I ran into a dilemma on 2 of my latest builds. The blanks I was building on had large (by bass fishing standards) diameter butts. When reaming the cork on a St. Croix handle kit, I had to ream the cork so thin to get it to fit, that in the middle of the cork handle, the walls are thin. Thin enough that I can feel the cork flex when I grab the handle. There appears to be about a 1/4 inch void between a section in the middle of the handle and the blank in some areas. I feel certain after normal use, the handle will crack and begin to deteriorate.

I filled the void on one of the rods by the following method. I cut about a 3/4" beveled square out of the thinnest part of the handle. Much like you would if you were repairing a hole in sheetrock. Put as much of the expanding "foam in a can" used for insulation purposes as I could get in the void, and glued the beveled square back into place and sanded the handle with fine grit paper. It seems to be solid and to the untrained eye, will never be noticed.

My questions: This ever happen to you guys? Any tips on avoiding this over reaming problem with St. Croix handles? Any thoughs on how to fix the other handle on rod number 2?

Thanks in advance,

Brandon

Try going to your local tack supply store, i.e. TSC or Farm and Fleet. Buy some 16 gauge needles, thin some epoxy with acetone. Then inject the epoxy through one of the imperfections in the cork. Make sure you go at a angle when putting the needle in.

I`m not so sure about the thinning part of the epoxy. The acetone needs to evaporate and under the grip it will be sealed. Maybe heat the epoxy a little to thin.

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)

I just did a repair on a rod a couple weeks ago with the thinning method.

It sounds to me like something happened in the reaming process. If you were gripping the cork too tightly in the middle while reaming, it may have reamed too much cork in that spot, or the hole is off center.

Brandon,
You might try slicing the handle into sections and reaming each section. You can then reassemble the sections on the rod and just like your repair, with a little sanding you'll never know it was done.

Brandon,
Although I think you have a good idea, I am not a fan of using insulation on the inside of the cork.
As with many things in life, the best thing to do is to start over.
Cut the grip off the blank, obtain a new handle ream carefully and glue the new handle in place.

I am also not a fan of putting any type thinner into any epoxy for thinning. Epoxy cures by chemical reaction. If you put a thinner or a solvent into the epoxy, the solvent all has to evaporate - BEFORE - the epoxy cures. This typically does not happen. The result is epoxy that has trapped solvent in the epoxy and it results in glue that is soft and spongy.

If you need to thin epoxy - simply heat it with a heat gun and it can be as thin as water.

Good luck
Roger

To expand on what Robert said in a situation like this you would probably be better off gluing individual rings on the blank and then finishing the handle on the blank, then you would know that each ring was properly bonded to the blank. Plus you can get oversize 1.5 inch rings for a situation like this where the blank is a large diameter, it probably wouldn’t hurt anything having the very butt of the grip swell out a little.

If you dont want to cut the handle off you could replace a couple rings where its soft using the method I believe Bill Boettcher described.It is posted somewhere I believe .Use the search at the top of page.

I may be wrong but I think the article was written by : Bob Balcolmbe.

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

Drill two 1/8"holes in the cork where the grip fits poorly, one hole at one end of the loose cork and another hole at the OTHER end of the loose cork area. Drill all the way to the blank, but dont damage it.

Now treat the grip JUST LIKE you would when filling the lower unit of a boat engine. Mix some 5min epoxy, get it in a syringe and insert the head of the syringe into the lower hole with the grip standing on end. Fill with epoxy until the epoxy runs out of the TOP hole, meaning the grip is FULL. Now tape off both holes and let set up for about 5 min. Remove tape, use some cork sanding dust (or just use cork filler) to mix with more epoxy and cover holes well. Sand down hole area after the cork mixed epoxy cures. Done..... and the grip wont ever give or move!

DR

Bill I think you are exactly right.My apoligies to you both.I now think DR has the best and easiest answer anyway.

Drilling out the grip and then just reaming a little bit alleviates your reaming issues for me.