Hey guys I earned a few extra dollars at work this month and am looking to spend the money on a lathe or power wrapper to start doing custom grips.I like the idea of the lathe because I can turn the grips off of the blank and turn wood accents if I like .I'm looking at lathe from harbor freight with a 17" bed for pretty cheap. Or just a very basic power wrapper for a little more. I'm wondering how you would turn lower grips / fighting butts if they were on the blank and chucked up? Also I figure im looking at getting the crafty cutter from Dan craft for doing recessed hoods. And a cork slicer from mudhole. If I go the wood lathe route I figure I can get everything for roughly $300. If I do the power wrapper about $80-100 more, which I would save for, if it would be much more efficient / beneficial. What are everyone's thoughts on this and what would you have done differently if re-doing your set up? Also I have a sewing motor and foot control but havnt been able to figure out a way to make a decent / economical way to set it up.if anyone has any ideas on how to rig that up cheaply I don't mind a little work. Thanks

G'day Micheal

IMHO i would go the wood lathe.You can turn on a mandrell instead of having to turn the grip on the blank.If you stuff up just take the grip off the mandrell and start again.The other way you have to get it off the blank.If you are going to fool around with wood and acrylics etc the lathe is going to win hands down.You can also isolate the dust from your rod building area by having your lathe elsewhere.

I know you will gets lots of different views on this as everyone does things their own way hope this helps.

cheers

Ray Balmforth
Figtree
NSW
Australia

I think the lathe is the way to go if you are wanting to make grips. You will find you want to do other things on the lathe as it can be addictive. I would recommend a lathe with a longer bed. take a look at the Jet,delta,penn state ind, or Rikon. You will pay more, but get a lathe you can expand your work with by adding accessories. One thing to consider is the lathe is only about half the cost of what you will need with tools, mandrels, chucks, etc. You will save money in the long run if you get a better tool. You may also want to see if there are any turning clubs in your area. You may be able to pick up a used lathe, make friends, and get instruction all at the same time.

Yep
The lath is the way to go Just try to keep it away from the finishing area ( dust )

Also contact Roger Wilison for that foot peddle he should be able to set you up

Bill - willierods.com

If you are going with the Harbor freight lathe, this is the one to get:

[www.harborfreight.com]

This lathe uses the better MT2 fittings for head and tail stock.

There is also a bed extension available, which is a very nice addition to have installed.

Remember, any time that you purchase a lathe, pretty well on spending another amount about equal to the initial price of the lathe for additional head stock and tail stock accessories in the form of additional chucks. Also, you need to have some tools to make the best use of the lathe.

However, as was pointed out previously, there are many many things that you will be able to use your lathe for, in addition to the typical handle shaping for fishing rods.

It is always nice to keep dust making machines like lathes, sanders and saws in an area that is separate and removed from your rod wrapping and finish application and drying area. Sure you can put in dust removal equipment etc. but the best way to avoid dust in the rod wrapping and finish area is to have no dust formation machines in the same area, or the same building.

By the way, this lathe is the same lathe that is sold by Rockeler's under the trade name - Excelsior. .

[www.amazon.com]. Notice the bed extension on the same page of the Lathe listing.

A few different chucks and tools that are very handy for use on a lathe.
In particular, the use of a 3 jaw chuck of 3 or 4 inches is a great idea for the head stock. Then, the use of a Jacobs style keyless chuck in the 1/2 inch size is a great addition for the tail stock. Also the use of a good ball bearing tail stock pointer is also a very good addition to your lathe tools.

Be safe

p.s.
A link to the Jet line of lathes.
[www.amazon.com]

the PSI lathes also represent a good value.

Good luck

I started with an old lathe that a friend wasn't using anymore.
Later I bought an Alps rod winder. I use both, but if I had to choose one, I'd take the rod winder.
A lathe is a wood turning tool that can also do a few rod building jobs...
A rod winder is a rod building tool that can turn all your cork on or off the rod.
If you buy one with a proper chuck it can also do some light wood turning.

There's no comparison between making grips, even just a cork grip, on a lathe versus on a rod wrapper. I bought a lathe two years ago; if I had to go back to making grips on my power wrapper I would give up making rods.

Harbor Freight has 20% and sometimes 25% off coupons. Join their mailing list and you will get them. I used a 25% off and got that lathe for around 150 bucks.

I have a low end lathe (Grizzly drill lathe) and a power wrapper. I use the lathe for shaping. I use the power wrapper for cleaning up, light sanding, etc.

David Dosser
Coshocton, OH

wow thanks for all the comment's. im pretty set of the hf lathe(the one roger mentioned) right now it fits in the budget and im normally not one to buy the cheapest out there but i just cant justify a few hundred extra for just doing grips. i may get into doing some wood items later but as of now i dont really have much desire to make and bowls or pens. rod building is so new to me still that i don't really wanna do much else in terms of hobby's except for fish. im thinking i'll get a 3 jaw or maybe a drill type chuck for the headstock and just buy a mandrel thats already beveled? if that makes any sense. are there any must have items ill need for the grips besides, crafty cutters and a cork slicer. will spade bits work instead of the crafty cutters? once again thanks everyone

I have used spade bits, but morse bits are what I use now for insets, etc. I use them when I make fly rod grips for the reel seat to fit into. Lots of different grades of sandpaper is a must have. Drywall sanding screen is really handy as well. It will cut down cork really fast. I have a cheap lathe tool set that I use a few tools from as well sometimes. One other thing that you may want to think about is a wet/dry vac or some other type of vacuum system for the dust. Some people have mounted the hose right under where you will be sanding/shaping. It really cuts down on the mess.

David Dosser
Coshocton, OH

Michael,
The primary accessories that you should have on hand for grip shaping are as follows:

1. 3 jaw chuck that will open to at least 3 inches. (for the head stock)
2. Jacobs style 1/2 inch chuck that will fit - either the head stock or the tail stock. (I prefer the use of a keyless chuck for quick and easy use to tighten or loosen.
3. A good revolving center point for the tail stock to center up mandrels etc.
4. A set of 60 degree center point drill bits, so that you can perfectly drill centering holes in drill stock or other stock for lather use by the tail stock.
5. It is nice to have an inexpensive set of lathe gouges and chisels to handle basic wood turning. You may never use them with cork, but if you do get some other material to turn like nylon or acrylic, these tools will be of good use. Most of these tools don't work too well with cork since they tend to gouge out the cork. The bulk of your cork turning will be done with rasps, files and various grades of sand paper.
6. Another nice thing to have for many handles is the use of various lengths of tool rests. When you are doing rough shaping, you use the tool rest. If you have long pieces of work, it is nice to have a long tool rest so that you don't have to continuously move the tool rest.
If you don't already have one, a good shop vacuum is a very nice thing to have on hand since there will be a lot of dust, chips etc. from your turning activities.

Here are examples of the center point drill bits. If you can get a set ranging from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch is nice. But if you just have one that is 1/4 inch will work for most needs.
Also, there is an example of the live tail stock point by PSI that I frequently use when using mandrels to turn grips. the live tail stock has bearings in it to allow the tail stock to spin at the same rpm as the mandrel, rather than spinning in the mandrel with no rotation.

[www.amazon.com]

In addition to David's comments about the use of a shop vacuum, try some experiments with different vacuum accessories.

Many folks use a rather large wide nozzle on the end of the vacuum to collect and gather dust and chips.

For gathering chips, this is fine. But if you are mainly doing sanding, I have found that a wide narrow gap wet vacuum accessory tool is a better tool to use for this task.
I have found that the reason is that the vacuum has the same @#$%& power whether there is a large opening in the floor attachment or a rather narrow in width attachment.

However, the air velocity is quite different between the two accessories. With a large opening in the vacuum, there is a uniform rather low velocity air current which works fine for chips that just tend to fall directly into the opening.

But, the long narrow slot style floor attachments give a much higher air velocity as the vacuum @#$%& the air. As a result, by mounting the floor accessory in the path of the spinning chips and dust, the higher velocity of the narrow gap floor tool collets dust much more efficiently than the large rectangular or square openings.

Be safe

Get a variable speed lathe and don't look back.

Mike, all the guys above have given you some great tips so I wont elaborate much more. I take it you already have 1 rod wrapper for making rods and are looking to possibly
get another for turning grips. If you plan on doing a lot of grip work especially with wood you are way better off with a lathe. The motors used on rod wrappers will not last along
time doing a lot of grip work. Plus it is a lot nicer doing grip work free of being mounted on the rod you are making. I have the same lathe you are looking at and like Greg said
with the 25% off coupon the lathe will only set you back around $150 but like others have stated you will want to get some of those mentioned accessories.

harbor freight has that lathe at $194. Rockler has it on sale at $199. if you don't have a 20% off coupon...

eric
fresno, ca.

went down to hf today to put my hands on the lathe, seems like it will work great for the above mentioned. just finishing pricing everything out to make sure i have the funds. thinking about building a pvc attachment for my shop vac to go along the length of the bed for dust collection.but i cant wait to get everything set up and going. hopefully after buying all of the tools ill have some cash left over for cork lol.