Does anyone know if the Batson Alps lathe mandrels are threaded on one end? Not at clear from any of the product information I can find.

Phil,
Give Batson a call and ask them.

[batsonenterprises.com]

Roger, no one answering at batson, tried that first.

Try e-mailing them- I know they said they would be checking it daily

batson@batsonenterprises.com

They are not threaded, on one end is drilles to go in the live Center and you have locking ring available (to lock the grip you’re turning).

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Eric
[www.emfishing.fr]

Phil,
Its easy enough to thread a Mandrel, I've done it with a set that I made for turning wood inserts for fly rod seats. I took a standard 18" 3/8 Mandrel that came with 60 degree tapers in each end. I cut it in half. Using a 3/8 by 24NF Die, I cut a 3/4" long thread on the end that has the 60 degree live center taper. I have a locking collet and a couple of 3/8 brass bushings along with a 3/8 by 24 thread per inch nut to lock the wood in place on the Mandrel. The only reason I cut the Mandrel in half, just wanted it shorter for inserts and less "take up" space with bushings. I also put threads on a full length set of 1/4 and 3/8 18" mandrels for grip turning. Cutting the treads is pretty easy, lock the mandrel in a bench vise or your lathe (unplug it) and hand cut the thread with the die, use cutting oil, make a few turns, back die off, clean with a wire brush and repeat till you have the desired length of the thread.
If you don't have access to a tap and tie set, a local machine shop or some auto parts stores might be able to do this for you, or someone that has a welding shop, wrench heads that love cars like we love building rods, ext.

Bill,
Whether the mandrel is easy to thread or not is entirely dependent on how hard the steel is that has been used in the product.

If the material is drill rod and has been case hardened, good luck trying to thread the steel.

If it is mild steel, no issue.

To test, just use a file and see what it takes to put a notch in the mandrel. If easy, then likely you can put threads on the item. If not - maybe not.

Best wishes.

Mine are tool steel, and they threaded just fine, not as easy as mild steel, but I was able to do it, you need to use a quality made die.