i have the complete set of turning mandrels from mudhole but find myself occassionally needing off size (diameter) ones. yes, i enlarge the OD using tape when necessary but life would be a lot simpler using closer to correct size mandrels. also theirs are too long for my short bed lathe and i have had to cut them to length. if anyone had a metal lathe and makes mandrels that won't break the bank i'd appreciate knowing. thanks.

If you unhide your email, folks may respond better.

You can make your own using scrap rod blanks with virtually any taper and length you'd care for. Best to use either solid glass or stiff graphite blanks. Different grits of sand/emory paper are available in 1/2 to 3/4 inch strips. Smear the blank with two part epoxy and wrap the paper around it keeping a gap of about 1/4 inch to allow dust to exit. You'll have to secure the ends of the paper at least temporarily until the epoxy hardens. I made mine on scrap bamboo rod blanks that I trimmed down.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2016 08:01AM by Ken Preston.

ken,
i think he wants the mandrels folks sometimes use to turn the cork on not the reamers.

Most mandrels come in stock sizes because those are the sizes that common drill rod comes in. If you need something in-between, then it has to be turned, end to end, to that size. The additional labor may result in a cost that you would find objectionable. Maybe, maybe not. Generally it's not hard to ream or bore a grip or seat out to whatever size you need.

I assume you are talking about mandrels and not reamers.

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



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2016 08:03AM by Tom Kirkman.

Whoops... my bad.

yes, correct, mandrels, not reamers.

You can make them from scrap blanks I have many and they work fine If they are a little soft glue in another scrap piece to stiffen them up I have made reamers and mandrels Just make sure they are straight

Bill - willierods.com

Jack,
Read and understood.

All that I have ever used for mandrels is threaded rod. No, they are not as good as the hard drill rod mandrels, but they are available, inexpensive and come in all sizes.

I use a center point drill bit in the end of my tail stock of the lathe to center point the end of each rod so that it can be easily used in the lathe when turning cork.

In the smaller sizes, like 1/4 inch, the threaded rod, is softer and more flexible than the drill rod mandrels. But, as soon as one goes larger up to 5/16th, 3/8th, 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch, the drill rod is nice and still and works well for cork turning.

A nice advantage of the threaded rod, is that one can simply put a washer and nut on each end of the threaded rod to insure that the cork does not turn on the mandrel. Then, when done turning, the rod can be put in a variable speed drill and with the grip held stationary, the grip can be unscrewed from the rod and be ready for final reaming and grip placement on the blank.

Then, while holding the threaded rod in a variable speed drill, any cement or glue can be cleaned out of the threads by the use of a stationary bench grinder that has a wire wheel on it. Simple, works well and again, inexpensive.

Good luck

ALPS now makes mandrels in several diameters, i believe they are all 16' in length. I recently purchased two of the larger sizes through Utmost Enterprises.

roger.....your response caused me to have one of those "why didn't i think of that" moments! thanks! clarify the center point drill bit in the tailstock for me though if you would. w/out a hole existing in the rod already i would think getting the drill point exactly in the center would be impossible and cause the mandrel to wobble. thanks.

If you have a lathe, it should have a thru hole in the headstock. Slide the rod all the way thru to the chuck, then with a drill chuck in the tailstock wind a 60 degree center point in it advance it and drill the end of the rod.

I by no means acknowledge the usage of the allthread as a mandrel, due to most of them being a very soft metal, easily bendable and very dangerous on a lathe.

Ron Weber

Jack,
If you have a lathe, the center point drilling is easy.

Here is an example of a drill point set:

[www.amazon.com]

After purchase, select the drill point that you wish to use. Larger mandrels generally a bit larger drill points.

If you don't have a jacobs style chuck for your lathe tail stock, purchase one.

Chuck the center point drill bit of your selection into the lathe tail stock

Slip the drill rod through the lathe chuck and tighten it down so that only the extreme last one inch or so of the drill rod is extending out of the chuck. Then, bring the tail stock and center point drill bit up to the end of the drill rod, threaded rod, or mandrel and lock it in place. Start the lathe on the slow speed required for drilling metal. Use drilling oil on the drill point and on the end of the rod. Advance the center point into the rod as needed using the tail stock advance wheel. Stop when complete.

------------------------
If you have a need to drill a center point hole in the end of a rod that is larger than what will fit through the chuck on your lathe, or if you don't have a thru hole on your lathe, you can use a steady rest to secure the end of the rod securely.

I had made a bunch of ball bearing steady rests for my full length rod lathe several years ago. Since I no longer use the full length rod lathe, I have freed up the ball bearing steady rests. I use a plate on the underside of the lathe bed and a thru bolt to bolt the steady rest to the bed of the lathe. Then, I center the end of the rod, and lock down the steady rest at the correct height and spacing for a perfectly centered spinning rod end. Then, I repeat the center point drilling using the center point drill bit in the jacobs chuck of the tail stock.
Here is a picture of the setup using the steady rest when I was using the tail stock to center drill a wood handle that I was making at the time. But, it is the same thing with the rod.

Jack,
If you have a lathe, the center point drilling is easy.

Here is an example of a drill point set:

[www.amazon.com]

After purchase, select the drill point that you wish to use. Larger mandrels generally a bit larger drill points.

If you don't have a jacobs style chuck for your lathe tail stock, purchase one.

Chuck the center point drill bit of your selection into the lathe tail stock

Slip the drill rod through the lathe chuck and tighten it down so that only the extreme last one inch or so of the drill rod is extending out of the chuck. Then, bring the tail stock and center point drill bit up to the end of the drill rod, threaded rod, or mandrel and lock it in place. Start the lathe on the slow speed required for drilling metal. Use drilling oil on the drill point and on the end of the rod. Advance the center point into the rod as needed using the tail stock advance wheel. Stop when complete.

------------------------
If you have a need to drill a center point hole in the end of a rod that is larger than what will fit through the chuck on your lathe, or if you don't have a thru hole on your lathe, you can use a steady rest to secure the end of the rod securely.

I had made a bunch of ball bearing steady rests for my full length rod lathe several years ago. Since I no longer use the full length rod lathe, I have freed up the ball bearing steady rests. I use a plate on the underside of the lathe bed and a thru bolt to bolt the steady rest to the bed of the lathe. Then, I center the end of the rod, and lock down the steady rest at the correct height and spacing for a perfectly centered spinning rod end. Then, I repeat the center point drilling using the center point drill bit in the jacobs chuck of the tail stock.
Here is a picture of the setup using the steady rest when I was using the tail stock to center drill a wood handle that I was making at the time. But, it is the same thing with the rod.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Take care

back when i had my full size lathe i had a set of those from grizzly. need to dig thru piles of "stuff" to see if i can find em. i'm too stove up now to have a full size wood turning lathe but my midi does everything i want. but i do miss the longer bed length for sure.

Why and what are you turning that you need so many different size mandrels

Ron Weber

i make bass, catfish, panfish, trout, fly, and a few surf rods. 99% for family/relatives and they all want a diff. size blank. especially dia. wise. some want to horse em in and others want to finese em in. i want the ID of the cork and wood pieces to match as close as possible to the OD of the mandrel so eliminating as much handle ID clean up/sizing as possible. i have arthritis in my left thumb and they want to operate on it (NO), and am getting some in my right hand. i also recently finished up w/shoulder surgery rehab. so....the less holding tight with left hand and reaming w/right arm i do allows me that much less pain at the end of the day and more rod building i can do. wrapping by hand literally had me on ice paks and pain killers so i got a power wrapper. best investment i ever made. if you have any suggestions i am all ears. they still work pretty good.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2016 02:00PM by jack black.

Even with the althread you are going to be pretty limited to the same sizing as your mandrel's. Are you using the TK style threaded mandrels?

Ron Weber

no sir. using the set from hudhole. never heard of the TK style, unless they were called something else.

Are yours threaded on one end?

Ron Weber