I picked up a little piece of African Paduak wood. It is beautiful color. I have never turned wood grips so really have not paid too much attention. It seems as if I heard this wood is a little oily and does not accept epoxy well.
Have any of you tried it?

Thanks,

Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

Bill, I have turned a few pieces of it. Nice figured wood. You are correct in your reading, the wood does have natural oils present in it and it will not take a finish like epoxy, tung oil or a varnish. I just turned and sanded it with a final 1500 grade paper and then waxed and buffed it.

i have worked with padauk quite abit. i have never had any issues with it. i usually use an oil like danish oil to bring out the grain, then a polyurethane for a finish. use a finish with uv inhibitors so it will keep its color longer. epoxies are not the best finishes for woods. it will take a ca or ca/blo finish just fine

Adding weight near the reel seat has the least effect upon swing weight, but do builders obsessing over saving a fraction of a gram with micro guides employ "heavy" turned wood inserts for purely cosmetic purposes? How bizarre! Is the scarcity and price of premium cork a contributing factor in the interest in exotic wood grips or is "flash" the motive? I know of nothing which is lighter, more durable, and provides a better wet/dry grip than cork.

"A better wet/dry grip" is not the only reason we build CUSTOM rods! The use of exotic woods has gained great favor with the fly rod crowd, just as many believe bamboo looks better than carbon fiber. Many of my customers want fly rods with a "organic look" that combines beautiful grained woods with complementary colored guide wraps. Many customers are more then willing to balance esthetics with performance, it's one of the reasons they go CUSTOM!

If you read the article in the last RodMaker about grip coring, then you know you can employ a wood grip without adding a tremendous amount of additional weight. You can have the best of both worlds, almost.

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Tom, did you use a Forstner bit for the coring?