What's the most cost effective lathe I can buy for sanding cork grips? Don't need anything heavy duty just something I could use for the occasional sand job.

I have been using a high speed Milwaukee hand drill and a 12" steel round stock bar. If I build more than a couple rods a year I would get a lathe, but this works just fine.

some scrap plywood will make you a contraption to hold your drill and the thread rod you need to turn cork. a couple of bolts and washers and you're good to go.
I turned a dozen cork grips on mine, and I'm quite happy with the result. actually, turning cork is the part I enjoy best in rod building.

As Pete said, really all you need for occasional sanding and grip shaping is an electric drill. Many like to make a jig to hold it and the far end of the rod section, but even that isn't necessary. If uncomfortable, get a broken scrap rod, easy enough to come by, chuck it up in a drill and spin it. If that does feel unstable, then you can make a simple jig. Here are some links with the simplest to more elaborate, but still inexpensive, methods.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15371&hilit=simple+tool#p93836

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13106&p=81510&hilit=simple+tool#p81510

My rod 'lathe' is cobbled together from wood and an old motor with a speed control. I use masking tape to attach the rod blank to the motor shaft. If something jams the tape rips rather than breaking the blank. A few pieces of carpet scrap cushion the rod blank while I turn the grip. Something similar could be rigged with a drill instead of an old motor.

The rig is about 4 feet long and the two rod supports can be moved from one end to the other. It is convenient for wrapping and finishing too.

Tom

You can glue the cork in place on the blank and place the blank into your drill using the part of the blank you will be putting a reel seat over. You will need a 1/2" drill, something to protect the blank and some kind of support for the other end. A weighted box with a hole in it will work. Having a support for the drill is a plus because it leaves both hands free.

Definitely don't turn a grip on the blank if in fear of damaging it. A little practice on a junk, though, will show that they turn just fine. Any rig, I suppose, is a bit more accident prone, but the blank is more than strong enough. The advantage is perfect concentric fit, a uniform thin glue joint, and the ability to shape exactly to hand/feel on the particular rod for which it is made.

I must say you make your case very well.
I'd be sold but I killed a butt piece on a carbon 4wt on which I wanted to slim down the grip. the blank heated where it rested on my drill "lathe" and broke. I was gutted, even if I managed to save the rod.
maybe if the blank rested on wheels or something ... I have to think about that.

@ mdwwhw, thanks, that's just what I wanted to see.

As someone who has made rods for decades, but never on anything like a production basis, I offer this little pearl of wisdom: You don't need a lathe or drill rig to sand/shape the occasional grip. I've used both, and ended up long ago deciding that I prefer to shape grips by hand when it's only one at the time. I sit over a trash can of some sort and start with a four way rasp to knock off the glue ridges and break the smooth skin of the rings. Then I use a ten inch mill file to shape the grip, filing lengthwise at an angle, first using the double-cut side, then the single-cut side. Then I switch to 150 grit paper, refining down to 600 grit in stages. It takes me about an hour to go from rough rings glued on a rod butt to finished grip, and I'm in no hurry. I make much less cork dust mess, have never had an accident that damaged rod, reel seat, or cork, make no noise, and require next to no space to store my tools. My method has been endorsed by such iconic names as Vincent Marinaro, who also used his wife's ironing board as a work bench to plane some outstanding bamboo rods with unique and exquisite tapers. Rod making doesn't require equipment, just a few very basic tools and practice. Until you start making several at a time, that is.

My hat is off to you if you can hand file a good grip! I like using hand tools for a lot of things, but I am just not a good carver.

After destroying a couple of grips I was trying to hand file, I went to the Flex Coat cork drill stand and my efforts vastly improved. I have turned some grips on the rod, but the anxiety of all that spinning, easily scratched plastic was more than I could take.

I still do them on the rod sometimes, but now I most often use the Flex Coat cork drill stand and chuck a long speed bore 1/4" drill bit to the drill as a mandrel. To support the end of the bit, I made a wooden "T" stand and drilled a hole with the bit to support the end. It does a great job, after all, you are not sanding oak or maple.

To bore the grip, I chuck one of those cork reamers designed with a chuck ferrule, and go nice and easy. The bores usually come out pretty straight. Sometimes, after gluing up to the rod, I have to mount the assembly on the cork lathe and do a quick sanding to get the grip concentric. Most of the time it is not necessary.

It is not hard to make your own drill stand, if the price of a Flex Coat set-up is a little much for you. Just keep shop safety in mind.

Well obviously there are many ways to accomplish this, but I think some grips depending upon the type of grip being turned are best created on a lathe. For me it just seems natural to do it that way.

Evolved? It's all relative!
Google "Moroccan Bow Lathe" sometime.
(from a Preindustrial Technology course I once taught)
Electricity not included.

A drill mounted by some method to a worktop with a support for the other end will work fine, a drill press better. After I used a lathe at an adult school shop I had to have one. We are rod builders, we like to tinker, change, build, play, experiment etc. Do what works for now but keep your eyes on Craigslist for a Midi or full size lathe. It will open up new worlds for you, can never spend too much time in the shop, right? Pens, bowls, plates, spindles, table and chair legs, reelseats, hair stackers ... the list goes on. Sorry guys, I'm an enabler! I also enjoy working with hand tools but I believe some power tools make the jobs easier and better for normal people like me. I found a 42 inch Craftsman lathe for the cost of a new mini lathe and now I'm looking for a nice Jet. Have fun!

Mike