I picked up a Harbor Freight lathe the other day because it was amost free. It's their worst model, the 40" one. It will work for what I need but would require adapters & such due to the odd headstock.

Ironically, later that day a gentleman contacted me about an item I had for sale and mentioned that he was a power tool distributor for Jet & others and asked if I was interested in a partial trade. Now I only turn cork, EVA & foam/composite grips so there's really no reason to get something heavy duty. I would like to know if there are other benefits to upgrade that maybe I'm not thinking about, besides standard head & tailstock mounts and more stability. I also need help figuring out what model would be the best choice for what I do. I would like something that turns slow enough to apply permagloss to foam core grips. I don't know how slow that needs to be but I think the article says 200 RPM or so, not a big lathe selection in that speed.

Any advice would be appreciated. Even the garbage HF lathe is an upgrade for me as I've turned all my grips for the last few years on a drill press conversion. Basically, I'm looking for a reason to pull the trigger, on which one, why, and would I be better off taking full cash and purchase a different brand.

Thanks in advance,

Steve

Not many people I know of ever regret having bought a really good tool. On the other hand, plenty of folks constantly curse poor tools when the motors or switches burn out, the unit vibrates or runs untrue.

You'll enjoy a better lathe and the Jet is a much better lathe than the HB. See if he'll make you a deal on one with variable speed. You won't regret it and once you begin turning, you may find that you just plain enjoy turning and will begin using the lathe for projects other than rod building.

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Steve,
I agree with Tom on this one.
You almost never regret getting a better tool with standard fittings, more stability and better control.
For example on my first lathe - it was fine, but all of the time that I used it, I certainly wished that I had a better constructed tail stock. Having a tail stock with good threading options and the ability to take various types of accessories makes the lathe so much more useful.

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Generally speaking, when you speak about the low speed turning capability of most small lathes, you are likely limited to something in the 1000 rpm range or so. Really not suitble for doing the lower speed finish application work that you are speaking of.

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If you have a power wrapper, a power wrapper does a fine job of turning a handle in that speed range of 200 rpm or so. Easy enough to chuck a handrel in a power wrapper and finish away with the wrapper foot pedal held at the speed you want.

If you don't have a power wrapper, you mention the use of a variable speed drill for a lathe. A variable speed drill does a great job of running from 0 on up to 1000 rpm or so and will do an excellent job of turning your handle for finish application.

Roger

Thanks guys. I had another thought about just buying another power wrapper to keep in the garage that would serve as a grip lathe for turning cork and foam cores and it would also allow me to apply permagolss. My rod shop is inside the house so I need to keep something in the garage for the ditry stuff. I guess I just have to decide which route I want to take. Your input has helped.

Thanks,
Steve

Steve,
I made another lathe motor out of a 24 volt cordless drill that had a two speed gear box.
I mounted it on a stand at the same height as my lathe as well as my power wrapper.
So, I can use the same rod rests that I use for my power wrapper, or for my lathe.
I built a foot operated 0-24 volt power supply with a voltage reversing switch on it so that I can easily run the motor from 0- max speed in either direction with the flip of a switch or the push of the foot pedal.
Since the motor is a 2-speed motor - I have 0-300 rpm in the low gear setting and 0-2000 rpm in the high speed setting.

Since the drill motor is driving a gear case and since the drill has the ability to drill 1/2 inch holes through steel, there is a huge amount of torque to turn any thing that might be needed for rod building.

I use it all of the time when I am going handle glueups on the rod. I chuck in a solid piece of glass, steel or carbon stock into the 1/2 inch chuck. If necessary, I will build up the manderal so that it is a tight fit on the inside of the rod blank - if I am turning the entire rod.

If I am just doing a handle, I will simply put the handle manderal into the 1/2 inch drill chuck and support the other end of the handle mandral with the rod rest and its rollers.

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I do as you do. i.e. I keep all of my "dirty" work in a separate building. i.e. lathe work, sanding work, and any thing else associatd with rod building that will raise dust.

I then use high pressure compressed air from my air compressor to blow off any residual dust or contaminants off of the rod , handle and or blank components. I then use the same high pressure air with a blow gun to blow all of the dust out of the door, after the majority of everything has been swept up.

Roger

If you decide to get the JET lathe you will not have any regrets down the road.

Roger, that setup sounds ideal. I would love to work out something like that.

I think for now the Jet would just be way overkill and still not get me everything I want. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of building / adapting something to do exactly what I need. I will get the Jet one day when I turn something more than cork and foam. I have no doubt it's a great product.

Thank you all for your input,

Steve