I’ve been looking at some of the more economical wood turning lathes, under $200. What I am not seeing are lathes that can be fitted with mandrels. Of course I know nothing about these lathes and how they’re built, so it could be that I am overlooking something that is rather sample to retrofit. I’m assuming I need a mandrel in order to turn cork? Any suggestions?

If all you are doing is turning cork, you really don't need a lathe. My mentor had an old monstrous 1/2 in. Milwaukie drill, mandrels and a hole drilled in a 2 X 4 to hold the mandrel's end. everything was nailed at a comfortable height to the studs on his old shed. He sanded or rasped everything or cut it with an exacto knife.

If you have a drill press I can show you how to adapt it very cheaply to turn cork and EVA on mandrels. My email is open.

Any lathe can be made to work with turning mandrels. You'll need to buy a chuck, most likely a self-centering 3-jaw model. Most places that sell lathes also sell chucks.

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I posted this picture in 2009 of a simple, inexpensive rod building lathe.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

A person can use virtually any thing for a mandrel. However a genuine piece of drill ro din the appropriate diameter can be used for a mandrel.
In this ca obtain an appropriate piece of rod, or threaded rod in an appropriate pice of drill rod, drill bit, threaded rod or unthreaded drill rod.

Best wishes


Check out FLEX COAT chucks for great information on grip shaping>

[flexcoat.com]

Thats what I use, Roger. Cheap B&D electric 110v drill, a vise attached to my work bench, and a CRB metal rod stand to hold the end of the mandrel. The small CRB reaming file with the metal end works like a charm for a mandrel. I use an old one with the sand paper removed. You can also build one with old rod pieces telescoping them into each other to form a solid FRP or carbon mandrel. Just make sure that the first or second piece fits into the drill.

If you have a drill press it will provide way smoother and safer turning than any cobbled up drill driver outfit.

At one time Grizzly made a small wood lathe that you fitted with a drill, corded or cordless. They were less than fifty bucks and really did a great job for turning cork or soft wood. Only thing if you find they still have them is to make sure your drill collar will fit in the part on the lathe that accepts the drill. There are two different drill collar diameters.

This lathe is quite in expensive in todays world.


[www.harborfreight.com]

Especially, if one alos purchases the bed extension, it is a nice unit for virtually any rod building need.
But, if you are buying a new lathe, plan on spending as much on accessories as you do for the original lathe.

For example - a decent chuck is $100-$200
Then, a couple of different tail stock accessories as well as a couple of other jacobs style chucks helps the over all utility of the unit.

Here, for example, the lathe is being used to drill solid cork rings for a friend:

[www.amazon.com]

With a lathe, the work is easy, precise and repeatable.

The real help of a factory made lathe is the fact that it is horizontal and that one has a tail stock that can work for you. The tail stock is so important for many many different jobs being done on a lathe.

For example, here the lathe is being used to center bore a new wood rear grip.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

If you are talking about turning grips on a steel mandrel, you only need a common Jacobs type chuck and they can be had for well under $50 from many woodworking supply houses such as Grizzly or Penn State.

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Dennis,
I have been using the FlexCoat Cork Lathe fpr 12 years.
Under $200 - you use a Corded Drill to power it. Rigid has one for about $35.
I turn all my grips directly on the blank and it works perfectly.
Contact me if you decide to own one and I will give ou tip on how to use it.
Herb
CTS

Thanks for the feedback. A lot of good ideas here. One problem I'm having is shaping the cork and having it come out perfectly concentric. Last few came out rather off-center. I think it has to do with the fit of the cork on my make-shift mandrel, a long bolt.
Also I'm experimenting with tools and sandpaper to shape. Any tools I should condor? Wood rasp? Etc?

You cannot obtain a concentric grip by sanding. You have to cut it to size and shape and then finish by sanding. Here's how... [www.youtube.com]

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Yep, if it's not concentric to begin with, simply sanding so the surfaces are smooth isn't going to make it concentric.

I have never had concentricity problems forming natural cork, burl cork, or EVA grip components using glued rings (EVA starts as blocks) on a threaded rod mandrel and my drill press "lathe." With sandpaper only. I start with 60 grit on a block and work to higher numbers as I go.

The method to achieve and maintain concentricity is to work very slowly at first, allowing the sandpaper on the block to barely touch the part thus having it work on the "high spots" without forcing it into the "low spots." In a few minutes one will notice that the high spots are gone and full contact is achieved. It's very much like the first steps with the lathe in the video. Same principal.

But the drill press works just as smoothly/quietly as the lathe in the video. It is highly under-rated.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2022 11:52AM by Michael Danek.

I have a lathe, but blew the motor on it last week, I was determined to finish the grips, so I locked a Dewalt cordless drill in my vise and completed the grips just fine. the shorter and larger the diameter of the mandrel, the BETTER. a 1/4" mandrel will want to wobble on you, but a 5/16 or even a 3/8" mandrel works great in a drill or drill press.

DR

Note:
If you don't want to use cutting tools while shaping a grip, use a backing board on coarse sand paper and one can get virtually the same results as one would get with lathe tools.

Best wishes.

Right, Roger.

"Building a Cork Lathe from a Drill Press" Rodmaker V6 #2.

its hard to beat having a real lathe. not saying the other options wouldnt serve ya well but if your budget allows get a decent lathe.

just get one that can accept the available mandrels without having to buy a bed extension. i have the Jet mini lathe and quickly found out most mandrels are too long. i did find one to fit but that was years ago. i dont think they are available anymore. Cant complain too much cause i got an almost new lathe and it only cost me a couple hrs helping a buddy.

I never had a problem using the sandpaper backed by a block. Just take it slow and dont apply too much pressure. i also have used a rasp or stanley sureform to cut them. again, slow and light pressure.