Hey guys,
Now it is time to show everyone how stupid I am (my wife already knows).

When I build handles, I build them on a wood lathe on a mandrel. I don't often turn corks on the rod blank now. I would like to turn my butt capps with my handles so they blend in really well.

How do I do this without turning it on the rod blank. Do I bore the cork big enough to go over the butt end of the blank and then use arbors to make it fit tight?? Do I just turn them on the blank.

Any suggestions will be helpful guys.
Thanks

Big John
Rio Hondo, Texas
Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting

John, if you are talking about rubber or plastic butt caps, cut off the closed end of an extra butt cap and put the cylinder you have left on the mandrel with the cork. Check the cork often as you shape it until they fit together like you want. You need to buy "The Wood Lathe in Rodbuilding" with Andy Dear. I learned this and a lot more from him. Ralph

If at first you don't succeed, go fishing, then try, try again.

I add the butt cork (or whatever material) as the LAST step in making a rod. I use a single solid cork ring (with no hole in it), and bore it about 1/3 of the way through to be slightly larger than the outside diameter of the blank. Then I simply glue this ring to the secont-to last ring and sand it by hand. Only takes a few minutes to do this and you end up with a perfectly seamless butt that perfectly matches your grip.

I do something between Ralph and Mike. I use a solid ring (no center bore), usually rubberized cork for durability. I check the ID of the blank at the butt. I drill a hole 1/3 into the ring into which I glue (Tite Bond III) a short section of wood dowel. I mount the dowel in my 4 jaw chuck and turn down the ring to the shape that I want and a diameter such that the end that will butt up against the second to last ring will be slightly larger. Then as the last step in building a use Rod Bond to glue the dowel inside the blank butt and clamp with some rubber bands that are looped just ahead in the handle. When dry, I hand sand the extra diameter down to get the final fit.

I do all of the above.


Andy Dear
www.lamarfishing.com

OK
I usually make colored ends for my handles. After the rod is done, I grind up a little of the section of the tube I made the end ring from, mix with rod bond, or 5 min and shove it into the hole at the end. After dry sand and coat.
I have been buying car interior plugs and shapping and polishing them for the hole also.

I use 1-1/8" long EVA foam bumper end cap of a similar dia to that of the cork rings used, glued up like a cork ring, it has a 3/8" hole. I put it on a mandrel and shape to please. I have had the shaped flush mounted blk foam piece come off the end of tarpon ball shaped fighting butt before, So I extend the blank into the foam 3/8"- 1/2". I sharpen one end of a brass tube of the apprpriate I.D. to cut a small EVA plug of the appropriate slightly larger I.D. to plug the hole in the 1-1/8" EVA foam bumper. The plug is glued up then sanded flush and the seam is bearly visible. This actually makes a void that cushions the butt from damage if you drop the out fit. It also gives you the opprotunity to internally weight the very end of the butt inside the blank and balance a specific reel on the rod. I match the EVA foam as best I can to the blank color, I can match blk, brown and gray blanks, I am looking for 1-1/4" dia with a 3/8" I.D. hole in Green and Blue EVA which has been impossible to find in those dimensions, the hole always runs too big