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Bark Grips
H have a cheap rod given me by a recently decease friend. It has a foam grip, which I think is the worse of all materials for a grip. I was thinking of trying to make a grip from pine bark but noticed I have a pretty good supply of white oak falling into my yard. I picked up a 4" stack in a few minutes at lunch. Now what? I was thinking of cutting circles with my hole saws. Is there somewhere I can find guidance?
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An 1.5" hole saw will give you 1.25" circles. I cut mine as thick as I can then square then with the hole in the center as much as I can. Stack them up on a mandrel (I use a chunk of the .25 OD stainless tubing from the hardware store), coat the mandrel with wax or some other release agent (beeswax or paraffin) and glue them together like you would a cork grip with a grip clamp. Turn to desired shape, seal, ream, install and fish. You can use shellac or sanding sealer to seal the bark so it isn't soaking up moisture o you.
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Kevin,
How heavy is the grip compared to cork? Is the difference significant at all when being fished?
Thanks and regards,
Gandolf
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I'll let you know if I get it built. White oak bark is pretty light.
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I can't say about the oak. Cork is the bark of a type of oak tree so I would think it might be similar. I find no significant differences with cork, burls, or the barks I have used. I would not expect any here.
Sounds fun to try at the least.
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I was thinking that subjecting it to a good steam bath while under pressure might help it conform to being flat in the stack.
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I have sold a LOT OF RODS WITH RED FIR BARK AS THE GRIP. After over 3 years of hard use not one complaint or return. Just not as soft as cork that is about the only difference.
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If I tried to find red fur around here I would have to go to downtown Atlanta and deal with a pimp or one of his girls. Red fir is even harder to find.
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I burn Red Fir (about 4+ cords per winter) as my one & only heat source. Sometimes some Tamarac if I can get it.
Not much use as fly tying material or fly rod grips. Some of the larger (older) trees have bark that could be used but
one can still get high quality cork if you are willing to pay for it. I know as I build Bamboo rods from scratch.
Denny
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Occasionally you will see someone trying to grow a blue fir in the area, they usually don't do well this far south. I suspect the same is true for the red variety and tamarac, which is a completely new species to me. I am blessed not to have any evergeens on my lot, I had an abundance at my last house, which resulted in storms breaking them off onto my roof (actually that was my neighbor's tree), my company car and acting as a lightning rod to destroy my electronics.
Hardly anyone burns softwoods in the south due to the soot build up, is that not a problem with the firs?