Wondering if anyone that has bought the new raised bed Renzetti lathe can comment on what they like or don't like about it. Thanks. Considering upgrading from an older original unit.

Glenn,
What do you hope to gain by upgrading?

The ability to run the thread carriage end to end without stopping or removing as you encounter the rod supports has turned out to be a much more handy feature than I would have ever imagined.

Because these units have reasonable resale value, you might try selling yours and then kicking in a little more and buying the new unit. Of course, upgrade kits are available to, which I believe include the new carriage (not the feed - use your old one) and the beds and related hardware.

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

kevin knox picked his new one up at the ICRBE this year. It is a work of art. give him a call i am sure he can tell you all about it as he has put it to good use

what is the cost of the upgrade? I have an old unit which is nice, but very expensive.

The upgrade to the new lathe was seamless and is outstanding. I am hearing reports of sagging beds but I am not seeing any sag at all. My beds are 12' and I love the ability to run the length without moving rod supports. The ability to wrap right up to the support is not as great as I thought it would be as the support is int he way when I go to finish wraps. So, I keep mine in the middle between guides. With that said, the full run of the carriage up and down the lathe has proven to become a time saver and is outstanding. Overall I give the upgrade an A.

Kevin

Kevin Knox
ANGLER'S ENVY CUSTOM RODS
QUEEN ANNE, MD 21657
#_#_#_#_#
www.anglersenvy.com

I have never bought a Renzetti product I later felt was not well worth the money...I'm sure you'd be pleased with the upgrade and I believe the price is fair given the quality of materials and machining hours involved. However, the issue for me is still that I don't want to move myself, the thread carriage, and all my tools (thread pullers, tweezers, thread burnisher, scissors, razor blade, reading glasses, alcohol torch, etc.) up and down the lathe bed even if the machine will do it easily. And to do this you have to have a desk / table set up that has leg room all along it as well so you can slide or roll your chair up and down the rod to get from butt to tip.

I know this is not really what this topic is about, but the solution someone recommended to me years ago that I love- I think it was either Ralph O'Quinn or Tom K. - is to make the lathe bed and rod supports the part that slides up and down your bench - and the rod with it - while you and your thread carriage and stuff stay in one place. To do this, you have to fashion a 'track' or base that the lathe bed fits on. I made mine out of oak with a router but if I had it to do over again I might use HDPE (or a plastic like that with some lubricity). The track is bolted down to my work bench surface. I then removed my headstock and motor as I don't power wrap anyway. You then partially disassemble your Renzetti thread carriage and mount it on a block or something with the right height and offset (distance back from the lathe bed) so that you have the working set up you like. Again, this is bolted to your desk or bench top.

Then you keep your chair in one place - along with all your tools - and simply slide the lathe bed and rod while you sit stationary to get from guide to guide. For me, this set up is vastly superior for wrapping and finishing than any other set up I have ever tried. It allows you to place a really good light and magnfication (just as an example) in the place where you are always working. Your trash can is right there in the same place all the time vs. having to move it around, etc. I bought extra rod and knob pieces Renzetti sells as large spool adapters and built fixed mounts for up to eight 4 oz spools on either side of my thread carriage (which already handles up to 8 spools up to 1 oz or so size) and that's a huge help for tiger wraps, etc. I then simply feed thread from these spools into the carriage at the middle pigtails and I'm in business. Very convenient and efficient. Everyone who has tried it loves it.

Of course, you must have a bench and room long enough that you can slide your lathe bed 8' or so in each direction. You also give up power wrapping, but that is no big deal to me. I bought extra sections of lathe bed and extra rod supports from Renzetti and made the headstock, motor and foot pedal into a dedicated power lathe that can handle blanks up to 8' out in my dirty garage. This is EXTREMELY useful for handle repair on rods, etc. and keeps my wrapping and finishing space clean.

I believe you could do this with any lathe bed and rod supports and even mix and match components. For example, if I was going to use a Pac Bay / AmTak / Batson machine as my primary wrapper, I could mount it this way and buy the 8-spool (and vastly superior in my opinion) Renzetti thread carriage for my set up. Then I'd have 8 spools, back up tension, and superior thread tension control and convenience without having to buy an entire Renzetti lathe. You could also just buy the lathe bed, rod supports, and thread carriage if you never intend to power wrap in the first place and save a lot of money. Anyway, something to think about. .

Bill,
This is my personal lathe bed that I use for power wrapping.
The power unit mounts on the end, and in use, I stay in the center of my rod bench and roll the wrapper up and down past my work station.
The thread tension device stays in one spot on the bench and the lathe moves past the tension device.

I agree with you, in that I find it much easier to stay in one spot and move the wrapper base past me.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

By the way, the 10 foot long aluminum channel cost me $20. I stopped by my machinest friend, and had him mill a slot in the center of the channel to hold my rod rests. The rod rests are attached to the channel with a 1/4 inch carriage bolt.
The thread tension device simply rests against the back of the lathe bed and as the bed moves by the thread, the rod is wrapped. The power head is bolted onto the end of the channel, so it rides along with the bed as well.
My current power head made from a 24 volt DC gear motor and a 1/2 inch keyless drill chuck. If I need a larger chuck, I have a 3 inch Taig chuck that fits nicely into the keyless chuck for large rod butts.
[www.rodbuilding.org]

By the way, the one piece aluminum channel has 0 sag in its 10 foot one piece length.
The skate board ball bearings, allow the bed to move at the touch of a finger. When in place for the next guide, I spin down the brakes - made from a thread rod and a rubber chair leg tip that presses against the top of the rod wrapping bench- to keep the wrapper from moving when working on a guide or butt wrap.

This is a picture of my power wrapper in use, before I put the rollers on the wrapper bed. Here I am using a 3 piece rod building bench with rollers between the sections to let the wrapper roll up and down the bench:
[www.rodbuilding.org]

Another wrapper power head, that uses a Taig head stock as well as the 3 inch Taig chuck.
I use an identical chuck on a 1/2 inch mandrel when I use my current 1/2 inch keyless chuck power head:
[www.rodbuilding.org]

A picture of the current rod rests that I use with my power wrapper shown above. This style rest allows you to wrap very close to the rest, even letting your hand be directly below the rod for precise control. Simple and easy to construct:
[www.rodbuilding.org]

Lots of different ways to get the job done that needs to be done.

Be safe



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2013 03:09PM by roger wilson.

What a surprise to find this thread here today.

I just returned home from, of all places, Renzetti. I looked at the features of both of their power wrappers, and decided on the new Craftsman.

I, too, thought they were overpriced when I first looked at them. No longer. What price can you put on something that works the way it is supposed to, incorporates intelligent engineering, is made in the USA, and (in my case) supports a local business?

BTW, my Pac Bay power wrapper will be listed in the classified section momentarily.

Success is the result of making good choices. Making good choices is the result of experience. Experience is often the result of making bad choices.

Looks great, Roger. Can't wait to get my hands on the power unit you are building me for composite grips!

Right after I read this thread, I went to list my Pac Bay wrapper in the buy/sell section, and what did I see but a brand spanking new original Renzetti master lathe for sale. I called RRenzetti to ask about the price of the upgrade: $249 (and I can just drive over and pick it up). So yesterday I overnighted a check to Russ Hughes for the one advertised here. I should be up and running with it next week. WOOHOO!

I recently got a new Renzetti thread carriage, since I have two Dale Clemens/Renzetti lathes. when I compare the function of it to my old Clemens thread carriage, I like the old one much better. Maybe the new one will grow on me, or maybe I am just too used to the old one after so many years of use. It sits on the lathe bed with about a 20 degree list to port (left) and having taken it apart several times I can't find the reason for this. It doesn't affect the function of the carriage so I will just get used to looking at it that way. I also like the thread tension spring much better on the old carriage. It would be nice to be able to be able to roll the carriage past the rod supports with the new Master model, maybe if I live long enough to wear out the two I have, I will get one.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2013 04:34PM by Randolph Ruwe.