Newbie to turning cork?

I just purchased a Jet jml-1014 and also purchased the adjustable chuck and mandrel from mudhole to attempt to turn cork handles. The tail stock is on back order so I dont have it yet. My question is what is the correct pressure to put on the mandrel when snugging down the adjustable tail stock. Also does anyone have a good picture of their set up. I actually ruined the mandrel already by attempting to turn it with the jet factory head stock as the tail stock. Like a kid with a new toy! so I have ordered a new mandrel as well. Also where else can I purchase mandrels for this type of setup?

Thanks
Tony R.

Tony,
If you don't already have one, order a set of center point drills.
These short stubby drills allow you to drill exact centering 60 degree holes in the ends of bolts, mandrels or threaded rod.
By having the 60 degree hole in the end of the mandrel or threaded rod, it is easy to insure a perfect centering of the mandrel.
With the use of the 60 degree hole, not a lot of pressure is required to hold the mandrel or threaded rod perfectly centered.

Here are a few examples of center point drill sets.

[www.google.com]

If you need to do a search, just do a google search for center point drill sets.

[www.tnvalleywoodclub.org]

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2014 09:16PM by roger wilson.

You do not need that much pressure on any type of mandrel, for one if you put too much pressure you will dull your live center and have to replace that and for two you can ruin mandrels like you have already experienced. I only put enough pressure until it begins to get hard to turn the crank. For the longevity of your stuff dont slam the tail stock in place either, just rest it gently and use the live center handle to tighten it up. For the Jet lathe that you have, you will be using MT2 tapers on all of your accessories. On the live center you can knock out just the pin and that is an MT1, however if you take the entire live center out then you have an MT2 taper. If you have a drill press already you can get an arbor from WoodCraft that will allow you to take the drill chuck off of a drill press (if your press allows you to do so) and put it on the tail stock. I have begun making wooden handles and I am using roughly a 16" bit if I remember correctly to bore out the handles and then glue them into place with foam arbors. Youll be obsessed with it once you begin using it and the possibilities are endless with a lathe. I've been wood turning for about 10 years and once I got into rod building became even more addicted with all the possibilities of using a lathe with rod building. For your last question, Mudhole carries plenty of mandrels in many different sizes and you will need to get the longer drill bits in the same sizes to bore out your EVA Blocks / Cork Blocks / Wood Blocks if they do not have a bore in them already. Instead of putting wax on the mandrel and gluing the eva or cork into place you can simply wrap tape around the mandrel and slide the blocks into place.

Tony,
Just to be clear, you need to have a chuck on your head stock to securely grasp the mandrel.
In general, I like to use a Jacobs style chuck for the head stock. It is simply and more secure than a classic 3 or 4 jaw wood chuck.

Then, for your tail stock you need a revolving live center for the best results. This means that you have a live center that fits into the MT2 taper of your head stock. Then, the livecenter will be a revolving point that is supported by ball bearings.

The Jacobs chuck securely holds the end of the mandrel, and the livecenter fits into the 60 degree depression on the other end of the mandrel.

Also, with a hollow chuck on the head stock you can move the mandrel as far into the head stock as necessary so that the mandrel is only a bit longer than the handle being turned. By keeping the excess mandrel short, you will have a much more stable turning environment for turning the perfect handle.

A great supplier for Lathe accessories: [www.pennstateind.com]

A very good live headstock to use with mandrels:
[www.pennstateind.com]

If you happen to have some different chucks, here are some very good adapters to adapt different chucks to your lathe:
[www.pennstateind.com]

A nice chuck to use in your head stock or tail stock to hold drill bits or mandrels:
[www.pennstateind.com]

A nice hollow chuck to hold a mandrel at different depths inserted through the chuck:
[www.pennstateind.com]

Setup to center drill holes in wood rod handles. Notice the ball bearing steady rest to hold the tail stock end of the handle. Then, notice the jacobs chuck that holds the drill bit stationary while one advances the tail stock drill bit into the spinning handle.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Good luck