There have been many threads about how to turn cork grips. I thought I'd post a picture of how I do I it on my rod lathe. It's not right or wrong , it's just how I do it and it works well. I don't have a wood lathe to work with.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Steve Hartzell
Lake Conroe - Willis, Texas



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/2014 01:41PM by Steve Hartzell.

Steve,
Great setup and I am sure that it works very well for you.

By the way, I used to use the very same attachment on my shop vac that you have in your picture.

However, recently, I have switched to an attachment that has a very narrow slot on the bottom. By using the narrow slotted on the bottom attachment, the air velocity is much greater and seems to do a better job of collecting more of the dust and shavings.

The attachment that I use is the one that is normally used for wet vac use.

[www.homedepot.com]


Keep up the great work .

Thanks for the reply Rog, I've got all the attachments for the shop vac and I'll give your suggestion a try.

Steve Hartzell
Lake Conroe - Willis, Texas

IMHO
I do mine on an mandril this way if I screw up it is not glued to the blank and can be remade easily with out having to cut it off the rod
Tip
Put a rod stand about an inch or so in front of the foregrip It will help to keep the handle assembaly running true

Be careful of the tip section of the blank

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/2014 08:44AM by bill boettcher.

Steve,
Better put tape under those rollers on the stand. Also - for high RPM's much better to use large (2"-2.5") rollers.
Herb

Thanks for the reply's and suggestions. Let me clarify how they were made.

The rear grip was turned and finished on a mandrel. The fore grip was also turned on the mandrel but finished on the lockdown nut attached to the reel seat on the rod. I had to do it that way because I needed to drill a fairly large hole in the foregrip so it would fit on the lockdown nut tube. I drilled the hole free hand with my drill press using a forstner bit. I needed to be very careful doing this for the obvious reasons. Therefore, when I had it on the mandrel, I left it bigger around than the finished product making it easier to drill the hole. Once I attached it to the tube it was screwed down tight to the reel seat and finished with the screen and sandpapers. Time turning while on the rod was minimal. It took three attempts to get it right, mainly because drilling the hole was difficult and I tore up the first two.

Herb, I usually do tape the rod when turning at higher speeds but forgot to do it in this case. I don't have any of the larger rollers.

Steve Hartzell
Lake Conroe - Willis, Texas

About 3 - 4 turns of 2" blue painters tape helps to keep marks from the blank If the finish is of good quality the tape should come off without taking the paint with it

Bill - willierods.com