I have the American tackle power wrapper from mud hole. I plan on using this thing to turn cork with but haven't used it yet. I'm wondering will this thing with the stock chuck be able to handle turning burl cork rings and some stabilized burl wood or do I need to upgrade the chuck to the aluminum one?

I'm pretty sure you will not be able to turn Stabilized wood on the wrapper as it does not have the power to handle something this tough.

It would not even be capable of turning a non stabilized wood, or most likely even an acrylic blank for that matter.

Ron Weber

Thanks, besides not handling stabilized wood will I be able to shape cork rings with the chuck that comes with or does it need the aluminum chuck for that? Brand new to rod building here. Don't wanna break this thing if it can't handle it. I basically plan on building the cork handle right on the blank and shaping it right on the power wrapper...is that ok or should I be going a different route?

It will be more than fine for cork.

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Patrick,
One of the issues that you run into when you use a power wrapper to turn materials, is a lack of power.

One solution to the lack of power is to just use an electric drill to turn the item that you want to shape, rather than the universal motor that is typical for many of the wrappers.

An even better solution is to use a small lathe and mandrels to turn grips - rather than to turn grips on the rod blank. By turning the grips on a mandrel rather than the blank that you are building on - you will not put a blank in danger as you are turning the grip.

Another thing that works really well to secure a blank when you want to turn a grip is to use a piece of solid stock that you hold in a chuck and then insert the solid stock up the butt end of the blank being turned for grip shaping.

You can use a jacobs chuck or the classic chuck on any common drill to hold the piece of solid stock that you might use to turn a blank.

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When I first started building, I took lessons at a nearby rod shop that used a full length rod lathe to turn all of their grips. Every one of their grips were turned on the blanks with very few issues.
In this case, the shop used a simple 1/2 hp 1750 rpm motor to drive a jack shaft that had a 1/2 inch jacobs chuck on the end to use to grip a piece of solid stock for shaping grips. They have used this lathe to create thousands of grips over the years.

Based on their success, I basically did the same thing with a used "3600 rpm buffer motor". This buffer motor had a 1/2X20 threaded shaft on the end. The classic 1/2 inch chuck screws right on the end of the motor.
I used the buffer motor to create a full length rod blank. I mounted the motor on a 10 foot board that had a slot milled down the center. I used the slot to mount rod rests down the length of the bed to mount rod rests. The lathe worked very well and I used it to shape many many grips on full length rods. I would spin rod blanks up to 9 feet in length for one piece blanks. I used up to 5 ball bearing rod rests to insure that the blank ran true and did not start whipping which would end up breaking the blank.
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Good luck on your new start. Best of luck using what ever machines work for you to do the jobs.

Yes - the wrapper "out of the box" will turn cork rings with little problem. However - if you stabilize it (anchor it to a bench or onto 2x6's) and buy the ALPS chuck the machine will run smoother and truer. Ensuring "dead center" is, in my opinion, the most critical procedure. I have also used this machine to turn stabilized wood and acrylics - you just have to slow down by using finer grit & remove less material at a time.

Thank you for all the responses.

I've used my pac bay rodsmith with upgraded chuck for turning cork, eva and composite cork. Just be patient and use a multitude of abrasive surfaces to get the material where you want....and anchor it down!

Keep in mind that your power wrapper will generate a lot of dust when used as a lathe and then you will have finish problems. I keep my turning well away from my wrapping and finishing.

If you sink a ball bearing into a board, clamp that to the bed of your drill press for a lower support of a mandrel, you will be able to turn any cork product easily and safely starting with very coarse sandpaper. Not sure of the tougher stuff or starting with square blanks. I think you need a real lathe to do most of that stuff well and safely.

As Tom and others have said it will work for cork and eva but not good for wood. Also note that the standard chuck is plastic and you will be reducing its live span if you plan on doing much turning.
If you are even considering up grading your chuck for just turning you might want to check out Harbor freights 18" lathe(when on sale which is often + 20% off coupon it will only be a bit more than the chuck upgrade)'
With that you could turn any handle material(wood included) and have it set up away from your wrapping/finishing area. Have had mine several years with no problems. Just my 2 cents.

Upgrade to aluminum chuck, will turn natural cork, burl cork, and EVA.
Buzz