I want to start building my fly grips on mandrels. Never used them before. But if Andy Dear is selling them they must be useful. I'm going to guess you need to place some wax on them so the material will not stick to mandrel. BUT if I want to shape the grip on the mandrel in my lathe. What's keeping the grip from spinning free on the mandrel??

I bore the holes in the cork rings to fit the mandrels, apply Tite Bond as the glue, and put the grip and mandrel on a clamp. After a couple of days I will shape the grip. Some of glue will be squeezed on to the mandrel and keep the grip from spinning. But being that you have coated the mandrel with wax or parafin, the grip will be easy to remove. You can twist the grip off of the mandrel but I have broken a couple in doing so. What I do now is to take a large steel washer, put in down the mandrel to the grip, and using a piece of PVC pipe which also goes over the mandrel and rests on the washer, I tap the end of the PVC with a rubber mallet and the grip pops right off.

I picked up a complete set of mandrels from Fishsticks4U (site sponsor). The assortment comes in handy when building on different blanks. Using a stepped bit, I drill the holes to fit the mandrel closest to the thinnest OD of the blank. For example, if the OD at the winding check is .350, then I'll use a 5/16" mandrel and drill accordingly. This really saves time and effort reaming. I've yet to have to use anything to hold the cork in place, but on occasion, I've had to apply a little heat to get the finished grip off.

I use Andy's threaded pen type mandrels. Pricey but they are worth it because they make turning wood/acrylic a cakewalk !!
[www.rodbuilding.org]
For most of the rods I build, I just drill all the rings with a 3/8" Flexcoat bit, glue them up on a piece of threaded rod and a modified clamp and then transfer to a mandrel when cured [www.rodbuilding.org]


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!!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2007 12:08AM by Mike Barkley.

Dito what Mike is doing. I glue my sections or whole grip up on a waxed all tread mandrel. Then transfer them (snug fit ) to one of Andy's Mandrels and shape and sand on my lathe. Andy's Madrels make it quite slick and it is a lot of fun creating your own look. Remember , there are a lot of creative objects you can use as trim, filler or highligfht rins to go with your cork or burl. Check out some of Mikes pics and try your own. Enjoy!

Steve Cox Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dito what Mike is doing. I glue my sections or
> whole grip up on a waxed all tread mandrel. Then
> transfer them (snug fit ) to one of Andy's
> Mandrels and shape and sand on my lathe. Andy's
> Madrels make it quite slick and it is a lot of fun
> creating your own look. Remember , there are a
> lot of creative objects you can use as trim,
> filler or highligfht rins to go with your cork or
> burl. Check out some of Mikes pics and try your
> own. Enjoy!


Same here, the only thing I do differenly is I use a cordless drill to remove and install the glued up cork on and off the mandrels. No heat needed, just spin them off and on.




Regards
Dave

Fishing is Life the rest is just Details

Ditto what Mike is doing. Except I made my own mandrels. Made them from drill rod, (drill rod is a little harder and stiffer than cold rolled steel)threaded on one end, center drilled on both ends to accommodate live center. Use a set collar on the non-threaded end. The other end is threaded about 3 inches, use a washer and nut to tighten the cork up against the set collar,which is adjustable. Made sizes, 1/4 dia. up to 3/4 dia. Length's are from 12 to 18 inches. The larger ones are the longer ones.

i use andy's mandrels, the smooth type. i didn't know he offered threaded.

the paraffin wax i use helps to insure the cork does not glue completely to the mandrel. i use titebond III. i wait a day, maybe two before turning on the same mandrel. i use a cordless drill, hand held, so maybe it might be different with a lathe. the key though is that the cork IS pretty secure on the mandrel for all practical purposes (of turning with my setup).

i've also found that near the end of shaping a grip (and keep in mind, i've only done three this way so far), the grip does have a tendency to turn just a bit on the mandrel near the end of the process if i use excessive force with the sandpaper. maybe any heat generated tends to loosen the glue's hold. just speculating. still, in the end, there's enough adherence to effectively continue and finish up sanding. i think it depends on how much glue use use too. one grip i thought i'd never get off after shaping...

eric
fresno, ca.

A short piece of copper/brass/aluminum tubing of the right diameter is great for the spacer between the set collar and turning stock and the nut and turning stock on the other end. This enables you to turn/shape or sand the ends down qithout hitting the nut or collars.
[www.rodbuilding.org]


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!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2007 12:46AM by Mike Barkley.

I use smooth drill rod for my mandrels, and glue up the rings using titebond III, even with the waxing the glue still sticks. When removing the cork or wood, I clamp them back up in the same clamp and using a small anvil for a solid base, I then use a dead blow hammer to drive the mandrel out of the work. It works good, no broken handles or wood reelseats from twisting. I have had too many great projects go to pot when I twisted the mandrel out!