New to the forum and turning

[elkchsr]

Hi
Just signed up for the forum and I have a question. I'm trying to build a fly rod and instead of buying a pre made real seat I decided to turn my own. I chose cocobolo as the wood. The problem i'm have is that the turned piece must have a perfectly centered hole for the rod blank. I tried turning the piece first and then drilling hole, the problem was that piece ends up having a wall thickness of about 1/8" and the piece splits. I tried starting with a smaller diameter bit, but the hole ended up off center. I was hoping that someone here could help me out. Thanks in advance.
John

 

[Jeff Schutzman]

Turning process

I know nothing about turning a fly rod, but the process you are describing seems somewhat similar to how you turn a pen.

If you are not familiar with pens what you do is start with a blank that is large relative to the size of the finished project. Drill a hole in the blank, insert and glue a metal tube that acts to stiffen the piece and is also the "container" for the pen mechanism.

This assembly is then put onto a mandrel mounted in the lathe. The mandrel is typically a metal rod attached to a morse taper that is mounted in the headstock and stabilized by the tailstock. Because the piece is turned using the drilled hole to hold and drive the piece the hole ends up perfectly centered. Using the metal tube lets you go very thin without splitting.

You might be able to use a similar approach, drill out your stock, insert and affix whatever is going to go into the stock, then mount it into the lathe with a homemade mandrel.

- jeff

 

[underdog]

Pens are usually turned on a mandrel between centers. The blanks are predrilled, fitted with a tube, end milled to make the end square with the center, and then placed on the mandrel for turning.

You application sounds similar. You need the support of a mandrel to keep from cracking the wood when it gets that small. Also this method keeps the outside concentric with the hole. You also might need to put a tube (sleeve) inside your part to re-inforce it to keep it from cracking once you do get it made.

Seems like I heard that CocoBola tends to crack when it gets warm. Drilling agressively might cause this problem.

 

[Jeff Jilg]

I don't know a lot about flyrods either. But cocobolo wouldn't be my first choice since it is somewhat brittle. Isn't there some traditional wood used for flyrods which is flexible but stiff? For example, oak would also be a poor choice since it would crack during the first fly cast.

 

[john lucas]

I turn several things like this and I would agree that Cocobolo may not be the best choice with a wall thickness of 1/8" unless you are gluing something into the hole to make it stronger.
I drill the hole first and then turn the item. I have made myself custom short mandrels that fit in each end. One mandrel fits in my chuck and the other one fits over my tailstock. both of these mandrels have short tenons that fit in the hole. this lets you turn the item with both holes perfectly centered.

 

[Jake Debski]

I don't know fly rods but, if they are anything like a spin or casting rod I have an idea. Make it like a tool handle. Pre drill, mount between centers turn to size and friction fit a ferrel(sp) on the business end. Or turn that working end slightly tapered and wrap it with some sort of cording similar to but heavier than the cord used to wrap the ferrels on the rod it self. 🙂

 

[Neil Toland]

On rodbuilding.org there's a wealth of info on this. Andy Dear sells a video with explicit instructions on turning reel seats. There's a link to his site on RBO's site. Turning reel seats is why I got a lathe to start with. Now, I am turning all sorts of things.