Has anyone ever used this for cork turning? If so, what did ya think? Great price for only $46 so I'll probably buy it instead of spending $200+ on a lathe.

[www.grizzly.com]


Justin Goodwin

Hi Justin,
I have had one for several years and really like it. I only turn cork, burl cork, and the exotic stuff. I don't think I would use it for wood. At least I have never tried for wood or the resin stuff. The one problem with that lathe is that not all drills will fit. The part right behind the chuck has to be long enough to clear the drill clamp. I use a Companion drill that I get at Sears or you can order one from Grizzly to fit. The tool is well worth the money for turning cork. Once you get set up all you will need is some sand paper of different grits. There is one lathe tool that I use where the tool point is shaped like at 45 degree angle. I use it to cut sharp edges. Sorry, I just had lunch and my brain is not working properly. Can't think of the name of the tool. Don't use a tool to reduce the diameter of exotic cork or you will cut chunks out ot it; in this case just use coarse sand paper.

Thanks for the info. I'll have to check my drill at home....I've got a Ryobi corded drill (2500 rpm with no load). I appreciate your input.

Justin

OK you buy it do a lot of cork - but after 4-6 months you want to do some wood or acrylics. Now what. You buy another ??

Better to have enough lath then not enough. Food for thought.

Bill - willierods.com

I used one for years and loved it!! I upgraded to a midi lathe when I wanted to do wood/acrylics.

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Ellis Mendiola Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Don't use a tool to reduce the diameter
> of exotic cork or you will cut chunks out ot it;
> in this case just use coarse sand paper.


I use turning tools to turn composite cork every time. Good, sharp tools will not knock chunks out of the material. Using just sandpaper won't allow you to obtain a concentric shape.

Good point Mr. Boettcher, but I don't know how serious I'm going to be about rod building. I'm just starting out as a guy who literrally JUST finished making his DIY power wrapper yesterday. Took me a month b/c I don't have any tools. I had to route out slots in aluminum bars with a drill press, file, and a lot of elbow grease. :) I'll post pics of the power wrapper later on this week to show you what I mean. It looks rough, but works REAL nice. Anywho...back to the topic. I was considering just buying this Grizzly thing because I don't feel like spending another month trying to figure out a way to build a base to support my drill, and then figuring out how to make the tail stock for it. We'll see how much I like rod building after I make one or two....and then IF I happen to enjoy it, I'll consider making more than one fly rod. Right now my uncle wants me to build him a 4/5 wt fly rod for his ponds in Alabama (see earlier thread I started).

Very good info though from all of you, so thanks!

Justin

I think you will find that 2500 rpm drill is going to run too fast even with it being variable speed. I'd try to find a cheap one with a slower speed. You wouldn't even need a reversible drill. Hit some yard sales.

Justin,
Pay close attention to what Ellis mentioned above. Not all drills will fit the collar on the headstock. I have a Sears drill that is fractionally too small to tighten down well in the headstock, and has a chuck that is fractionally too large in diameter to fit through the collar. So when I used it I had to remove the chuck each time and then partially thread the chuck back onto the drill after the drill was mounted in the headstock.

That being said, my Grizzly functioned quite well for turning grips. Like Mike, I moved on to a midi-lathe when I decided to begin turning wood.

Jeff

I guess I have just been lucky to be able to get a good concentric shape on my grips using a sanding block resting on the tool bar. No problem so far.

Ellis,

You hit the nail on the head. The sanding blocks must rest on the tool bar and use a steady hand so you take off the high side (if there is one)

I built a wood bracket to hold my drill and have it held down with long velcro strips and bar clamped to the bench. I don`t have a tail stock but I use my rod stand from the dryer motor.

My drill is a Black & Decker variable speed, an electrician wired up for me a motor rheastat with a dial, so I`m able to go from 0 rpm up to top speed just by turning a dial.

So far all is well.

Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

good reason to make sure find a drill to fit the hobby lathe but i did order a free catalog from grizzly and i'm trying to get a lathe hobby cos i have been thinking of make my own cork but when i read about the drill might not fit and i'm trying to find the drill that will fit in but will have to check it out at freight hrbor tool store ..
Josh

The lath is 46 How much is a drill from them to fit ? Shipping charges to you ??

Also do a search of this site and there will be a lot of others you may like better.

I built my own. Similar to Flex Coats but more stuff. It is a cork lath/ light wood, hand wrapper, finisher

Check the photo page to look at what others have built

Mine uses a drill Variable speed, trigger lock, not the best but works good, cheap, and I want to put a 1/2" keyed chuck on it until I can get my Skill fixed
from here : [www.harborfreight.com]

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/2010 07:40AM by bill boettcher.

Harbor freight has a few variable drills that will fit the collar on the headstock. Grizzly no longer carries the drill for the hobby lathe.

George Forster
Fort Collins, CO

I have a hobby lathe and I think it is marvelous. I only do cork on it. If I ever wanted to do wood, I would move up to a mini-lathe. but for once in my life,
I did not start at the top and move down. I usually start big and find out I bought too much. My norm would be to get a $300-400 lathe to do cork and find
out later I had little interest in doing wood. This time I actually did it right and got just a cork lathe. It does exactly what I want it to do. I use a DeWalt
dirll that fits the HL just right. It has variable speed but I lock it on the speed I want. It is a little overkill drill-wise but I use this drill for a lot of different
things. It is not just my HL driver. The way I look at it now, I would rather spend $46 for a hobby lathe than several hundred for a lathe I dont really use to
its capabilities. If I move up, sell the hobby lathe. Bet you get more of it's cost back than a mini-lathe in a garage sale.

Justin,
Yes, the Grizzly lathe will work. But, of course it does have some limitations as posted above.

Since you are just starting with rod wrapping, perhaps it would just make more sense to buy a grip that is already formed for you. Then, you only need to ream out the grip, if the hole in the grip is too small.

Sure, making your own grip is creative, but generally speaking not cost saving for you, or if it does save money - only a bit.

In most locations where high volume is done - as in rod factories, all of the grips are made in a separate shop and shipped into the assembly line for use when needed.

--
Another thing to consider is the use of a used lathe. Check out want ads, Craigslist and other internet sources. Every now and then you can run across an excellent deal on a lathe. Then, if you can pick up one used - you will often be able to get back most or all of your purchase if you decide to ever sell it.

This is a search of all of craigs list - with the search quote being "mini wood lathe."

[cse.google.com]

Be safe

Justin,
Yes, the Grizzly lathe will work. But, of course it does have some limitations as posted above.

Since you are just starting with rod wrapping, perhaps it would just make more sense to buy a grip that is already formed for you. Then, you only need to ream out the grip, if the hole in the grip is too small.

Sure, making your own grip is creative, but generally speaking not cost saving for you, or if it does save money - only a bit.

In most locations where high volume is done - as in rod factories, all of the grips are made in a separate shop and shipped into the assembly line for use when needed.

--
Another thing to consider is the use of a used lathe. Check out want ads, Craigslist and other internet sources. Every now and then you can run across an excellent deal on a lathe. Then, if you can pick up one used - you will often be able to get back most or all of your purchase if you decide to ever sell it.

This is a search of all of craigs list - with the search quote being "mini wood lathe."

[cse.google.com]

This is a search of the Minneapolis Craigs list for "lathe"

[minneapolis.craigslist.org]

Be safe