I am just making my first rod now and can't decide a good way to make my handle. As of now I'm thinking to glue the cork rings together and turn them. What should I turn them on? and with what? How exactly is this done? Also, I want to put some chrome accent rings in there, how do I sand the grip down without ruining those?

Thanks,
Will

Will,
I think you may have found the deep end of the pool. Here's how to stay afloat: Handles are normally glued together on a mandrel of some sort (metal tube or scrap rod blank) that is waxed before the rings are slid into place and assembled. Most people seem to use a two part paste epoxy for the glue up work , or rubber cement or water-based countertop adhesive (also latex based). Once the glue has dried the mandrel is chucked into a lathe or rotary stand of some type (lathe, milling machine, drill press, hand held power drill in a support bracket or even a vise). The cork or foam is then shaped to near final shape and diameter using cutting/sanding products (sand paper, emery cloth, open weave dry wall finishing screen). Those are the "basics". As for sanding down chrome - I think you can see the problem already. Chrome is a plating on another base metal. Unless you begin with diameters that are the same as your finished grip diameter there will be no chrome left on the base metal/substrate. However - it is possible to use something like aluminium - which will become shiny (or lots of other materials, plastic, "clay" poker chips, acrylics). If you go slow and pay attention to the removal rates of different materials (cork is easier to remove than metal or plastics) you can do this. Likley as a first attempt, unless you'be got some experience working with a lathe or vertical sander (drill press etc) you'll "float" or even "doggie paddle" in the deep end. If you have a background in working with the tools and wood or metal already then you may do much better than that. Check out the library and FAQs pages - There must be more information than I've put together here.

Will,
I have made several grips lately using chrome accent rings, all I can tell you is that since you can't change the rings you will have to bring the final diameter of the grip to the same diameter of your rings and add them after your grip is formed. This means cutting the grip and piecing them together with the ring sandwiched in between. Maybe some one else can come up with a different method but tis is how I worked it out. I cut a lip on the end of the cork to the inside diameter of your ring and formed the cork to the outside diameter of the ring. Hope this will help.

Do you actually glue the cork to the mandrel? Or do you just glue the rings to each other on the mandrel?

Will -
Rings to each other. The wax on the mandrel keeps the corks / inserts from sticking to the mandrel.