I got my hands on some "not so select cork rings" I was wondering what you folks recomend for cork filler. I have looked at cork filler on Mud Hole.com, but it looks like wood filler to me. Also do most of you seal your cork?

Thanks,
Steve

Steve Bro
(BroCo Custom Rods)

I use a wood filler that matches the cork defects. Then I buff it and seal it

Good Wraps Bob

I use a wood filler that matches the cork defects. Then I buff it and seal it

Good Wraps Bob

Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler Golden Oak, looks like the same stuff. I use the Elmer's, but it falls out after a while. I don't use cork sealer, so I don't know if that would help.

Unless the pits are really big, you probably won't even feel them, and you could learn to like the aesthetic appeal of rough cork...

DAP Plastic wood filler (pine) and 2-3 coats of Birchwood Casey Tru-oil. Filler stays put.

Ray Zarychta
Glastonbury, CT

Steve, Roddancer has just come out with a product we call pitpaste. It is designed to do just what you are asking. We will be showing it for the first time at our booth this weekend. it is available to the public right now. it is not up on any of our websites yet but it is 3.99 for 1oz and 5.99 for 2 oz. It will stay where it is put it can be sanded and sealed. Give us a ring or an email and we can hook you up. Thanks Scott parsons

Steve,
You are right, the filler from Mud hole is Elmers Golden Oak wood filler.
I purchased a tube and used it for some recent handles.
In times past, I have used many other types of filler if needed for handles. However, I found that this filler was easier to work with, sealed well, filled well and cleaned up easily.
When, I used up the first tube, I went over to the local big box lumber yard and picked up another group of the same product.

For me, this filler has worked very well indeed.

Note:
One of the key characteristics of a good CORK filler is to use one that stays in the pits well, but has a harness level that is similar to the product that you are filling. i.e. the filler needs to sand at the same rate as the cork that you are filling.
One of the problems that I have used in times past, is that the filler being used - either due to the filler itself or the glue that is used to bind the filler is either too hard, or too soft.
If the filler is too hard, the surrounding cork will be sanded away before the filler.
If the filler is too soft, the filler will be sanded first and there will still be a dent in the surface after sanding.
It seems that the Elmers Golden Oak is about right with respect to sanding rate compared to cork.

p.s.
For many years, I desisted on using any type of filler. I simply made sure that any cork used on a handle was of high enough quality to avoid the need for any fillers.
Unfortunately, that is becoming either harder to do - at all - or becoming so expensive that it doesn't make economic sense to buy the "very very very high priced perfect cork for handles. Thus, the reduction in the quality of todays cork really dictates the need for some type filler for many cork handles.

Take care
Roger



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2009 12:52PM by roger wilson.

I save all my cork sandings in bags by size and mix them with elmers use them just like wood filler.

Vern,
Do you have issues with sanding, when using the Elmers as a binder.
I tried that on several different handles but gave up because I couldn't do a decent job sanding the filler, using the elmers as a binder. I found it to not sand well and was generally much tougher than the surrounding cork. Since I found the binder tougher than the surrounding cork, the surrounding cork would sand away but leave the filler too high and not smooth.

Take care
Roger

p.s.
I have made some fillers using cork sanding and model airplane cement. The kind that is actually a celluouse and acetone type glue and that works pretty well. i.e. the model airplane cement sands at about the same rate as the surrounding cork.
However, I never did much of this, since the fumes were pretty bad and the working time was so short. i.e. if one mixed up a batch of filler one only had about a minute or two to get it in place before it got too tacky to work with.

Take care
Roger

I have used Duco cement and cork dust and have two rods that I fished hard for years and it's still holding up.The rods were built in 1980 and are noodle rods so the cork has some flexing going on to.
Steve

Actually the mudhole cork filler, even though the pic says cork filler, they send golden oak wood filler, so they must produce their own image for the website. I think that you are better off getting the wood filler in the can because the stuff in the tube from mudhole is not as wet as I am used to being a wood worker.
James