just curios, can the renzetti lathe do all it says? i don't mind spending the extra $ if i feel that it is the best. can it mill cork and still and wrap for a couple years of say, 10-15 poles a month or should i purchase a seperate lathe (any opinions welcome, quality only) for the basement.

Yes, it can do it all and more. 10 or 15 a month? I would think 10 to 15 per day and for maybe twice your lifetime. I think that much of it. But I was advised to get the 1/10 HP motor and it was a good choice. I can do some easy turning on cork and EVA and still have good control for thread wrapping. Hard to go wrong with this unit.

i am going to build my own dryer that will hold about 10 rods per section at about 10-15 rpm. i would like to know how you can build a cork lathe with a 1/2 or 1 horse motor that i already have from some of my woodworking tools, or should i just get a flex coat lathe. (drill setup?) any good cork lathes out there?

The cheap woodworking lathes are not much for turning wood but are great for cork. Harbor Freight usually has serviceable ones for under $200. The Renzetti you talking about buying will turn cork like butter. Mount it on a slab of MDF so you can carry it outside when you want to turn nasty stuff like cork and EVA. Then reverse the hose on your shop vac and blow it all back to mother nature.

Mount your beds on two pieces of MDF. Join them in your shop and use as a rod lathe full lenth. For turning on a mandrel just unhook the sections and carry the end with motor and headstock outside.

well i converted a bench top drill press and have it in a seperate room in my shop so i dont have to worrie about cork or graphit dust in my epoxy any questions on how i did this just email me ...john t burford

Between rod building and rod repairs, I would guess that any of my Renzetti lathes have handled over ten thousands rods each and they are still like new. Of course, any tool requires some amount of general maintainence and care if you expect it to last and operate for a long time.

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If it comes the same as a Clemens, then the first purchase I would make is a rheostat to wire inline between footpedal and motor. This lets you fine tune the speed to the nth degree. I like using footpedal for on/off operation and control the speed via the rheostat.

Elrod,
Is the rheostat for light dimmers (120V AC) suitable for the variable speed motor adjustment?

The motor I have is the small 1/15 HP or 1/10 HP on the Clemens/Renezetti lathes.

Regards,
FKrow

Yes, I bought mine at Lowe's for $4. I was a little worried that the amp pull might fry the dimmer, but been using it for a few months now and not a problem. They do make one for small industrial equipment, but they didn't have them in stock and I am like a kid with a new present, didn't want to wait. Told myself I would get the machine one later, but never seen the need to. I would think if going to anything bigger it would be necessary to purchase the industrial one.

Fred,

There is quite a bit of difference between the 1/15 and the 1/10 with solid state foot control. The 1/10 is just better all around and the solid state foot control is much more accurate. I know some people like the dimmer switch (can be hard on motors though) and Mike Bolt has one installed on his unit. It works well.

There is another very simple way to achieve easy speed control for those with a heavy foot - put a screw/bolt thru the foot pedal and adjust the height so that you can only depress the pedal so far. This limits your maximum speed to whatever you are comfortable with. I know one guy who just puts cork shims beneath the pedal so he can't depress it all the way. It's crude, but effective.

Buddy Owens has also redesigned his foot board for total motor control all along a 12 foot length. You have to use it to believe it. Perfect response and great speed control. If I can get him off the golf course for a few hours I am going to photograph his new unit and feature it in the magazine. It is the best speed control and foot operated motor control I have ever tried.

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Tom,
This group of rodbuilders has an endless stream of talent. I am constantly amazed at the ideas that are freely exchanged.

Thank you for making this forum and Rodbuilder magazine possible.

Regards,
FKrow