So I am attempting to make a handle out of carbon fiber for the first time. My issue is that I cant seem to get the ends to conform to the tight radius.

Is there any trick. I know that typically when people make parts out of carbon fiber they vacuum bag the item. Im guessing that most on here are not going to the expense of buying a vac bag system so im guessing there is an alternative way

The handle is roughly 18" long and has a varying dia of .85 - 1.125 Im using the 1.5" heavy carbon fiber tube material from Solar composites which says it will conform to parts in the size range im making.

Any help ????

Ends can be tricky. Are you using the heat shrink method or by hand? I find the hand method gives me better ends. I also would not use the 1.5" sleeve for the size handle you are doing. If you use the 1.25" it will fit fine and you will have an easier time with the ends. Is there any particular reason you are using the heavy sleeving? i have not found a need to use the heavy sleeving and use the light which is easier to work with.

john timberlake Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ends can be tricky. Are you using the heat shrink
> method or by hand? I find the hand method gives
> me better ends. I also would not use the 1.5"
> sleeve for the size handle you are doing. If you
> use the 1.25" it will fit fine and you will have
> an easier time with the ends. Is there any
> particular reason you are using the heavy
> sleeving? i have not found a need to use the
> heavy sleeving and use the light which is easier
> to work with.

I am trying to do it by hand... This is my first go around so its all one big experiment to me

I have no reason for using the heavy material other than I thought bigger was better LOL. Now that you mentioned that the lighter material would be easier to work with im guessing thats part of my problem. Plus im probably using a material thats slightly larger than what I need

I think I will order some more material from them today. Ill go with the 1.25 light material and see if that helps.

Now I gotta figure out what to make with the heavy material I have

I use zip ties on the ends and pull it down tight to the mandrel.

You could use the heavy to make carbon tube Tennessee handles.

Chuck

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

I really like the zip tie idea... I think ill give that a whirl

I also use zip ties. I also put epoxy on my cores before sliding the sleeve down. Once I slide the sleeve down, I press the sleeving down starting at the middle and work towards each end. I then zip tie the excess sleeving out at the end and then agai right at the end of grip. I then pull the sleeve towards the rear and zip tie it against the core there.

Thanks for asking this question, I too was having similar difficulties - the ends not being as smooth as I would like, I'll try the zip tie method as well.

Thanks,
--Fred

As J. P. says, too big and too heavy! You actually could use the 1" tubing as it will easily do the 1 1/8" I use the hand method that I learned from J.P. (Timberlake) and after working from the middle out, I tape the ends to the mandrel and then use zip ties to cinch down the ends right up against the core' This method gives me nice conformity, even with the flat end on a full wells fly grip.

I found that the smaller, lightweight sleeve is fine for most grips. On grips with a flair like this I noticed the weave really thins out so I am using larger sleeve -
[www.rodbuilding.org]

I've done cores a few ways. I have followed the RM articles exactly, and tried a few variations. I still struggle with some pin holes at times and I'm not really sure what the cure for that is. I have tried coating the foam first to seal it and that helps, but involves an extra step.

I am really liking the one pass with the foam brush and PG as per the RM article. Load the brush up to the max.

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

Sometimes the lightweight sleeve, in a larger diameter, is what you want. Rather than stretch it, you compress it against the grip and then smooth it out. This creates a denser, tighter weave pattern in the skin and prevents any show-through of the underlying core.

I don't do much on the ends, other than to take the heat shrink tubing beyond each end of the grip. I heat from the middle and work outwards towards the ends. The shrink will neatly draw down over the ends and conform the skin to the core, although it won't take it down all the way to the mandrel. For my purposes that portion of the grip end is covered by the reel seat or butt cap anyway, so I don't worry about it. It just depends on how much of the grip end you need the skin to cover.

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

Lots of good advice here, definitely dump the heavy sleeve I have had best results with 1.25 light carbon. But the carbon fiber sleeve grips will simply never be good for making a tight radius, the secret is to optimize your handle design to take advantage of what it does do well. The best thing you can do with carbon grips that you can’t do with conventional cork or EVA grips is you can make them very thin, you can taper the grip right down to the blank and ream the core completely out at the ends so you get a very nice seamless transition between the blank and the grip.

The way I make my grips with carbon fiber handles is a little different than I have seen anybody else make them but I really like the results. I start by making the cores tapered at both ends, one end I build up the mandrel to the exact diameter of the blank where the end of the grip will go and taper the grip down to that diameter so it will blend in with the blank, the other end I round and taper to fit into a modified reel seat.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

I modify the reel seat to have a knife edge where it contacts the grip, this way the grip can fit up inside the reel seat and leave a very smooth transition from reel seat to grip. Another advantage of this design is that you can glue the entire diameter of the reel seat to the rigid carbon grip which drastically improves the structural integrity when you use a really short split seat trigger section.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

This is how it looks when the two parts are put together.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

This is how it looks on the finished rod. With a small trim wrap and some finish ramped up onto the edge of the grip the transition from the blank to grip is completely smooth. I really like having the grips taper all the way down to the blank it is much more natural feeling to me than a straight grip.
[www.rodbuilding.org]

I do not use the heat shrink tubing, never have tried it since I met John Timberlake at one of the Expo's and he showed me how to make the grips without it. I use a zip tie at the ends holding the fiber down on the mandrel and I use a small brass wire at all the other contours. The wire bends real easy and one small twist locks it down. Once dry, you remove the wires and I will sand/file down any high places and roll on. I'm not saying this is the best way but it works for me.
Good Luck

That's a great write up Mike, and the photos really sealed the deal. Thank you.

I'm with Mr. Kirkman preferring the larger material and some times the thicker materials

Mike and I are pretty close in how we build our handles to match the blanks diameter.
Although some times using one piece to form both ends of the split grip reducing the center down to the blank size as pictured in the photo gallery of RodMaker Mag Vol. 11 Issue 2
I like to use the heavier cloth when dumping the core, when using smaller sizes I end up with gaps or voids in the material.
Using the heavier or larger materials allows the weaves stay tight enough so it is not necessarily to put an additional finish on them to fill in the gaps

Mike Harris, that is some very nice work

Casey,
Your thought about vacuum bagging is a good one.
In past years, I used vacuum bagging all of the time.
If you wanted to go to the effort to build your own vacuum system, I could give you some help in making your own vacuum system for very little money.

Then, after you have the vacuum pump, gauge, reservoir and switches all assembled, it is a simple matter to make the actual vacuum bag.

Once you have put your handle together, slip it into the bag, and draw the air out of the bag. As you get close, to the final form, your use of a clear vacuum bag will allowy ou to make final arrangements of the handle skin before turning up the vacuum to the final setting for the final epoxy cure.

When done, remove the bag, sand off any high spots and you are good to go.

Roger

hflier@comcast.net

Here is a nice primer on vacuum bagging:

[www.fibreglast.com]

and

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]
Roger



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/2012 09:44AM by roger wilson.

roger wilson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Casey,
> Your thought about vacuum bagging is a good one.
> In past years, I used vacuum bagging all of the
> time.
> If you wanted to go to the effort to build your
> own vacuum system, I could give you some help in
> making your own vacuum system for very little
> money.
>
> Then, after you have the vacuum pump, gauge,
> reservoir and switches all assembled, it is a
> simple matter to make the actual vacuum bag.
>

I would be curious to hear what you have to say. Im all about building new gadgets!!!!!!
> Once you have put your handle together, slip it
> into the bag, and draw the air out of the bag. As
> you get close, to the final form, your use of a
> clear vacuum bag will allowy ou to make final
> arrangements of the handle skin before turning up
> the vacuum to the final setting for the final
> epoxy cure.
>
> When done, remove the bag, sand off any high spots
> and you are good to go.
>
> Roger
>
> hflier@comcast.net

Casey Abell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> roger wilson Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Casey,
> > Your thought about vacuum bagging is a good one.
>
> > In past years, I used vacuum bagging all of the
> > time.
> > If you wanted to go to the effort to build your
> > own vacuum system, I could give you some help
> in
> > making your own vacuum system for very little
> > money.
> >
> > Then, after you have the vacuum pump, gauge,
> > reservoir and switches all assembled, it is a
> > simple matter to make the actual vacuum bag.
> >
>
> I would be curious to hear what you have to say.
> Im all about building new gadgets!!!!!!
> > Once you have put your handle together, slip it
> > into the bag, and draw the air out of the bag.
> As
> > you get close, to the final form, your use of a
> > clear vacuum bag will allowy ou to make final
> > arrangements of the handle skin before turning
> up
> > the vacuum to the final setting for the final
> > epoxy cure.
> >
> > When done, remove the bag, sand off any high
> spots
> > and you are good to go.
> >
> > Roger
> >
> > hflier@comcast.net


Well I have a couple questions. How many lbs of vacuum do I need to pull in order to have a successful attempt. Where do I get the cloth material I see them using on top of the carbon fiber to absorb the excess resin. It appears thats a major part of the process.

Other than that my only other issue is how to build the bags... Oddly enough I think I have every thing else to do this.

Well I tied the zip tie method tonight and it appears to have worked very well... Everything is still drying so time will tell but im positive its better than my first attempt.

Time will tell