I continue to look into purchasing a new or used mini lathe. Having some, but limited metal & wood working skills, I want to select a quality mini lathe that I only need to buy once, one that can accept a full range of accessories that would be very versatile for most if not all aspects of building fly rods in the 0 to 10 weight range. Can one mini lathe do the following: shape wood/cork/composite handle parts, machine metal reel seat parts & winding checks, have tight enough tolerances to machine a decent click/pawl style fly reel? Or would I need both a wood and a metal lathe to do all of these things? What brand & specific model mini lathe has worked well for you? I've looked at Harbor Freight and Jet brands, but there are so many models and options to choose from I'm having trouble narrowing it down as to what would best serve my needs right now and then allow me to do more in the future as my skills increase. Your experience & opinions would be much appreciated by me and others considering buying a lathe.

I dont think harbor freight sells them any more but they used to carry a small mini lathe made by JET.

I have a JET knee mill and its not bad. Granted its not a bridgeport but since im not a production shop it suites my needs well.

From what I have seen.. which isnt too awful much.. Jet seems to make a descent product. I believe JET is a Japanese product

I have seen some mini lathes from china that I woudnt pay anything for.. but they would probably do okay for a home shop

Finding an all in one unit that youre looking for may be very difficult.
Personally I would tell you to buy independent tools for wood and metal working.

I have been turning wood and metal for years, and have used quite a few different lathes, currently my favorite mini lathe is my RIKON 12” X 16” wood lathe, very reasonable pricing with more than enough power for a lathe of its size, and built like a brick house, very pleased. Ive added a 3 jaw self centering chuck to the headstock, and upgraded the live center on the tailstock, its perfect for pretty much anything I could want to turn for rodbuilding. and the motor is practically silent. I like it much more than my old Jet midi lathe.

For metal, I own a smithy Combo mill/lathe 36" and a smaller harbor freight 7x10 metal lathe. smithy is a fantastic lathe, and the harbor freight lathe is decent for home stuff , had to do alot of little tweaking and machining their parts to get good tolerences, but you get what you pay for.
The biggest downfall to metal lathes is honestly the price of the accessories, I can honestly say that I have at least 3-4 times the money invested into the tools, cutters, bits, clamps, chucks etc. than I do in the actual machines. they're all worth their weight in gold, but are not cheep, but if your'e serious about metal turning, you really have to have a metal lathe and mill. I haven't seen anything that can do all.

although I do it myself, I really don't recommend turning wood on a metal lathe, it can screw things up, and with all the oil needed to keep the machine lubed, the wood shavings and dust really get into the "little creveces" and gum things up..

for rod building the renzetti is pretty much the cadillac of machines, that can easily build rods, and turn cork, and wood if you take your time.

just my 2c

www.saltriverwoodcraft.com

The Rikon is probably the best value going right now. For the same price or less, you get a little more length and a few more options.

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

Rikon, I agree, love mine!

DR

Another vendor is Pennstateindustries.com

[www.pennstateind.com]

They have a very nice selection of lathes at reasonable prices.

By the time that you are finished with getting everything that you need for your lathe, figure that you will likely spend about as much in accessories as your original purchase.

This is in the form of various chucks, various tail stock accessories. as well as other turning tools.

Just be prepared going in that you are looking at "some" investment before you will be completely equipped.

I also agree that if you want to do metal work, you really need to have a separate metal working lathe.

The two lathes are really set up for very different purposes.

Take care
Roger

Say you chose your lathe. Which tools do you need if you want to make cork grips?

Bryce Abbott
Go & Do Likewise

I have the predecessor to the Commander, the turncrafter pro vs, and it is a great lathe, and suits my needs quite well also. Have not found anything related to wood,cork,eva, etc that it will not do an excellent job on. I highly recommend it, also keep in mind that the lathe is just the start. I have more money invested in turning tool than I do in the lathe itself, with mandrels, chucks, turning tool, finishing tools and products etc.

Ron Weber

Well if you are someone like myself with limited funds im guessing you are not going to go out and purchase 2 lathes complete with tooling etc. So ill say that ive turned numerous pieces of wood on my metal lathe with great results.

I agree they are 2 totally different animals but good results can be produced on a metal cutting lathe.

If you gotta choose go metal lathe first then add the wood only later...

Biggest drawback on the mini metal lathes, is how are you gonna turn a 12 or 14 " grip on it

Ron Weber

Ron nailed the drawback of most metal lathes - i.e. too short a bed to do longer grip work.

Take care
Roger

Bryce, If you have the lathe, and just want to do cork grips (or EVA), all you really need to get started is a mandrel to mount your cork on,
and a selection of sandpaper to shape with.

Ron Weber Wrote:
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> Biggest drawback on the mini metal lathes, is how
> are you gonna turn a 12 or 14 " grip on it


That is true... I wasnt thinking about anything smaller than something like a 9x20... to me thats a mini lathe... anything less is a toy

If I were looking for something in this class I would go with a 9 or 10x20 and use it for both purposes. This way you save the space of 2 machines... just hook up a good vac system to keep it free of wood dust and go on with it. but thats just my .02

Check for bed extensions The Rikon has them

Bill - willierods.com

I got a Rikon as a Christmas gift from the wife. i had been using a a 1938 Dunlap wood lathe (still for sale if anyone is interested). I've never had a problem with the Rikon. Wife got it after Thanksgiving at the "black Friday" price and it's the model with variable speed. now for small metal work my friend has a sherline that he says he also does small fly rod grips on.but that's about twice the price of my Rikon.