Just wanted to report that I finished up two identical 7' popping rods. One was made with a cork butt and fore grip and the other with foam core carbon skinned butt and fore grips. I was very careful to turn and shape the two grip sets as nearly identical as I could get them. The set made from cork weighed in at 0.8 ounces and the foam core carbon skinned grip set weighed in at 0.5 ounces. I was working with the 4 lb foam and only used a light topcoat of urethane Spar on the carbon to finish it out. There was only enough epoxy used to wet the foam and set it in place.

So as close as I can figure that's a savings of 0.3 ounces which is just about 40%. Not much when you look at the actual weight itself but a savings in weight any way you want to cut it. My only variable would be that since cork is a natural product it probably varies in weight with some being a little light and some being a little heavier. But overall I feel the foam core grips are indeed lighter. I can see that they might not be if you really slather on the epoxy to wet and set the carbon skin but I didn't find this necessary.

You bring up a good point about the variance in cork weight (the better the grade of cork, the heavier it will tend to be) and how epoxy affects the weight of the carbon skinned foam grips. You could easily add enough epoxy as a top coat on the carbon skin that your resulting grip would be as heavy, or even heavier, than a comparable cork grip.

I normally sand off any residual epoxy left on the carbon from the wetting out procedure and once smooth, overcoat with Helmsman Spar Exterior Urethane. I use only enough to gloss the skin. This provides what I feel is the best appearance for the least amount of weight. Typically I'm only saving about 20% to 25% over a cork grip in weight, but I've been using the 8lb foam almost exclusively now.

...............

Are you guys still feeling the texture of the carbon sleeve or are you putting on enough finish that it will feel like your holding a piece of smooth plastic? I was wondering which would feel nicer underhand.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2008 01:34PM by Henry Engle.

There really isn't any texture to feel, coated or not. The skins are fairly smooth, but with the couple coats of urethane they are perfectly smooth.

And for those wondering, no, they're not slippery.

................

Does anyone know the approximate COST comparsion between a cork handle and a foam core/carbon sleeve handle. I build rods only for personal use and to donate to outdoor-related charities and I am just not sure if I want to invest in the foam core handles or not. I am open to opinions one way or the other to help me make an educated decision. Thanks in advance for any input.

I'm guessing the foam core handles with the most expensive carbon skins will cost you about 25 cents per inch. I'd have to gather up all the stuff and price it out, but I think that's about right. A few dollars for a full rod handle, maybe.

Good cork will run you about $3 to $4 per inch so you can see the former is far less expensive.

The overall labor on the foam core grips would be about the same, perhaps a slight bit less, than gluing up and turning cork rings. Probably a wash in the labor department. So overall, the foam core, carbon skinned grips are many, many times less expensive than a nice cork grip of the same size and shape.

...............



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2008 02:50PM by Tom Kirkman.

As a hobby builder, these cost me quite a bit. I have over $100 into materials and it will take a really long time to make that pay. Especially the West system epoxy resin. (mucho pricey if you only want a few grips) I doubt it will ever pay in dollars because of shelf life...
It is still worth it to me to make something cool. That's the real pay-off for me and when I finish one I will be rather pleased with myself I suspect.

Pretty much in the same boat as the post above, about $100 bucks in if your not making alot of these handles they are expensive. If its just for the coolness factor and just the fun of trying something new the money isnt relevant. Lets face it rod building is expensive in general if your going to get deep into it.

There already are and I suspect there will be more vendors pouring these for sale to us hobby guys. And some builders could sell off a few to cover their costs and pretty much have free foam cores, hint, hint!!

If you are just making them for yourself there are a few options.

You could buy the foam pre poor in pieces to lengths you need.
Buy just the amount of carbon sleeve you need (but way cheaper to buy in ten ft. lengths)
Instead of investing in the West system epoxy resin, try using some Thread Master.

Maybe not the best choice compared to west Coast, but most certainly will work and may be what Andy is using anyway because of his unlimited supply. You could email him and ask his results first if you just wanted to feel safe.


Foam core say about $3.00
10ft.x1.0” carbon light $1.39 per ft- at ten ft. length- $13.90 (with enough left over for at least 8 to 10 other rods)
Thread Master already on hand. Investment -0-


Still less then one cork handle
And on your next few rods, you can throw out the cost of the carbon all together because of what you have left over. Total $16.90 plus shipping and tax.

Still less then one cork handle
And on your next few rods, you can throw out the cost of the carbon sleeve all together because of what you have left over.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2008 04:37PM by Steve Gardner.

If you're going to figure things this way, then you'd have to figure a cork grip is going to cost the same hundred bucks or more. You've got to buy the cork (and perhaps cull some of it). You've got to have a cork clamp. You've got to have some means of turning it - lathe, drill, turning tools, sandpaper. Let's not forget about the glue, reamers, etc. Either type grip will require certain start up costs.

Always several ways of looking at things, but if we're just talking about the grips themselves, the foam core carbon skinned grips come out to about 25 cents per inch with nice cork grips requiring about $3 to $4 dollars per inch.


.........................

What I have in it is this...

10 ft real carbon sleeve 1.25 X 2.57 $25.00

west systems epoxy or other brand $60

shrink tubing to try both ways of doing it. $10

5pcs of 12" foam cores x $4.79 each $25.00

maybe $15 -$20 to ship all this stuff.

I think this is more realistic list of supplies if you want to try this as a first timer. The post above assumed you wanted to substitute and run he risk of failing on any of the steps on your first few trys (stuff does happen) and depleting your supplys which you have to pay shipping on again.

I don tknow how a customer would react to adding these radical grips to their rods so selling them might be a lilttle difficult at first. I would think more about selling off the supplys to another builder if it didnt work out for the home hobby builder.


*edit* If anyone would liek to help me pay for my supplys and doesnt want the work involved, in ordering, figuring what sizes and all the other details. Email me maybe I can make it for ya.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2008 05:23PM by Henry Engle.

I've kept a pretty good record of my stuff and how far I think it will go and would say that my foam-carbon grip cost me about $4 total and that includes the epoxy and urethane. The same grip in cork was about $22. So the foam-carbon grips are a LOT less and offer what IMO is much better and more consistent quality.

One thing I've done is go ahead and pour up a ton of foam cores so the shelf life of the liquid foam isn't a problem. I've got dozens of feet of foam cores already laid in and won't have to make any more for a few years. It was so quick and easy to do I just spent an hour and did up a bunch of them. That part is now taken care of. Next grip all I have to do is just cut a core to the proper length, slip it on a mandrel and turn to whatever shape I want. Then "skin" and finish out.

For the same amount of money that you'd spend to buy enough high quality cork rings for a simple 1 foot long grip, you can buy enough liquid foam to pour about 25 feet of foam cores. There is no comparison in cost - cork is the most expensive grip material going. Foam core, carbon skinned grips are among the very least expensive.

............

Several of you on this thread mention that you are interested in selling some of your materials to pay for initial setup costs. If anyone wants to make a few bucks off me, please email me (squib518 at hotmail.com) I want to build a foam and sleeve handle before I put my $100 into the kitty. If someone will pour me about two foot as was demonstrated in RodMaker, I'd be appreciative. Let me know your price.

Thanks