Hi,

First I want to thank all those of you who have helped me learn a great deal about this wonderful addiction by sharing your knowledge and posting suggestions. I just can't seem to stop!

I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions about reaming out cork handles and arbors so that they stay true and not have the hole go off center? It seems like it's hit and miss for me as I only am set up to do the reaming and fitting by hand. I realize that shaping the handle right on the blank would solve some of that problem, but I am not ready to invest in that kind of set up just yet. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

"A bad day of fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work."

Blessings,
Dave

Dave,

Here is what I am doing. After I glue the rings, I use a FC bit with the 1/4" tube over the tip and drill the rings prior to using my reamers. Since I started drilling the rings I have had no troubles.

Hope this helps, it works for me.

rhr

As Ralph said the Flex Coat pilot bits really help, they also make a jig with tips so you can make your own. Sure speeds up the process. Mudhole has some pretty good prices on the bits, or the jig and tips. They should last for many years on cork and arbors.

Dave, Are you using preformed grips or glueing up you own and then shaping them??

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Mike,

Right now I am using preformed as I don't have a lathe set up to turn my own grips.

"A bad day of fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work."

Blessings,
Dave

Dave,
I ream preformed cork handles by eye. One trick I tried was to center the butt section of the blank over the hole in the corresponding end of the preformed handle( butt end blank to butt end handle). I then took a very sharp pencil & drew a circle around the blank so that I had a circle around the hole in the handle. If the circle looked to be centered then I used the circle as a reference guide while I reamed the hole. I have been using a file to ream the holes. Probably not the best tool to do the job. There are reamers available that are like a section of rod with grit on them. They even come with an eva handle or you can make your own. I just use a round file (they come in different sizes), take my time & do a lot of checking when I get the hole close to the right size. Hope this helps.
Mel

What you might try is to get some round files and cut the tang (square end ) off. Chuck the file into a drill and stick the drill in a vise with the file pointing up. This will allow you to lower the grip down the file. You can gdo a pretty good job of centering it this way. When power reaming with a file, run the drill in REVERSE to avoid seizing.

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

To keep the hole true you are going to need several reamers of different sizes. You can make these out of scrap blank sections. Then either turn in the handle by hand or use a drill slow and check or heat often. The heat can soften the glue that holds the grit or sanding strips.

Dave,

The FlexCoat drill bits will probably help out a lot. You can actually make your own using various spade bits, some 1/4 inch sleeves from Ace Hardware, a Dremel with cut-off wheel, epoxy and a rubber mallet to tap the sleeves into position. Look at pictures to get an idea of what's required. Wear eye protection.

Stan

Dave... I'm a recent convert to the method Mike Barkley describes. Go slow and make sure you run the drill in reverse. The files are cheap and available everywhere. The file tang can be sawn off with a hacksaw in about two minutes. I have three Nicholson files and they seem to cover most fly blanks, but if someone knows where we can buy additional sizes of round files please let us know. Regards, Vance

For many years. I would use a long reamer that went thru the full length of the preformed grip. i would then roll the grip on a table with even pressure on the reamer ends. The grip would roll across the table top like rolling out baking dough.. This way I would get an enlarged hole that was centered. Always as accurate as the factory hole it came with.

Hope my experience helps,

Tim

When I used a long file by hand I did the same thing as Tim Hough.
Worked perfect every time but the holes were not tapered! Now I use
the reamers I made myself with the reamer tape I got and a spare blank
section. This makes a perfectly tapered hole in seconds and a little care
prevents reaming off center.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

If you want to keep the hole centered use rotation with the correct size tapered reamer. Minimize sawing back and forth with an undersize reamer to keep your hole centered.

It is not mandatory that all rodbuilding tools come from Harbor Freight!

[shop.mudhole.com]

Gon Fishn



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2006 08:17AM by Bill Stevens.

I make my own using this and it holds up well [shop.mudhole.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2006 12:21PM by bill boettcher.

I agree with Bill Steven's point.....I think that the sawing action can be the culprit.

I use old blanks with sandpaper strips (30-60 grit) spriralled down the taper (attached via 5min epoxy)....leaving a space similar to a drill bit. I use a twisting action with only slight pressure. Every so often working the reamer out to clear the cork dust out of the grooves...just like a drill bit. I have seen people use this method and put the reamer in the lathe chuck (not sure I'm rdy to try that yet). I have several of these old blanks turned into reamers and try to match the taper of the reamer to the taper of the blank I am using. I then measure with my calipers the reamer & the blank and wrap a pc of tape at the maximum size needed to ream....then when I ream I stop short of the tape by 3 or 4 inches...check it and it is normally perfect.

I have never had a grip off center using this method.