Until now I haven't used corktape, but I'm going to give 'er a go. Do you use any adhesive, other than what is on the back of the tape? Is there something special I need to do to the blank other than normal preping? Also are the ends of the tape wraped, tucked under eva grips and butt caps, or is that left to preference. Finally; should/do I need to apply cork seal? Thanks for any advise.

tight lines and clean living to all
Paully

Hi Paully

I have done many rods using cork tape over the years. Out here we refer to them as deck hand specials. Deck hands love them for their extra grip and since they can be changed quickly if the handle is damaged. I havent had a need to use extra adhesive although it surely wouldnt hurt but I would steer clear of epoxy because the main idea of quick repair would be a bit mute. I finish of the ends of the top wrap with either a turks head made from butt cord or shrink tube. I have seen several other guys bevel the ends with tape then wrap off the ends of the cork and tape which looks pretty slick if you do it right. The butt end can be finished off the same way or just slip a butt cap over the ends. I myself dont use cork seal but maybe someone does. One trick thing you can do on the top wrap is to leave a small gap between the wraps of cork tape then go back and lay a nice color of cord in that gap which usually would somehow work into the guide color scheme. The most important thing is have fun doing it because it is not a high tech proceedure.

Back to the Cave.
Doc

There are many different ways to do this task, as there are in all of rodbuilding. My main use of cork tape is for the grips on surf rods. I built several using only the adhesive on the tape, shrink tube for the junctions at the reel seat, and a buttcap that would go over the tape on the butt end. This looked pretty good , but there were gaps in the tape and the shrink tube was hard to get to come out perfectly straight. The buttcap also felt as an uncomfortable edge during the cast. I then tried using Rod Bond on the blank under the cork tape. The Rod Bond acts as a lubricant and allows you to tighten up the cork tape as you go, and eliminate any gaps in the tape wrap. I used electricians tape at the reel seat junctions to hold the tape in place and to give me a base over which to do a thread wrap, which was later finished with wrap epoxy. I used a buttcap with an outer diameter which matched the outer diameter of the cork tape wrapped rod butt. Then wrap the juctions for about 1/2 inch with thread and finish with wrap epoxy. Produces a much smoother and finished look and a comfortable trasition at the buttcap. Depends on the end use and the degree of refinement desired.
Lynn
LH Custom Rods

I have built quite a few with cork tape, just wrapped it on secured ends with1/4" masking tape and covered with a thread wrap and epoxy . if it should need to be replaced all the epoxy is on the outside of the cork tape. used a rubber crutch type butt cap (very handy when using rod for support when walking on rocks and jettys) just slid on with no Glue for easy replacement.
also just finished a 9 foot plug rod with Urethane tape for the butt wrap (over 1/16"cork tape) Feels great!

Paully

I have uploaded a couple of photos showing a transition between a corktape handle and the rodblank. I have recently started using this transition over the past couple of years instead of turks heads or shrink tubbing. The transition adds a nice finished look. I have never used cork seal on any of my handles, but have started to use X-tube to cover the corktape. After two years the X-tube is in great shape while I would have had to replace the corktape on at least one of my rods because of wear and tear. One the butt end I always epoxy on a "Daisy butt cap.

For infomation only when I construct a corktape / X-tube handle on a graphite blank I build a external bushing from PVC and epoxy the bushing directly to the rodblank where the reel will mount. I then cover the bushing and rodblank (handle area) with the corktape. The reason for the bushing is that most reels on this type of rod are clamped in place and I am fearful the clamping to tightly will crush the thim wall graphite blanks. The PVC adds a lot of meat the the clamping area.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Tight Lines

Scott

I wrap size D thread on either side of the reel seat to bind down the cork tape. I have also used heavy butt wind cord in various colors with good results. You can build up the thread at these points to form a sort of winding check to make nice transitions from reel seat to the cork tape. I only use the tape of large diameter blanks, and always use single layers. I the blank dia makes it to thin to comfortably hold with a single layer of tape then I go to a regular grip.

I get a piece of masking wrapped around the blank, marked with a pencil, to get the blank corcumference. transfer this to the cork tape and cut diagonally. Butt the cork tape against the reel seat and began the wrap. The cut edge of the cork tape should now go completely around the blank since you used the circumference of the blank marked on tape to make this cut - it should match. After one complete wrap use a little alcohol to lubricate the cork tape and keep the adhesive from sticking. slide and push the tape seams together as you wrap. The alcohol works great as a lube and evaporates after a few minutes allowing the adhesive to bond tightly to the blank. Do not pull too much, apply too much tension tape, or it will distort on you.

Lou