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…
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…
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.
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?
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…
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
Yes, I did the last one by wrapping a twist tie around the grip - just looking for a little more graceful method.
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.
Ducksterman, does your drill have a switch so that you can spin something without keeping your finger on the trigger?
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.
Yes , it does and here’s the link…with coupon it was considerably cheaper…incidentally it’s not heavy as some drills go…
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=3670
EDIT 1/12/09: Just noticed that Smernsky’s original post is using that exact same drill
Thanks, that looks like just the ticket. And we have a Harbor Freight here in Las Cruces.
How do you determine if the mandrel is rotating evenly, by eyeballing it? Will a level tool work?
Yes I used a level…Ed
My drill motor also has a locking switch. I turn my cork on the blank. Never had any issues with the blank splitting. A little thread wrapping at the end helps.
I tape up an old epoxy brush handle so it fits snugly in the blank end and chuck that up. I also use a sewing machine foot pedal for hands free motor control. I made my own rollers for the lathe and epoxy drying.
One thing to watch for is too much blank past the last roller. That can cause the blank to whip around while turning.
You can buy this lathe for $45.95 …
It includes a live center and a nice hand rest. The nice thing about the live center is that it allows you to utilize professionally made mandrels that will work better than a threaded bolt will.
Grizzly sells a nice 1/2" heavy duty drill to match the lathe for just $43.95, if you would like to have a set that you don’t ever have to break down when it is time to do a home project with your regular drill.
Grand total, including freight … about $100.00. Of course, you will still need some hand tools, sandpaper, etc.
Just a suggestion for a homemade hand drill turner. Rather than use a
threaded rod for your mandrel go to the local tool supply store and get a 1/4" diameter drill rod section. They’re usually 3 feet long so can be cut to whatever length you need. They are fairly hard steel with a smooth surface finish and will run much truer than typical soft metal threaded rods. About three and a half bucks.
Juan
Great tip Juan, I could see other places where drill rod would work better
Welcome to FAOL
Eric
I made my cork lathe out of a $60 Harbor freight drill press. I set up the drill press on its back. (chuck side up). On the base of the press I clamp a 3/8" pc of scrap plywood with a shelf L bracket screwed into it. This bracket can be adjusted up or down depend on where I clamp it down on the drill press base. The L bracket is drilled out to accept a ACE hardware .60 nylon bushing the diameter of the rod which the cork is glued. When I am completed the drill press is up righted and ready for “normal” jobs.
For about $120, you can get a real lathe from Harbor Freight.
Grizzly also has this for $20 which I have been eying. SKU H8071
