, but it may be a few weeks.

I had a customer that was desperate for a lathe a few weeks ago when ours kept getting back ordered. Being told that we WOULD get our orders, I went ahead and sold him my OWN lathe right off my bench. Hearing Monday that we weren't going to get our B/O's, I started shopping. I just bought another 18" Variable Speed lathe today, cheaper than I could get it "direct" because of a shipping loop hole. It was from a "non-sponsor" so i won't link it here, but if you email me, i'll get you the link.

Chucks... Three jaw chucks hold hex and round shapes, but you'll have a tough time with square turning blanks for reel seat inserts, etc... yes, you can turn inserts on a threaded (round) mandrel, but if you want to boreturning blanks using a tail stock chuck, you'll want a four jaw head stock chuck.

I also prefer variable speed just because I can go from shaping to sanding to finishing and then on to turning an insert w/o having to open up the head stock and change the belt settings. Will a four or five speed work? you bet.

I prefer a cast bed to an extruded bed just because it's more rigid. there are granite bed mini/midi lathes available for under $500 as well if you shop around.

Mark Griffin
[]
C&M Custom Tackle
San Dimas, California



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2009 04:17PM by Mark Griffin.

Look at the Jet 1220 while doing your shopping. For about $400, you get a 20" center and a 3/4 hp motor. They are well designed and the increased power makes quite a difference.

BTW, by the time you purchase a lathe, wood chuck, live center, drill chuck, files, cutting tools, mandrels and everything else ... you will have considerably more invested than you might initially think.

If I am not mistaken, there are supposed to be TWO vendors for woodworking at the ICRBE this spring. At the last show, we had some terrific seminars on the matter. So ... if you can attend, it would be worthwhile.

Penn State Industries is also having a lathe sale.
Great products at a decent price:

[www.pennstateind.com]

Take care
Roger

I've really enjoyed my Rikon, I'd buy another without question.

DR

I just bit the bullet and linked up the deal I bought my VS Pro on--> []

Mark Griffin
[]
C&M Custom Tackle
San Dimas, California

mark its things like this and your your dedication to farness and quality that will keep me and many others dedicated to you and @#$%& i apricieate all the help ive gotten from you since i recently found you here on the forum your eforts are not unnoticed thanks

Sounds good, Mark! I have one and love it and recommend it to anyone. I would STRONGLY recommend the bed extension for boring, 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!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2009 07:49PM by Mike Barkley.

Look at the new Midi Delta. Nice.

Howdy All,

Has any body got any experience with the Grizzly Model H2669 Hobby Lathe ? Wondering if it would be a good beginner/ entry level lathe for turning Eva or Cork ?

Heath

Okay, if all you want to do is turn a few cork handles, or perhaps some EVA grips, it's a great little unit and will serve you well. For turning wood inserts, butts or wood handles, it's a bit of a lightweight.

But again, for working cork, it's a heck of a value and will certainly provide you with a nice way to accomplish that sort of thing. Several of the forum users here have them and seem to highly recommend them. I think Mike Barkley has used one and can advise you further.

...........

Howdy all ,

Thanks Tom as I am also just starting out in rod Building and thinking of the same kinds of things that Steven is Just trying to help both of us out at the same time lol . And trying to give him and myself all the opitions out there ya know Tom ?


Heath

I need to add something - to keep a grip concentric to the bore you can't just sand it. Sanding tends to float over any hard areas. You have to cut the grip. We've done several articles on turning and shaping wood and cork grips in RodMaker. A round nose scraper will cut a grip concentric and then you can sand for the last step. But sanding alone will almost always result in an out of round grip.

.....................

Howdy All ,

Good point Tom Thank you for mention that .I have Read the articles that I can online about turning Cork and EVA foam .But most od my experience with a lathe come from turning wood .But I sold my Wood turning lathe a few years back when I started driving Semi over the road . Now that I can't Drive semi anymore so I am trying to take a new craft to myself and turn it into a small business for extra income .


Heath

I just want to thank everyone for their input and Mark thanks for this link to Amazon.
Is the 4-jaw "scolling" chuck you show what I need for rod building?.
I understand the tail stock chuck.
Sorry for all the questions but I've never used a lathe.

Steven,

What I think you'll find while shopping for chucks is that most are aimed at bowl turning and the "standard" jaws provided with the chuck won't close down small enough to hold 1/4" , 5/16" & 3/8" mandrels. Some of the lower priced (sub $100) units don't even have accessory jaws available, then on the other end of the spectrum, a chuck like a Nova will set you back $150+, then you need a $40 set of accessory jaws to hold small mandrels, then possibly another set if you're going to use 2" turning stock like bottle stopper blanks to make trim rings from. If you do find another four jaw chuck that will hold the smaller mandrels right out of the box, chances are you'll have a hard time finding larger jaws for it to hold larger stock.

The chuck that we were stocking (only have one left) came with four sets of jaws that would cover the whole range, even though you might only use two of them for rod building applications. As a "consumer", I couldn't find a better turn key deal on the net, which is why we brought those in.

Also while lathe shopping, pay attention to the sizes for the head stock shaft and the tapers on the head & tail stocks. 3/4" and 1" drive shafts are the most common and many of the lower priced imports will have an "off sized" metric shaft that you'll have a hard time buying aftermarket accessories for. #2 Morse taper is probably the most common taper for accessories like drill chucks, centers, etc... There are a number of lathes out there with 'non-standard' taper sizes as well, so keep an eye out for that while shopping.

Andy Dear's DVD on turning is the only one that I'm aware of that addresses turning specifically for rod building, covering grip turning, seat inserts, etc... It would shorten your learning curve and probably pay for itself pretty quickly in parts that you didn't screw up learning by trial and error (like I did!).


Ed,

Thanks for the kind words!

Mark Griffin
[]
C&M Custom Tackle
San Dimas, California

The one Mark is showing on the site (red) is exactly like mine............mine is beige, but that is exactly like mine..........couldn't be happier........bought mine from MARK....I suggest you do the same! They are great to deal with and sell good products.............

Since I bought mine, my work is much more percise and I love working with it.....quiet....varible speed Perfect!.........Good Luck

Terry

I'm with DR.
Eventually you may want to try wood grips. Rikon has served me well.