Foredom M.bl Bench Lathe

[jpherold]

Greetings,

Anyone own/use one of these Foredom M.BL Bench Lathes before? Decent price comparatively ($170 new off ebay), various functional attachments (spindle, collets: 3/32", 1/8" & 1/4", wheel mandrel, chuck arbor, flex shaft adapter, etc), 500-7,000 rpm, Foredom quality.

Searched the forums but only found references to Foredom's flex shaft tools. Really like the idea of the bench lathe though, as the variable speed will be great for burnishing, and can throw on a polishing wheel (or grinder) on the other side. Compact size is great too, and can be mounted or suction cupped to surfaces.

Cheers,

Edited November 9, 2014 by jpherold

[veedub3]

I looked at it when I was deciding on my setup but that price tag made me go in the direction that most leatherworkers here went in. I already had a dremel with the flex shaft and the different collects and accessories and really didn't need that part, so I found a great used variable speed bench grinder at a yard sale for $20, purchased two drill chucks from Ebay for $8 each, stripped the bench grinder down to the spindles, put a chuck on each end, placed my burnisher on one side and a sanding drum on the other side, all for less than $40. I also have a polisher/buffing wheel that I use on it. I have heard good things about Foredom but I personally couldn't justify paying the price for it when I could get a similar setup for much, much cheaper, but others may have a difference of opinion on this.

Karina

[jpherold]

Karina, definitely hear you on the price. Couple questions:

- My biggest requirements for a used bench grinder would be low speed (~1725rpm) and an shaft that guarantees I can throw a chuck on it. Would you mind sharing which model grinder you have and the chucks used? Most searches for this setup lead me down the road of finding a local machinist to make an adapter.

- You mention you put a chuck on both sides, do both sides of the motor spin in the same direction? Or did you have to get arbors with left and right threads? That may be a trivial question, but I have not used a bench grinder before.

Thanks!

[Tree Reaper]

I don't think you will want a polishing wheel in close proximity (at least a few feet) to where you are working with leather, they throw a lot of compound and debris.

A variable speed drill press might be another option for you, I use a small bench mounted drill press for burnishing and sanding.

I keep metal sharpening and polishing separate.

[veedub3]

Karina, definitely hear you on the price. Couple questions:

- My biggest requirements for a used bench grinder would be low speed (~1725rpm) and an shaft that guarantees I can throw a chuck on it. Would you mind sharing which model grinder you have and the chucks used? Most searches for this setup lead me down the road of finding a local machinist to make an adapter.

- You mention you put a chuck on both sides, do both sides of the motor spin in the same direction? Or did you have to get arbors with left and right threads? That may be a trivial question, but I have not used a bench grinder before.

Thanks!

This is the model Grinder I got at the yard sale. (Grinder) It is variable speed from 2000 rpms to 3400 rpms. The chucks used were 1/2" and used so I am not sure what model, and I definitely can't tell you about the left or right threads but I will ask the hubby.

Getting a machinist to make an adapter I don't think is necessary, you can buy them from here. I am sure a google search for an arbor adapter will turn up plenty more.

Before I got the deal on the bench grinder I was using a cheap 5-speed Drill press from Harbor freight that I put my burnisher in and it works quite well. You can see it here. The lowest speed on this model is 760 rpms. It comes set at 1630 rpms which IMO is too slow so I have it set at 2180 rpms with great results.

I have read several threads here where people were using bench grinders at full speed (3000+ rpms) and are successful at achieving great burnished edges, so I wasn't really concerned with the speed, but at $20 and it being a variable speed grinder, I couldn't pass it up.

Here are a few threads, but search the forums for bench grinder and you will find many more threads on the topic:

1. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=49942&hl=%2Bgrinder+%2Bburnisher

2. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=51620&hl=%20bench%20%20grinder

@treereaper - not sure if you were responding to me but I use a wool buffing pad, no compound is used, and no metal shavings anywhere. It's for after dyeing - when you have to buff off the excess dye, black dye is always a pain in the butt, so I use the wool buffer to speed things along.

Karina

[jpherold]

Thanks Karina, appreciate all the links! Definitely am going to keep my eye out on craigslist/ebay for a used variable speed grinder or 1725rpm motor.

In other news, I've been salivating over this beast: Handler Red Wing 26A [manual]

- 1725/3450 RPM two-speed lathe

- Can come with 1/2" straight shafts

- Made in USA

Overkill? Yes. Would it like to own one? Indeed.

[Tree Reaper]

Karina;

I was commenting on using the tool for sharpening.

" can throw on a polishing wheel (or grinder) on the other side "