fellow builders,

what is the best way to make cork reamers

thank you

buy the batson dream reamers...can't beat them

Scrap blank sections, epoxy adhesive, and strips from cloth-backed abrasive belt. You can buy the abrasive from hardware store by the foot or meter, and a short length will make quite a few reamers. I rip the belt into 1/2 inch strips. Wrap it around the scrap piece, in a spiral, and use that length.

Prep the blank sections to a water break free surface for best adhesion. Glue the first 2 inches of grit belt to the piece of blank, spiralling from the thinner end to the thicker end. Direction can be either way, but if you are power reaming then going in the same spiral as the rotation will help keep the strip from coming off. I use 5 minute to hold these first 2 inches in place, and wrap tape over it to hold until cured and dry. Once this bit is dry, then use a slow set epoxy (Rod Bond, Araldite, Devcon 2 Ton, etc.), and apply to the strip. Wind the strip down the blank section, leaving a gap between wraps. This collects material as you ream. Tape down the end to hold in place. Wipe away excess squeezeout epoxy. The put aside to dry.

If you want, you can make a nice comfortable to use reamer by installing an EVA foregrip on the end of the blank piece before you wrap on and glue the grit strip.

IMO, the Dream Reamer kit is a very good purchase. However, the taper on the Swampland reamers is better AND the reamers themselves will hold up longer. I have both and use them equally, in different ways ... but if I were only a hobby builder, I would just buy the Cajun version.

I bought the Swampland reamers at the ICRBE and love them. Can't wear one out.

My favorite reamers are the ones I made. Better than any of the ones I've purchased for waaaay too much money.

I took 2 identical blanks and cut them into 18" lengths. I probably cut 6" off the tip of the first blank and then cut the 18" length. Then using the second blank I chopped about 12", or more, off the tip. That way when my first reamer got too small for the hole, my second reamer was small enough that it easily went in the grip after the first reamer. I continued that right to the butt getting 5 or 6 different reamer blanks.

I took some old cheap premade grips I had bought, cut them into 3" lengths and mounted them to the reamer blanks.

Using 1/4" masking tape I masked a ring around the very tip of the reamer and then spiraled a length from the tip to the handle.

Coated the blank with 2-ton epoxy.

Squished grit into the epoxy.

Put in my drying box for a couple days of cure time.


Hands down the best reamers I've used. I like them better than the cheap ones I bought. I like them better than the sandpaper ones I have. I like them better than the Dream Reamers I have. They are the first reamer I grab when its time to install a grip.


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

Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

The Swampland reamers referenced above are only available as an exclusive from Mudhole -

[www.mudhole.com]

All of the suggestions are spot-on, but if you want to make your own, I have some of the "grit" that I got from Neals (a sponsor) left over and would be glad to send it to you. I have some "fine" and some "medium".

Email me directly ad we'll see if I can help.

Uncle Russ

The grit is a terrible waste of time and money. GEt the FC Abrasive, a thing of contat cement, and some scrap blanks the diameter you need (which is the hardest part of teh equation). REad teh instructions FC supplies, follow them to the tee. And you'll be all set.

If you don't want to go through that, buy the one Lance from Swampland makes for Mudhole, he puts a piece of EVA grip material on them to facilitate hand reaming, and doesn't put the abrasive strip all teh way to teh tip so you can get your grip material centered before you start reaming.

The Batson reamers are pricey, but worth it for me. I'm young, 35, but I have a decent case of carpal tunnel going on. Reaming by hand is hard for me - the Batson reamers are great because I just chuck them into my Makita cordless drill and ream under power - I love them!

Another vote here for the Batson Dream Reamers by far the best reamers on the market
Once you have a set you will wonder how you did without them.

As a complete novice I found I needed some things I didn't have or forgot/couldn't afford at the time. One of these things was a reamer. I improvised though and things worked out just great. Started with an old 2 piece rod, stripped off the guides and went to Home Depot and got floor grip tape. Same stuff you put on ladders or what have you. Roughly 100 grit I'd say, plus it has backing tape. Cut into angled strips and attached to various sections of the old pole. Again, not necessarily what a pro would use but it worked in a pinch perfectly for me.

Personally, I wouldn't use grit as I have had some come loose inside a grip without knowing it until I got a few large scratches in an SCV blank. I would do like Billy said, Flexcoat and Batson both sell 25' rolls of the abrisive strip. I use both Swampland and Batson reamers and like them bothe. On the Swampland ones, I epoxy an old drill bit that fits the butt up into it for reinforcement and chuck it into a cordless drill for power reaming (run drill in reverse to prevent binding)

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!!

Anybody out there want a couple of Artichoke heart jars of grit {one fine grit and one med.} FREE !!!! just pay for the shipping and they are yours.
I gave up on those in the seventys....Now if anybody wants my Dream Reamers from Batson they had better get ready for a knock down drag out....I am sure Mudholes are fine but a full set of sizes and power able besides are the very best to be bought.

Tight Lines
Tight Wraps
Fishin'Stix by Fred

Grit comes loose, as mentioned. The cloth backed grit strip or sanding belt material is best. The Swampland reamers look very very good!

I put a tip on here a while back about cleaning out a grip after reaming. Tap it, blow it out, then take a bottle brush and go right up. I trim the bristles to make them stiffer: that helps a lot. Clean out the grip with a twisting motion, just like you'd do with a reamer. No more stuck grit!

My experience with the Batson ream is . I well never go back to makeing my own.
Good Wraps Bob

Been there with the grit & will not go back again & use emery tape / sanding belt material spiraled on old blanks & glued on
I also very much liked the suggestion on the forum ( a couple of weeks ago ) of using an old golf club shaft to make a reamer for larger diameter holes , but have still not made it to the secondhand shop yet to get one.
DenisB

why make em when they are sooooooo cheap
it isnt a cost saving method in the end using scrap blanks they warp in my shop

very true about the warping , but its the same for a lot of rods too ( especially the fibreglass ones), if they are not stored with a bit of foresight.
I store my spare blanks and reamers in various sized plastic pipes hung horizontally from the rafters or walls. If any of them are just left leaning up against a wall they will warp when the weather gets hot enough for long enough, or from the heater in winter.
Cost is relative.
For those of us with a significant income the cost of a factory reamer set is not a big deal................ it is cheap relative to our circumstance.
For others starting out, the cost of a factory reamer set can be relatively significant to their circumstance.
For me, I take as much pride & pleasure in making ( within my capability ) the tools I use as I do in the rods I make.
There weren't any rod lathes in the marketplace anyway when I built mine, or the dryer, and the 2 wood lathes were homemade too. Same situation with the cork reamers, which started out with the copper slag grit I used on the deck of one of my boats as the abrasive & then switched to spiraled emery tape many years later ( too many years ).
To each his own, selfmade or factory jobs, they both do a more than adequate job & every tool has to be looked after if any longevity of its good function is expected.
DenisB

I dunno - 1 pack of the FC reamer abrasive makes about 7 or 8 reamers, which means for teh same price as a 4 pack of premade reamers you can make make about 25 yourself.