RAND duplicator...

[penhead]

There are a few RAND duplicators listed on Ebay, and not really very expensive. All I need it for is making 2"-3" diameter straight dowels, some 12" long and some 18" long.

Anyone familiar with or ever heard of RAND duplicators as listed on Ebay, or know a link I could check out to make sure it would fit my particular lathe?

http://cgi.ebay.com/RAND-WOOD-LATHE...ryZ42282QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


!.Thanks.!

 

[Rifleman1776]

Can't say I recall reading anything about the RAND duplicators. But for other RAND products the consensus is that they are junk, pure and simple.

 

[penhead]

Thanks for a reply Frank...I kinda suspected that...but $100 compared to a Vega at about 7-8 times that makes me wonder if it would be good enough - last long enough to cut straight dowels..which is all I need it to do.

Then again, I guess for the cost of a little time I could make up a jig of some sort.!?

 

[Ravenbsp]

If you are considering 700-800 bucks for a duplicator for making straight dowels, think about a small metal working lathe. I've appreciated mine for years (a HF model, 14" between centers, though you can easily pass dowelling through the head-stock and turn much longer pieces). Carbide bits are cheap and work very well on wood. I got mine on sale for about $300.

 

[penhead]

Actually, I wasn't really considering 700-800, I was avoiding it.

However, I had considered in the past looking into a small metal lathe. Comes in handy everyonce in a while.

Hadn't thought about that for this project though.
I presume you have one of the HF metal lathes and it is working ok for you? Which model if you don't mind []

Thanks.

Originally posted by Ravenbsp
<br />If you are considering 700-800 bucks for a duplicator for making straight dowels, think about a small metal working lathe. I've appreciated mine for years (a HF model, 14" between centers, though you can easily pass dowelling through the head-stock and turn much longer pieces). Carbide bits are cheap and work very well on wood. I got mine on sale for about $300.

 

[Randy_]

I don't know the first thing about these things so this is nothing more than an observation. I wonder if the quality of a $300 metal lathe would be any better than that of a $100 duplicator??

Are you in a hurry to do this job? While searching the NET for info on the Rand(not much found) I ran across a site where a guy talked of getting that unit on an eBay auction for $40, IIRC. If you can shop for a while, you might find a deal.

I agree with those who suggested a jig. Seems to me that you could come up with a simple jig out of "scrap" stock to cut plain dowels??

 

[penhead]

Randy, I found that same post I bet, but a little further investigation found that he had received it and parts were missing and something was broken, but it was such a deal and he was able to fix it.

And yes, in a bit of a hurry, a few projects that require spindles. Beginning to think that a jig may be the best way.

 

[Ravenbsp]

I have the HF mini-metal lathe. I have used it heavily for over 4 years with both metal and wood work and it is still accurate to a few thousandths of an inch. You can check out some of the Yahoo enthusiasts groups that use and modify these lathes. Just my opinion but I have had good luck with it. For all I know the have changed in recent years, so check out some of the discussion groups.

 

[Rifleman1776]

If you just want to make dowels, it can be done the old-fashioned way. A thick (1/4" or more) hunk of steel with a series of holes drilled in it gradually reducing to your desired size. You drive, pull and cuss the wood through it until the final hole and you have a dowel. BTW, making long dowels on a lathe is difficult because of the 'whip' factor, even with a center steady rest it is problematic. That is why most canes are made in sections. Been there, done that. []