I am trying to "figure out" how to turn handles on my lathe. I have done a lot of turning (between centers) on my lathe.
I am trying to figure out how to turn the cork.
Do I fit the cork to the blank, glue it up, let it dry, then turn it? I feel if I do that: it won't fit the blank any more.
Do I fit it to a mandrel (like a pen mandrel) turn it in 2 or 3 sections then fit it to the blank? ( rear grip, under the reel seat, then the front grip)
THe other option would be turn it on the blank, how do you keep the blank from whipping and slapping? I do not have the rod holders with wheels just the "V groove".

thanks in advance

tom

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tom in indy

Tom,
You can do all of the above with the right equipment.

If using a conventional lathe, most folks will glue up handles on a mandrel - like a pen mandrel - then insert the mandrel into the lathe and turn it down. Following the turning of the handle the typical user will either use a tapered reamer to ream the inside of the handle to size, or use a reamer to ream each end of the handle to size and then use a series of various sized bits to drill out the interior of the handle to a size that is close to the blank size.

Or, you can modify your lathe or obtain a different lathe that is suitable for turning handles - that have been glued up - on the full length rod.

I made a full length rod lathe that is on a 10 foot long base board. It consists of a single speed 3600 rpm buffer motor that is fitted with a 1/2 inch keyless chuck. In use a tapered piece of solid graphite or fiberglass rod stock is inserted into the center of the rod blank under construction. This does a nice job of holding the blank centered and minimizes vibration.

Then, a series of ball bearing rod rests have been constructed. These rod rests are made of aluminum bar stock. There is a horizontal base that bolts to the lathe base. In the horizontal rod rest base are inserted two 1/4 inch vertical rods that are threaded on the bottom to facilitate installation into the horizontal base. On the vertical rods are placed two horizontal bars. On the lower bar is a pair of closely spaced skate board bearings. On the upper bar is a single skate board bearing that is located to fit between the two lower ball bearngs.

Here is a picture of the typical rod rest that I have constructed and use on my full length rod lathe:
[www.rodbuilding.org]



When the rod rests are being used on a blank, a double wrap of masking tape is put around the blank in the ares of the rod rests to prevent any rubbing or scraping of the ball bearings to damage the blank.

The rod rests are placed in a full length groove which holds the rests to the base board. It is important to position the rod rests to prevent the build up- of sympathetic vibration. i.e. one needs to put an initial rod rest in place just an inch or so from the end of the handle that will be turned, to give maximum stability to the handle. Then, added rod rests need to be positioned along the blank - at a point of minimum harmonic vibration. i.e. if you start the motor, but be ready to turn it off in case of severe oscillation - you slide your hand up and down the spinning blank to find the point on the blank of minimum oscillation. Then, continue to do the same thing for the balance of the rod blank. For stiff blanks you can often get by and be fine with only two rod supports. For lighter action and or softer tipped rods, you may need to go with as many as 5 rod supports to avoid rod whipping.

Although I use a constant speed motor, it is really nicer if you could go with a variable speed motor for this style lathe. That way, you could start the motor at a slower speed, and gradually increase the speed, until you notice any whipping - if any- and adjust your rod rests as needed to minimize the whipping and stabilize the blank.

However, you will find that after you have turned a few handles on your full lenght rod turning lathe, that you can likely leave your first three rod rests in a given postion and essentially take care of the bulk of any rod whipping. You may need to make a small tweak of rod rest position from blank to blank , but generally the change will be minimal. But, if you do go to a soft tipped and or flexible blank, you will still likely need one or more rod rests near the tip of the spinning blank to minimize whip.



Take care
Roger

Tom,
By the way, my full length rod lathe is nothing more than a single 10 foot long pine 1/8 that has a 1/4 inch wide groove routed out in the middle of the board for the full length of the board, excluding the end where the motor is mounted, and the end that is still connected together for stability. The underside of the board has the groove routed out to 1/2 inch wide, 3/8th inch deep to accomodate 1/4 inch carriage bolts that are used to attache the steady rests to the lathe base.

The board by itself is really not strong or stiff enough to resist vibration and "board walk'. So, I simply use c clamps to clamp the board to my heavy industrial work bench to give stability to the lathe bed, especially in the area where I am doing the handle turning.

The overhang of the lathe bed is simply supported by common lumber roller bed adjustable supports, as one would use when cutting lumber as an aid to allow the board to roll back and forth on a saw while cutting.

On the end of the board, is mounted the constant speed 1/2 hp 3600 rpm buffer motor with the attached 1/2 inch keyless chuck that is used to hold the tapered shaft that is used to be inserted into the inside of the end of the rod blank while turning.

Roger

Tom,
A couple of shops around town have made their full lenght rod turning lathe by using a 12 foot section of common formica kitchen counter top.

A base is constructed for the counter top, or the counter top is bolted to the wall of the shop.
Then, a groove is milled into the top of the counter top to accomodate the retaining bolt for the steady rests.
On the end, where the motor is mounted, the folks make a hole large enough to accomodate a v belt to the undeside of the counter top.
A motor is mounted on the underside of the counter top. A v belt is run through the counter top up to a belt driven head stock. The head stock will have a chuck mounted on the end of the head stock. Most folks use the same 1/2 inch keyless chuck that I use, but could certainly use a conventional machinest chuck, if one were to have a head stock with the appropriate shaft size.

With this system, one could have his choice of motors, whether it would be a constant speed ac motor, a dc motor or a variable speed dc motor. Just a simple motor change, attach the belt and you would be good to go.

Since the kitchen counter top is securely bolted to the walls and floor of the shop, this makes for a very vibration free lathe top. The shops typicall also run 2x2 steel angle full length on both the back and front of the underside of the countertop to stabilize and maintain flatness of the top surface. They also have a remote mounted high quality vacuum and filter system, to extract any dust from the working area with minimal noise since the vacuum is mounted remotely.

So, if you want to make your own full length rod lathe, it is a very possible project that will not cost a lot of money as long as you either have machine shop skills or have ready access to one who does have such tools and skills.

Take care

Roger

If you already have the lathe and use it for wood turning, your simplest option is to purchase a mandrel for turning the cork. Backlash Tools a sponsor on the left manufactures a full line of mandrels for turning cork and wood.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2010 04:45PM by Phil Erickson.

Tom -

I suggest that you look here ... [www.anglersworkshop.com].

Jim -

Tom, I agree with Jim Gamble. Andy Dear's video is great for learning the basics of turning for rodbuilding. he explains the necessary tools and it is a good primer for anyone getting started in this aspect of rodbuilding.
You already have a hand on turning. all you need to do is get some mandrels and/or center bore your material.
good luck

IMO if you buy a mandrel I would buy one of the threaded ones you can also use for wood. Otherwise at some point you will have to buy one of those as well and sink more money into it. I say this as I with my first few were wood ones, the only good thing is now that I have one for every size and doubles of others, I would rather have the $$ back though. Good luck.

Tom,

I bore out each ring to the closest sixe to what I need and glue them up on a pc of threaded rod (I usw Titebond II or III and rub the rod with a piece of candle to prevent sticking) i then transfer to an appropriate size mandrel mount and turn. These are the mandrel types that I use [www.rodbuilding.org] They can be purchased from Fishsticks, Backlash Tools[www.backlashtools.com] and maybe other sponsors also. The are a tad pricey but worth every penny!

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!!