I've had some problems when shaping cork, and I'm not sure how to fix it.

What I'm getting is small pockets that open up especially at the ends. It makes the whole handle look poorly made and unprofessional. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

are yuo sanding on a mandrel or by hand?


because if you go against the lenght of the handle sometimes it will dig in at the glue lines. Its 1000 tomes easier to sand on a mandrel. If you don't have a wood lathe get a 12 inch piece of threaded rod from lowes and 2 wing nuts and 2 washers then clamp it on there chuck it up in a drill and tada you now have a lathe.

I'm sanding using a flexcoat cork lathe.

what grade cork are you using? Could it be imperfections in the cork?

Miles,
I don't want to accuse you of missing the obvious so please don't take this response as such.

From your description, it sounds like the natural voids that run through cork rings are emerging as larger voids on the more sloped sections of the grip. If this is the case, you have the choice of either learning a method to fill in these voids, or trying to find cork rings that have fewer and narrower voids to start with. The second option usually requires paying more for your rings.

If I misinterpreted your writing, please disregard.

Jeff

Jeff,
You're right on the money. I've been using the SCR4 rings from mudhole. Should I go to the premium rings instead?

Miles,
Selection of cork rings based upon catalog descriptions is difficult. And making comparisons between cork retailers is also difficult. Contact a couple of cork retailers and inquire about their return policies. If they are willing to accept returns, try a higher grade. But you should understand going in that to get very good cork is going to cost you more, maybe a lot more, if you can find cork that is acceptable to you.

Jeff



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2007 12:51PM by Jeff Shafer.

perfect, thank you.

Miles....go Burl and never go back!

DR

Go to Burl cork. No imperfections, buy 100 rings and you get 100 identical rings. Tough, easy to shape nice grain and looks great with a little tru Oil on it. (Oh, and it's actually cheaper) It's a little heavier but worth it. I switched a couple years ago and never looked back

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!!

Hello Mike,
Can you clarify which burl you're talking about? Do you mean one of the composite rings, or one of the synthetics? I'd also be interested in seeing a photo, but then I don't ask for much......

Thanks,
Jeff

I'd be interested in the pictures as well. Another question about the burl is how the colored ones hold up to the sanding process?

Just go to the photos page and look up mike in there he has some pics i'm sure. If not I have a few in mine of handles I made with both cork and burl mixed. Scott

They are all composites made from cork pieces bondfed under pressure much the same way as particle board is. The standard burls are vailable from most vendors (mudhole has pix on their web site [shop.mudhole.com] ) They come in brown, red, blue and green. Blue and green are barely colored. They hold up well to sanding. The ultimate is the Lamar Exotic burls [www.lamarfishing.com] Available through Fishstick4U and several others

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!!

Miles,

Not trying to shop my work or anything, but I've submitted photo's of a couple of rods on the photo's page(s) using handles and reel seat inserts made from Lamar's exotic burl cork rings. Just look under Member Galleries and enter my user name for some examples of some SIMPLE work done with exotic burl cork. I too will never again use standard cork unless a customer insists, and my efforts to dissuade them are fruitless.

Torin.

Lamar's exotic burl rings are probably the best solution. The price is right and the density and workability are tops.

Otherwise, you need to get top-of-the-line cork and that's gonna be - well, expensive.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

Lamar burl is not necessarily the best, from what I've seen. I use their natural color, and like it. No problems. But for the burnt burl 1/4 inch rings I use for trim at the ends of some of my cork grips I have gone to Mudhole's burnt cork rings. Mudhole's burnt cork is not made by Lamar, according to Mudhole. They seem more dense without the ragged edges that you sometimes see with Lamar's burnt cork. I've not seen this issue with Lamar's natural color. I've not used other colors or mixtures of Lamar's burl. I like my rods pretty simple, not gaudy.

I seal the burl with cork sealer and it takes on a deeper brown color with the grain more visible-quite attractive and distinctive looking compared to regular cork of any grade.

As mentioned, it is about twice as heavy for the same volume of material as some regular corks, so this leads to a feature I like anyway-split grips. You use about 1/2 the volume of cork. Also might save money in spite of burl's higher cost.