I am good for at least a few dumb questions a year so here's one. I was turning cork on my pac bay machine all rings were glued and compressed together with cork clap, and noticed that the cork was wearing down on one side of the too of the handle faster than the other. Now further more the bottom of the handle was the opposite thinner on the right where the top right was thicker then top left. I hope this makes sense. I have done at least 20 cork handles and this has never happened before. Any suggestions helpful

Before you can sand the grip you have to turn it concentric. Sandpaper floats, so unless your grip rings were all perfectly in line and concentric with the bore, whatever you started with is what you end up with. Hard spots in the cork will exacerbate this.

A round nose scraper is a good tool for cutting the grip concentric with the rod blank first, after which you can sand and shape.

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

I do it at HIGH speed and a quick shape with 36 - 40 grit on a block or folded paper to get it ROUND Just do it to get the rings Equal and of the shap I want
Then I start with finer paper

Bill - willierods.com

What they said. you need a very light touch until concentric. If you lean into it will go oval.

I use a half round Stanly SurForm - LIGHTLY.
Herb

Were you trying to do it on the blank or the mandrel that you may have used for gluing? Either way, it has to be centered in the lathe. If you used epoxy and had excess on the outside of the rings, it will be much harder than the cork and can create an uneven grip. I usually start with 40 grit and work my way up to a final finish with 400 grit. If you notice a glue build up on a portion of the grip it is best to sand that off first before trying to continue spinning it on the lathe.

X10 on the previous comments.

If I have glued up with Epoxy - I will use a surform file to cut the glue and to insure that the grip is round.

Otherwise, I will use a SANDING BLOCk with 40 grit paper to insure that the grip is round.

I have tried scrapers before, but apparently Mr. Kirkman has a secret scraper because; I chunk out cork using a scraper.

No issues if the material is wood, but no luck for myself using a lathe scraper on a cork grip.

But the file and or sanding with coarse paper works very well.

It is a good idea to hold the file or block against a tool rest to help insure that the cutting tool is not drifting up and down as the blank turns.

Be safe

One of these days I have to build a tool rest
I find that as long as it turns FAST it shapes round

Bill - willierods.com

Hmmm... Thanks everybody. I think too much epoxy on the outside of cork may be the, or one of the problems.

I use epoxy with no issues. The epoxy I use is Rod Bond.

When using a paste epoxy it is easy to apply to the cork face and then take a razor blade, holding perpendicular to the cork face, and literally scrape off ALL of the epoxy. This leaves a super thin epoxy layer, and what is left on the cork is more than enough to make a perfect bond. This way you have no squeeze out.

For non-epoxy applicatoins I have used TightBond III and would have no issues with using it again.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2013 09:17PM by Jay Lancaster.

[www.google.com]

Use the Surform file when first cutting through the outside layer of epoxy - if it is built ut. The file will easily take care of the epoxy and allow you to turn the grip round.
As soon as you are through the epoxy - stop using the file and go to sand paper - with the sand paper against a block to give a hard back to the sand paper.

Be safe

Roger, thanks for posting a picture of the Surfoam file. I had no idea what they were called and now I do.

Chester

May your line be tight and your beverages be cold!

One of the reasons I like turning on the lathe with a mandrel is that I have no problems getting the grips round prior to sanding. I use an oval skew chisel for rounding (make sure this is sharp) and square the ends. You really have to use a cutting tool of some kind (the surform tool is good also). I used to use a wood rasp on a tool rest to grind down the uneven surface, including any epoxy so this works as well.

As far as ring glue, I use mostly epoxy these days, all scraped off as Jay describes. I'll use a little more if I've cut the glued cylinder for inserting inlays and the surface isn't quite as smooth as the finished cork rings. Titebond III is also a good choice, but not for rubberized cork. Use epoxy on those rings.

Terry

The problem is simple to prevent - don't shape grips mounted to a flexible rod blank. Centripital force from the unbalanced weight of your grip material is bending your blank when you are turning it at high speed. This is more common on softer lighter blanks than heavier stiffer blanks. This is one reason why I now turn every grip on a steel mandrel on a lathe. The amount of flex in a steel mandrel (yes that flexes too) is negligable for rodbuilding purposes and will eliminate this problem.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/2013 10:54AM by John E Powell.

Use Tite-Bond III instead of Epoxy on regular cork. And also pay close attention to what John Powell said.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

I glue on a threaded rod Three drops of rod bond on a ring Bring the next down and turn several times If the epoxy ouses out the ring you have too much Then tighten the wing nuts while leveling the rings out

If you do off the rod If you make a boo boo you don't have to take it off a blank Easier

Bill - willierods.com

For all of the last many grips I have been using tite bond III for a glue.

This glue is much less expensive than epoxy, works very well, excess wipes off with a damp rag and is stronger than the cork that it is gluing.

The only thing about Tite Bond III is the drying time. Since it is an air dry material, I let it dry for 12 hours on the mandrel, then take it off the mandrel and let it dry an additional 12 hours. When I pull the grip off the mandrel, the inside will still be wet.

But by drying this way for 24 hours, the glue is nice and dry and ready to turn. Since it is easy to wipe virtually all of the glue off the outside of the grip, there is never any glue line to cut, and thus, the entire shaping process goes much quicker.

Of course, I use epoxy to glue the finished grip to the blank so that it will set up well in the absence of air on the inside of the grip.

But, if I need a grip in a few hours, I will use epoxy and simply cut through the glue with the planer.

Be safe

Roger

That is why I don't like it
Rod bond overnight Turn the grip

Bill - willierods.com

All I have ever used is yellow wood glue and have never had a problem to date, (knock on wood lol) and it can also wipe up with a damp cloth. I build my handles on a threaded rod and shap on a steel mantel then I remove and do some finish work on the blank.

It works for me to each his own