What's the best way to bore out a cork handle? I've been using a file but, it's taking for ever to do. Thinking about using a drill and drilling it out. Any ideas

Wonder reamers! They call them that because you "wonder" why you didn't buy them years ago.

Steve Bro
(BroCo Custom Rods)

Where would I get one from?

[www.batsonenterprises.com] Look for Reamers on the left.

I start with a drill to open it up a bit then finish it off with a reemer. Once it fits then I turn it down so it will be as even as it can be.

The Flex Coat Reverse Pilot Drill Bits are the fastest and surest way to ream cork. Check out the tutorial on the Flex Coat site : How We Do It
"Buildin' a Pre Shaped Cork Grip.

There's also a video on how to make a superb power reamer which will cost a lot less than the Wonder Reamers.

Have fun.

Craig,
I use a file to ream each end of the handle to the size of the blank at the appropriate end of the handle to fit the blank. This is to give me a nice clean edge at each end of the handle.

Then, I simply use a 15 inch drill bit in a hand held drill to drill out the handle from each end of the handle. i.e. I use the appropriate sized drill bit from the butt end of the handle to match the back hole and drill 1/2 way through the handle. Then, I use the appropriate sized drill bit from the front of the handle to match the blank size at the front of the handle and drill 1/2 way through the handle.

I will follow up with a bit of clean up with the reamer if necessary.

If I have a blank with a huge taper on it, I might go to three drill bits, and only drill 1/3 of the way through with the first bit from the butt end of the handle, then select a bit that is 1/2 way between the back hole and the front hole to drill the middle section of the handle and finish up with the drill for the front hole.

This method works very well, gives a good fit to the blank and only takes a fraction of the time required to ream or file the hole in the handle.

A source for some inexpensive drill bits which work very well to drill cork:

[www.harborfreight.com]

Take care
Roger

I made my own cork/eva reamers. Those $4.99 unsanded blanks from mudhole: cut into lengths and rolled in epoxy glue and then kids play sand (3.99 for 20lbs). Leave the first two inches free of sand so you can fit it into the chuck. Load into a rechargeable drill and go slow. Choose a taper nearest the blank you are trying to match your grip to. For thicker reamers, build up the chuck end by gluing sections of doweling inside the reamer.
I have three i made with regular wet/dry paper in 1000 grit,cut into 1/2 inch wide strips and wound on to epoxied pieces of blank. I finish with them.

I drill to match the closest turning mandrel to the blank, turn on said mandrel, then finish off by hand with a hand reamer (plenty described above).

Drilling it out to get a close match without going too far is NOT cheating, its just using your available tools to your advantage.

You can make your own reamers, but I would use the tape instead of the grit. It is said the grit can come off inside the handle and when the handle is slid over the blank, scratch it.

Bill - willierods.com

Been There!!!!!! I will no longer use grit reamers for this reason. I put a deep scratch in a blank about 2/3rds up. I discarded that blank and it has been used to make a couple of good reamers using 1/2 inch wide sandi paper rolls . It`s much safer.

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

You can't buy direct from Batson, only wholesaler's can. See Midwest rod and reel for the best price that I've seen on the wonder reamers.