I would like to find a rod dryer with a clutch motor so I can hold the rod momentarily to apply rod finish and do some touch ups as needed. I know someone makes them but I can't seem to remember who.

Any you guys using one that you would recommend?

David,
Flexcoat makes a high speed dryer with a clutch which works well for applying finish.
It is nice to switch to a slower motor, once the finish has been applied.

If you have a power wrapper, you can do the same thing with your power wrapper. This is what I do, i.e. I use the wrapper at speed up to 300 rpm to apply finish, stop as needed for special spots, and when finished, switch to the 6 rpm constant speed motor setup.

[www.flexcoat.com]

Take care
REW

I use the low speed dryer motor on my rod lathe ... having said that I looked through the MUDHOLE catalog and found this:

[www.mudhole.com]

On my home grown dryer I used a pvc pipe cap to make the chuck. I drilled and tapped holes on the four sides and one in the center for the shaft to connect to the motor. I screwed 1/4/ 20 screws into the four side holes. With large rubber bands on the screws I can turn just about any size rod with it and if I want to stop I can hold it and the rubber bands will slip. I do it all of the time with no problems.

I installed a hand held on /off switch to an extension chord I plug into. Works great for stopping the dryer for short periods of time.

Guy’s thanks for all your suggestions. I think my brain vapor locked. But after a few days of thinking about this, I remembered a devise we made at work for some equipment we designed and made some years a go and I think I will give that a try. If it works like I hope it will, I will let all know.