How are cork arbors compared to graphite or tape? I guess they would be better than tape but not as good as graphite. I happen to have a lot of old wine bottle corks lying around and this seemed to be a good way to use them - it only takes a few minutes on a lathe. Would they be OK for heavy saltwater rods? I notice that a lot of rod builders in Southern California use tape.

are they really big enough for a heavy saltwater rod?

Kerry

They work quite well. Cork is light yet pretty rigid. It's a good arbor material for even heavy duty rods in most cases. Bonds well, and holds up to adverse conditions well.

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Just for fun, I have sanded a flat side onto wine bottle corks, glued 2 together, flat side to flat side and then sanded them into a flat rectangle. Drill a hole in the middle, place them on a jig and turn them past a sanding disc and now you have a cork ring. It takes about 30 to 40 corks to make a set of handles for a small rod.

They don't retain a smooth surface after you start fishing them; it seems that the different corks take on moisture at different rates and they swell and distort differently. Some of the holes from the cork screws also start showing up after us. For all of that, they do wear well and are actually quite comfortable as it seems to take on a smooth yet textured surface to grip with a wet hand.

Not something that I would sell, but most of my customers love to see the rods that I have built with wine bottle corks. You can really make some interesting patterns with the different corks being staggerred around the blank. Don't overlook throwing a pressed cork (ie: champagne cork) in there now and the for a different texture/color.

Don't ask where all of the wine went to! I can't remember anyway!

I would stay away from cork for such heavy duty applications. I think your best bet would be fiberglass drywall tape and epoxy. Email me and we can discuss.

Hugh Miller