Gluing Cork Rings

[Bass_Bug]

The first time you mess up a grip thats been already glued to the rod blank...you'll wish you hadnt done it after that.

I'm with Sully. This is my biggest fear of turning your handle on the blank. Not to mention the added risk and stress you expose the blank to. If one is confident in turning a handle on the blank, thats great! I myself don't have the cajones to try it.

How do you release the handle from whatever mandrel you're using, especially the threaded rods?

Kelly.

To release you just need to remove the nuts and washers, grip the cork and turn on the drill, and it un threads right off the threaded rod.....at least using Pliobond. Don't think I'd try this with epoxy.

The area where the mandrel is bent will not be on the same axis.

It's not like I'm using reclaimed re-bar. my threaded rod when rolled across a flat surface shows no sign of deformation. Take a look at the two supports on either side of the handle. <http://colo2.flyanglersonline.com/bb/blog.php?b=216 >.
They both can be pushed in until they are against the lock nuts. I drilled them with a 1/4 bit in the mounted drill and moved the supports into the turning bit. Doesn't get any more centered than that. I'm not saying I have the best setup, but the rod lines up with all the holes and turns as smooth as a lathe. Like any rough shape stock you put on any lathe, the material being off balance will wobble until turned down to a true clyinder. Cork just trues up much quicker.

[fishbum]

I've seen this done in books, and for the life of me cant figure why anyone would even want to do it this way. I just don't see any advantage to turning a grip on the blank -vs- turning it on a mandrel. Do you chuck the butt end of the blank in a drill to turn it? Someone please tell me what I missing here.

Maybe this will give you an idea why we make grips on the blank. This is for a two-handed 10' 6" bamboo salmon rod. The blank diameter under the cork is 0.450" across the flats, that is 0.520" corner-to-corner. I am working on four rods right now that are 0.480" across the flats that is 0.560" corner-to-corner. That would be a lot of reaming to get a pre-made grip to fit. It is much easier to keep the cork grip concentric to the centerline of the rod when the grip is made on the rod.



fishbum

[Sully]

It took a lot of time to file out the ROUND holes in the individual rings to match that hex blank too...but I have to agree that doing a pre-made grip to fit a hexagonal blank would be so difficult it wouldnt be worth it...not to me at least. Another reason to stay away from 'Boo......

[fishbum]

Another reason to stay away from 'Boo......

Ah but it is so much fun when folks tell you "you should not be using a rod like that on these fish(king salmon)". I never have the heart to tell them how many of those big guys I have put on the bank with a bamboo rod. Just let them think what they will.

After all, what does an old fishbum know anyhow?

fishbum

[mr. blur]

It took a lot of time to file out the ROUND holes in the individual rings to match that hex blank too...but I have to agree that doing a pre-made grip to fit a hexagonal blank would be so difficult it wouldnt be worth it...not to me at least. Another reason to stay away from 'Boo......

if filing is even necessary. just ream the hole slightly smaller then the corner to corner measurement and the cork fits neat as a pin. there is very little work involved. or risk. then again it's a helluva lot easier chucking up bamboo in a lathe than graphite. cheese, you could crush that graphite rod in the chuck if yer not careful.

[kbproctor]

OK, why the heck are you using a metal lathe to turn cork? Because you can set it to run and go do something else and get a perfectly straight grip? Did you have to change the grind angles on the bit any to get a smooth cut?

[Kaboom1]

Fishbum

What I would reall like to see is how you support the end of the rod on the port side of the headstock. Any chance of a picture of that?

Brad

[fishbum]

OK, why the heck are you using a metal lathe to turn cork? Because you can set it to run and go do something else and get a perfectly straight grip? Did you have to change the grind angles on the bit any to get a smooth cut?

The metal lathe works just fine for doing wood inserts for reel seats and cork grips. The lathe bit is a special grind that undercuts the cork ahead of the portion of the bit that lifts the chips off. I can put up some pictures later that shows the bit. Yes, you get a perfectl round grip blank to start sanding on to form the grip.

Fishbum

What I would reall like to see is how you support the end of the rod on the port side of the headstock. Any chance of a picture of that?

Brad

On this big rod there is no support on the ferrule end of the blank. This thing is stiff enough that it will not flop around while turning the grip. I do however have to support the outboard end when turning ferrule stations and lighter rods. (Oh how I whuld like to make some lighter rods.) I can get a picture of that also.


Just a note about making rods and a lathe in the shop. A metal lathe is a great tool for rod making. I make all of my ferrules and reel seat hardware on that old lathe. As you can see the bed is big enough to work on two handed grips as well as longer spey grips. It seems that I need to post a few pictures of the grip, reel seat, and ferrule making process. I don't have time to do it right now because I have a lot of rod work to do. Perhaps next week or right after the first of the year.

Merry Chridtmas to all,

fishbum

[cross creek]

Kelly,
That's the way I do it. My first rod-build was a Winston glass kit back in the 70's, and Winston said that reaming and gluing ring by ring on the blank was best, so I started doing it that way and never changed. With the variety of glues available now that expand and fill tiny gaps, and the relatively small diameter of graphite rods, I don't see any reason why a mandrel-built grip couldn't be made to fit as well as one made on the blank, though. Carefully done, both methods should be about equal in longevity and performance. If I used a mandrel, I'd probably still want to glue the last ring and turn it on the rod, because I don't like to use cork checks and want the fit of the cork to be as perfect as possible at that spot.

I use TB III for my grips, btw, but I've tried epoxy, Gorilla glue, Silicone Bond, Weldwood, Barge, PlioBond, and a few others over the years and they all did the job. For me, TB III is the easiest to use and clean up, the least toxic, has the closest sanding characteristics to cork, and is virtually invisible if it flows into any tiny pits next to the glue lines, plus it's waterproof once cured.
-CC

[TampaJim]

Cork to cork ... Titebond 2.
Cork to anything else ... Rod Bond.

Rod Bond WILL work just fine for cork to cork, I just enjoy the speed and cleanup of TB2 and it works very well for the purpose.

As to mandrels, lathes, clamps, etc.

I own a variety of mandrels from different sources and highly recommend the ones produced by Lynn Williams at Backlash Tools ... the workmanship is first class and the design is superior to others on the market.

My shop is equipped with a Jet 1220 midi-lathe and I absolutely love it. I don't know what I would do without it.

I do clamp my cork when curing with a typical setup similar to the Flexcoat tool.

For anyone considering moving into a full setup for turning grips ... allow about $1,000 to get equipped. Lathe, chuck, 3-4 basic turning tools, etc.

Jim -