I have tried several methods for long spey grips:

1) Making the grip on a madrel then boring it out. Usually have probelms centering the bore and its difficult to hand ream. Have tried power reaming, broke the a small Batson dream reamer. Do OK with sand glued to old blanks. Usually have to shim with tape to get it centered on the blank.

2) Gluing the rings and real seat on and then turning the rod with a interference fint on a drill. Grip is centered, but I'm worried about breaking the blank or messing up the grip and having to start over.

Things I haven't tried:

1) Using one of those reverse reaming drill bits. These aren't tapered and don't come in lots of sizes.

2) Boring each ring before gluing, then turn handle on a mandrel, and then glue on the blank.

What methods and tools do you use and why?

Any particular pieces of equipment that you can reccomend to make this easier and give a better centered grip?

These "exotic burls" are tough!!!!!!!

One method is to construct the grip in two/three sections OFF the blank then ream/fit to the blank and glue the sections and then just do a minor seam touchup on the blank.

i find it much easier to bore each ring to fit a mandrel prior to glueing up. use a mandrel size as close to the final ID as possible. once it is turned then it usually only needs a minor reaming to get it to fit. it is easy to drift off center when center boring long pieces. good luck

I agree with Jim. I would glue up in 2 or 3 sections, ream each section to fit the blank ( be sure you mark them in the right order) then put the sections on a mandril without glueing the sections together. Dress out the grip the way you want, on the lathe. Put match marks on the matching unglued sections with a pencil. Now put the whole grip on the blank just like it came off the mandril, glue the sections together, lineing up the match marks. Now you have only two seams to dress and finish by hand. Sections are easier for me on long grips.

William,
I echo John's method. I use one of the mandrels from Lamar Fiishing and place a thin coat of paraffin (a little heat helps). I then bore each ring and place it on the mandrel. when finished, I number each ring and then remove from the mandrel. I then repalce each ring in numerical order with each side coated with a thin layer of Rod Bond (carefully keeping it out of the hole in the ring). When finished, I mount the mandrel in a cork grip clamp fashioned from two threaded rods and two pieces of scrap wood to compress the rings together. Do not over compress. Compress just enough to see a thin bead of Rod Bond oozing out. After 24 hours I place the mandrel in my lathe , shape the grip. Now turn the lathe down to slow speed and break the grip loose. If you have been careful with the rod bond, very little will have worked in its way into the holes and the grip is easily loosened from the wax. If the diameter of the mandrel was slightly larger than the diameter of the blank, you will need to do some shimming with thread or kite string. If the mandrel was slightly smaller than the blank
(I prefer this), you can do some very light reaming (it helps remove any wax coating as well) to fit it to the blank.

This may seem more time consuming than some other methods, but it works well for me and I enjoy the process. Good luck,

Mike Blomme

The exotic burl is tough stuff, I've used the burnt cork for butt caps on a few rods with good results.

Establish the front end of the grip measurement where it will meet the reelseat, taking this measurement find the closest forstner bit that is the size needed. Bore each ring to that size, make sure the mandrel is the same size as the hole. I have a cork drilling jig, there are a few photos of this in the equipment portion of the info area. I use a 1/2" drill press to drill the holes. Make the handle in two or three pieces , sand the cork in a lathe to the shape you want, and ream the handle, glue the pieces to the blank using rod bond, clamp and you have the handle. Wood is a little harder to work with but cork is a snap. Remember hand ream the burl cork . It is tough and the batson power reamer in a drill will go through too fast and cause the reamer to melt. Done that, been there. I use all burl cork, I do not like the normal cork as it is hard to get a nice finish. Besides the burl comes in so many colors that it is more attractive than regular cork. Coat the cork with tru-oil and it is treated for water and stains.

Simplify your life.
Make a nice rod turning lathe, and build all of your handles on the blank.

If you make a mistake, you will have to start over - cut off the cork etc.

However, as long as you are careful, this should be a very rare event indeed.
I as well as many others build thier handles on the blanks with no issues.

If you use a high speed lathe - like 3600 rpm- it is very easy to turn down any blank.

The key is to use a good set of rod supports to correctly support the rod as it is turned.
I use a three ball bearing arrangement, mounted on adjustable rods to support the rods. I put a couple wraps of masking tape on the blank where the bearings rest on the rod, to avoid scratching the balnk.

Take care
Roger