I have a new to me lathe, but am now struggling to figure out which work holding accessories I need to produce obviously rod handles (more so spinning / casting), pens and bottle stoppers and possibly some game calls. I will mention that I do NOT have a drill press. I have been looking at a 4 jaw chuck that would have optional jaws to use for boring (in conjunction with a MT drill chuck) and other facets. I have also been contemplating if mandrels would do all that I need on a more economical budget providing that I can bore a relatively straight hole with cordless drill.

What do you use and why?

Wade, I bought a PSI Midi Lathe with a bed extension. To this I added a Nova chuck, which I like a lot. I have also added some other jaws for it as well. For the tail piece, I added a MT drill chuck. I also bought an inexpensive set of turning tools and over the last five years I have replaced them with higher quality turning tools. My primary tools are a 1 inch roughing gouge, a 1/2 inch skew chisel. a one inch skew chisel, a round end scraper, a square end scraper, and a parting tool. I also bought a set of mandrels from Lamar Industries (now Rod Dancer). I have begun replacing these with 18" mandrels with a threaded end to make it easier to secure the grip to the mandrel and easy removal as well. I have also been accumulating a set of brad point bits. I have them in standard length, 9" inch length, and 12" length for longer pieces. I like to bore the grip prior to shaping. I also have some sanding blocks as well for some sanding methods. If I want to add decorative rings to a grip, I use acrylic circles which I cut out using an inexpensive drill press from HF.

The lathe was chosen from advice from some on the Rod Forum ( Mike Barkley for one). I decided to get the variable speed model for convenience. Cost was also a factor--particularly in the beginning. As I sell a rod, I use the profit for adding tools for rod building. I hope this helps.

Mike Blomme

take a look at the barracuda chucks from PSI and craftsuppliesusa has their version as well. they are good chucks at affordable prices and come with multiple jaws. they should handle just about anything you plan to do on a mini/midi lathe. holding your pieces on the lathe will allow you to centor bore on the lathe and get better results than with a drill press. I recommend the mandrels you will be glad you spent the $

Wade,
In addition to the other things mentioned, I like to have a pair of keyless 1/2 inch keyless chucks.
One for the head stock and one for the tail stock.

I also like to have a universal revolving tail stock so that I can screw various accessories onto the tail stock for different work that needs the revolving tail stock.

It is also nice to have a few center point drill bits that are very short, stubby and accurate. These bits are great for setting the exact center of anything that you need to drill.

i.e. the center of a mandrel, the center of a work piece - etc.
Then, if you are drilling deeper, use longer and longer drills to finish the drilling.

Roger

How would I go about a handle for an ice rod that only has an 1/8" blank diameter and still end up with a nice tight fit on the foregrip and butt? The insert for the reel seat could be 1/4" and take up the diff with some sort of spacing material.

Wade,
I am assuming that you are starting with a handle with no hole in it.
If so, simply drill a 1/8th hole through the center of the blank as far as you need to drill the hole.
Insert the glue coated blank and you are good to go.

Another option, especially if you have a very flexible handle - like an Eva handle or soft cork - or have a pre drilled handle with a 1/4 inch hole through it - is to put an graphite or fiberglass hollow insert that has a 1/8th inch hole in it. The insert will stiffen the handle and will also fill the open space around the blank. If the insert is too large for the current hole, simply enlarge the hole in the handle with a drill if the insert is a constant diameter.

Take care
Roger

Roger thank you for the response, but I should have been a little clearer on my question.

Say I were to use an acrylic or stabilized wood blank for the handle in leu of a cork or EVA handle. How would one approach that scenario?

Wade,
If you check out my recent pictures in the equipment forum, you will find it to be pretty straight forward.

Depending on the shape of your rough piece of material - i.e. round, square or other shape, I would use a 3 or 4 jaw chuck to grab one end of the rod.
I would have the opposite end marked and then use the tail stock centering point to make a good center hole for the work piece.

Then, I would remove the centering tail stock piece and put a drill chuck in the tail stock and insert a short 1/8th inch drill bit. I would drill a hole in the handle the full length of the short bit.

Then, remove the short bit and put in a bit long enough for the length of the blank that you want to insert into the handle and for the amount that you want the blank to fit into the handle. No need to have the blank go all of the way through the handle if you want a clean end on the end of the handle.

Then , remove the drill chuck, replace it with the revolving tail stock point, insert it into the drilled hole and proceed to shape your handle with lath tools and sand paper.

When finished, clean up the butt end of the handle the way that you want to, clean up the fore grip of the handle and glue up the blank to the handle.

Good luck
Roger

After seeing your pictures it makes more sense. You're turning between centers, then coming back and drilling your hole to the desired size, holding one end in a 3 or 4 jaw chuck and the other end in a homemade jig to center the stock for the drill. Very interesting.

Wade,
That was true on this particular project.
But for general turning, I think that it likely works better for most projects if you do the thru hole drilling first - before you turn the work piece into the final project.
If the size of the center hole allows for that to be done, it means that you don't run the risk of chuck marks on the final project.

Good luck
Roger

Got it.