The home made cork lathe by special request

[ET custom flyrods]

I had posted this a few monthes back. Ron Eagle Elk asked to see it again. So here it is.
It's a simple and cheap way to create a home made lathe for turning cork. A vaiiable speed drill, a large hose clamp, some lumber, and varying lengths of 1/4" all thread for mandrels. The hose is mounted to a shop vac. Chisam........

[bugman]

well ya got a head on ya shoulders... wish i had thought of that... i been shapeing cork grips bu spinning the cork in me hand and sandpaper in the other hand which takes hours to get the cork shaped evenly all around... thanks fer posting this...

[Matt Penttila]

I like the idea. Instead I use a drill press and chuck a wooden plug in the hole of the table, like a bearing to keep the shaft centered, to do the same thing only verticle instead of horizontal. Great Idea.

[herefishy]

I keep thinking I will make one of these, but my drill doesn't have an "always on" button. What is the technical term for this feature, so I can get one that works?

[SonOfMartin]

Not to sound flippant or 'smart mouth', but have you tried wrapping a rubber band around the trigger? Worked for me when my 'always on' button broke.

Just a suggestion, don't shoot the piano player............

[Matt Penttila]

For the always on button, you can also use a second hose clamp with a wooden block or a carefully placed wooden clamp. I prefer the wooden clamp method as you can always position it in a way that you can hit it with a hand to fall off the trigger like an Emergency Stop in case of a problem. Other thing you could do is ask a friend, relative, wife, or responsible person to hold the switch down while you do this, although this may or may not be a good idea.

Good Luck

[herefishy]

Yes, I did the last one by wrapping a twist tie around the grip - just looking for a little more graceful method.

[ducksterman]

I keep thinking I will make one of these, but my drill doesn't have an "always on" button. What is the technical term for this feature, so I can get one that works?

Truly just a guess but what about "off/on switch"?

Herefishy...I use a corded hand drill for furling and want all the features....got mine @ Harbor Freight on sale...very very inexpensive.

[herefishy]

Ducksterman, does your drill have a switch so that you can spin something without keeping your finger on the trigger?

[Hans]

Using the approx same setup I would like to add some advice:
Set the drill to a rather slow speed, if it turns too fast it will end with burned/melted cork.
And secondly, protect the blank with tape at the point where it touches the hole in the wood; otherwise it might cause serious damage to the blank.
Hpe this adds to the item....
cheers, Hans.