I just got done putting the individual rings on my pmb704, and was thinking this is a real messy pain. Now that flex coat has those pilot drill bits which will help make sure that the handles stay centered while fitting to the blank and the new titebond III glue that can be used to glue the rings together on a mandrel (water clean up, quick dry time) it seems like the scale may be tipping in favor of turning the handles on a mandrel instead of on the blank. Any thoughts from the more experienced rod builders here?

I like using the mandrels for my handles. I use my Jet lathe for shaping them and you do not have to worry about supporting a long rod. I use a mandrel that is closest to the rod blank diameter at the smallest diameter the handle will cover. This way I only have a small bit of cork to ream out. Just make sure you coat the mandrel with wax before you put the rings on or you will not get the handle off. Also, you do not need to have a real tight fit of the cork ring to the mandrel, just enough to hold the cork in place when shaping it and it doesn't take much to hold the cork in place.

I have a custom powerwrap, so I can turn the whole rod. I was just thinking though that with a .25" mandrel, shape the grip, use the pilot drill bit to drill entire grip (I build rods with split grips no more than 3" long per section) to approximate size, and light reaming to final size. This should be quicker and easier than either fitting individual rings to the blank, or predrilling each ring to a specific size mandrel.

I went with a lathe after mulling it over for a couple years. The final straw was damaging a good blank when forming the grip. I see experts here do it both ways with success. But, now with a lathe and mandrels, my handles are much nicer, there's less mess, and less chance for me to damage a blank.

I much prefer doing them on a mandrel. I use Andy Dear's mandrels on a turncrafter lathe and turn/shape them on the lathe. I prefer to glue/clamp them on a piece of all-thread (waxed) then put them on Andy's mandrel for the lathe. Like Mike said, size it so you have a minimum of reaming.

By the way, check Andy's new mandrels. They are great!!!! No more epoxy/tape, etc to hold your work on.

Mike

Mandrels.



Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

Have done it both ways.... Mandrels!

Regards......Doug@
TCRds

I can speak from very recent personal experience here. Neil is right!!! Potential damage to the blank is a real consideration.

I just used my homemade, drill-powered "lathe" on my homemade wrapping set up. The tip end of the blank kept jumping out of the supports so I used a flannel covered rubber band to LOOSELY hold the blank in place while turning.

The result?...

I had a 3" scuffed area on the blank where my hold down had been. It didn't ruin the blank but I sure wasn't happy about it as I had about 3 hours labor in prepping the blank that looked great prior to turning my handle.

Next go, I have decided to get a mandrel from Andy Dear and keep my blanks beautifully smooth and glossy.

~Troy

Mandrels, hands down on any decent lathe.

The work spins truer with no worries about damaging the blank. I can also separate the area where I turn grips from where I wrap and finish. This works best for me.

I also found a new clamp system for cork on mandrels.

I use one of the bar style woodworking clamp and drilled holes in the clamp faces (plastic). Insert the glued up rings on the mandrel and then clamp to the desired pressure. This is way easier than the 2-boards and length of allthread.

Good luck!

Terry
Terry's Custom Rods

Her's a pic of a clamp like the one Terry is talking about. Works great!!!
[www.fishingphotos.net]

Mike

Mandrels... hands down. I'd recommend having a good assortment of them though so you can minimize your reaming as some have stated.

I also have used Mike's idea about drilling holes in the ends of my clamps. Very good idea... funny how simple a good idea can be. I bought clamps at Harbor freight and they have big enough ends to allow holes large enough for up to a 5/8" mandrel.

Erik

I still turn all my cork on the Custom Power Wrap, on the blank, each ring hand reamed to fit, glued on and clamped in a home made jig. No problems yet, but I have lots of wood to knock on just in case.