I have a Clemens rod lathe, but I have been turning cork handles on mandrels with a Harbor Freight lathe in order to keep dust out of "the shop". In order to cut down on reaming, I have been drilling each ringto fit the blank, and then glueing and turning on the mandrels. Sometimes the rings get out of alinement, since the bore size varies along the handle. While it is on the mandrel,
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After many years of rod building I have come to the conclusion that it's time to purchase a lathe to bore, shape cork, make my own reel seat inserts and all the other things I hear and read about but have only been able to buy up to this point. I have a power wraper, rod dryer etc from Flex Coat. What should I do now to get set up to do multi-task lathe work? Can I add to my Flex Coat stuff and
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Hello Everyone! I've been recently thinking about making or just buying a small "bench-top" style lathe for turning cork and eva handles. I've checked out some different lathes on Woodturners web site,but I was wondering if there where any other suggestions out there. I'm not sure what to look for. I don't want to buy a "cadallac" if I only need a "caviler", i
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I know this subject has been visited before however, I can't seem to find the info I need. Does anyone have any advise on how to get a straight center cut on Burl cork rings for an uplocking reel seat? I saw where someone mentioned using a dremel tool however, I would think it would be very hard to get a straight cut using a free hand method. Is the cut made on the ring before the rings are glued
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I have a wood lathe with a 3/4 x 16 drive shaft. Is there an attachment or a way to make one to hold the mandrel? I really don't want to buy the 3 jaw chuck if possible.
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Hey guys, In addition to the 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 7/16, and 1/2" sizes I am now offering mandrels in the 9/16", 5/8" and 3/4" sizes as well. Check my website or email me for pricing. Thanks, Andy Dear lamarreelseats.com
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Greetings to all I recently purchased a small "mini lathe" and have used it to shape some pre-made cork handles. I liked the results of this, and am ready to take the next step, turning grip inserts, and in the future turning reel seats and butt caps. My question is, is there any information on lathe use that is especially for the novice lathe user, and aimed at the rod builder? Thank
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I am building a few rods with a .800 butt dia and I would like to find rings with 1/2 i.d. to speed up and help keep the reaming accutate. Any one know where to locate some. Mark Schulte
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I have to mount a fuji graphite reel seat on a spinning blank and there's quite a difference between the OD of the blank and the ID of the reel seat. I don't have appropriate sized brick foam arbors (and don't really want to cough up the S&H for just two arbors), so I was thinking of turning a couple from some cork rings. Any drawbacks to using cork rings as arbor material when mounting ree
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Hey guys, thanks for the on going help as I always mention the rods are getting easier and nicer looking thanks to everyones help. I need help on this one. Im going to build a 8 or a nine wt rod that will see brackish water and salt once in awhile. I was going to put a $$ titanium seat on it but was asked if I wanted to whoop big fish with it or make it pretty!? It was a good question. I shoul
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I have a Custom Power Wrap lathe, and I love it. I see that they offer a tail stock set up to assist with drilling and boring. Without trying it, I don't know if it would work or not. I want to bore out pre-formed cork grips. I will use a tapered reamer for the final fit but would like to cut out a lot of work by using a power tool to bore a straight hole through the cork grip (my drill press is
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You builders who have bought the Habor Freight "low end"lathes. Are this working to your satisfaction and can you find the accessories you need?
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Hi all, I am planning to set up a lathe for my next couple of rods. In the past I've used a file and sander for custom grips. But, I want to save some time this time around (I'm doing 4 rods in a batch). I've figured out a stand and rollers for using a standard drill to make a lathe. But, how do I chuck the rod in the lathe? Should I leave the reel seat off at first and use masking tape on
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I have made about 20 such handles for the custom rods I build and they look really nice after their finished with polyuthane varnish. But would like to know if there is a better product to use on them to let the grain of the wood and the color of the fiberglass come out better. Also have trouble doing some fancy wrapping near the butt section can anyone help me get my wrapping better.
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So... I have the lathe and I drilled the piece of wood to make a reel seat. How do I attach the mandrel in the middle to turn in on the lathe. What is the mandrel made of? Can I use a piece of wooden dowel as a mandrel...and if I can how do you put it on the lathe. Do you have to get the center of the dowel just right so the seat is concentric? How would you keep the mandrel from spinning free wh
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I am in the process of revamping my shop. I've had my wood lathe set up in a separate room up to now to try and keep the dust down. But I need the outside room to keep my boat in and there is not enough room for boat, accessories, and lathes. I would like to have everything in one room, but I really can't afford a full blown dust collection system now (have to make some electrical service chan
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Hi all, I just finished my second rod, I am quite proud of it, but I am always looking for some constructive feedback from you all. Please have a look and let me know what you think, what you would do differently, and what you like. Thanks. This rod was built on a G Loomis Mahogany (GL3) 4-8lb. 6'6" blank. The Handle was custom made by me on a makeshift lathe (drill and dowel) using ve
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I finally broke down and picked up a wood lathe. After reading previous posts and watching a wood turning video from my local library, I now understand how to create a reel seat, well part of it anyway. It still is not clear to me how to bore the hole for the rod blank. Is the wood drilled first, put on a mandrel, and then shaped? Or is it bored after shaping? It seems to me that if it is afte
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What a great web site! I've been building rods for myself and friends for a while now and I would like to further expand my hobbie. I just can't figure out what I should charge them. I don't want ot price them too high, I want thyem to sell. Most guys won't pay $300 or more for a rod. I guess I just don't know what to charge for my time. Any suggestions!
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I am struggling with the search for a metal lathe to complete my workshop - 15-18" between centers is ideal, with power feed and a tool slide that can be moved / reduced in height if need be to facilitate wood and cork turning by hand. I have a budget of about $750.00. Any suggestions on which companies / products to look at OR avoid would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Sean
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I am struggling with the search for a metal lathe to complete my workshop - 15-18" between centers is ideal, with power feed and a tool slide that can be moved / reduced in height if need be to facilitate wood and cork turning by hand. I have a budget of about $750.00. Any suggestions on which companies / products to look at OR avoid would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Sean
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I am looking into buying a lathe and I am wondering what is the best lathe for under $100? I tried to go to www.globalflyfisher.com to see the homeade lathe article, but apparently the site is down! Bye the way, THIS SITE IS AWESOME Thanks for all help in advance!! ~Don~
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Anyone use a drill press as a makeshift lathe for cork (and balsa for lure making) and the like? I worry about the tapered chuck falling out if I give it too much horizontal pressure. I'd love to be able to shell out 300-400 beer tokens on a Jet (or similar) wood turning lathe, but the missus would have a kinipshun (sp?). I should rig up some kind of bearing pressed into a jig, made from a 2x4
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hello everyone, I hope all is well and everybodys getting some fishing in! Ive started turning my own grips and Im pretty happy with the results for the most part. the first grip I turned was a 5.5" cigar on a bamboo blank re -do , that was very easy looks great. Im fond of the full wells style for my rods even for light fly rods . I just finished my second fancy grip a 6.75" full we
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Hello, I am a long time fisherman and have developed an appreciation for handcrafted rods & lures. I've always wanted to take it up as a hobby. I think I've finally saved enough to start building my own rods and would like to know what some of you might consider to be the most important rod building equipment investment(s) I can make. I want to buy durable, precision equipment, so I'm not
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I am looking at a Renzetti Rod Lathe for general purpose things. I will be wrapping, turning cork and i was wondering if the renzetti can turn wood inserts on a reel seat. Has anybody used the lathe for an all purpose machine nad how does it preform. Thanks Brian
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I picked up a lathe today at a yardsale. I thought I was ready to turn my own cork. After 1 hour and alot of sawdust I realized that like everything else, there is more to it than meets the eye. I should be o.k. with the cork as I will stick to sanding for know, but I made a real mess out of some dowels. What are the "secrets" to turning reel seats? Any good books on the subject?
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Do the professionals shorten standard fly reel seat wood inserts to match the length of the insert to a small-footed reel? I have a lovely struble standard-length fly rod D-8 down-locking reel seat wood insert but the reel is a Ross #1 size that has a short foot so that the lock nut just about runs out of the threads when the reel foot is clamped to the seat. If shortening the insert length is
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Have seen several questions about what to use for an arbor for turning reel seat inserts. I tried something today that worked pretty good that I have not seen listed in any of the answers so far. I used one of the pen turning arbors that are very common in woodworking catalogs and stores.. I got it with a #2 morse taper. The arbor screws into the taper adaptor so you can use different ones.
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I am considering purchasing the Renzetti lathe, and when I was visiting the website just a moment ago, I noticed that it specifies that the "motor is not included with the complete rod lathe." Do I have this right? The motor is an accessory? If I intend to turn cork grips and wood inserts on this thing, what Renzetti-made or other- components do I need to buy? Bear with my ignorance
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