I just want to share a tip. I have a great set of cork reamers I got through mud hole. The sand paper has worn out on them and I did not want to pay for new ones. I heated up the end of the old sand paper with my alcohol burner. The I peeled it off and cleaned up the reamer. I used the old strip as a pattern and cut anew strip off of 80 grit sheet of sandpaper. It actually took two strips to run the length of the reamer . I decided to use the same thirty min. epoxy as I use for my corks to attach it. I used a brush and coated the back of the strip with this epoxy. Now for the problem, it has to be stretched and held tight for a long time which I do not have the patience for. I found that the heavy legal clamps that people use for files was perfect for the job. The next one that I did, I just put the glue on the strip a little bit at a time and would clamp it. Then I moved to the next section and did the same until done. This worked out perfect.

Epoxy works but next time use contact cement. LOt easier and not as messy
Ricky

I've said it many times before. Contact cement on both parts, heavily applied, let sit for 15 minutes, then spiral up or down your reamer blank. No mess to clean, no clamps or tie off material. Just let the glue cure about a day before use.

Lance

I am new to this forum so this is the first I have heard of that. As I live on the lake and 15 miles from the closest store I always work with what I have on hand. By just mixing a small amount of epoxy and brushing it on the back of the sandpaper strip it was really not much trouble and the whole process with the legal clamps I had on hand took less than ten min. However I went into town to watch the elite series weigh in and picked up some contact cement. I am sure that will work well and I will try it on the next size reamer as it needs replacing also. Thanks for the advice.

Another reamer idea:

I spiralled 1/4" masking tape, leaving a 1/2" gap between spiralls, along the length of a piece of old rod blank. (actually, a set of different sizes) I coated it all with epoxy, rolled it in silicon carbide grit, then immediately peeled the tape off and allowed the glue to dry. This gave me a 1/2" grit strip plus a 1/4" clearing channel. I didn't have to worry about fiddling with gluing sandpaper strips. It works very well. I either ream by hand, or clamp the reamer in a drill chuck and power-ream the cork. I did find it best to run the drill so that the reamer runs in reverse. This gives me better control of how much I ream out. The grit can be found at lapidary suppliers and comes in grits from 80 thru to 400 or so.

Be very very careful using the epoxied grit method. The grit can and does come off the reamer inside the cork or foam cores. If you do not get this all out before putting it on the blank, the grit can badly scratch the blank, especially noticeable on a colored blank! I speak from experience. This does not happen with the sandpaper reamers.

It can happen with the sandpaper reamers to. I'v done it lol. But what happen is a small section of the sandpaper strip came off inside without me noticing it. To be fair this was reaming out a piece of acrylic and not cork though, so I probolly had it comming.

Also , the contact cement has a much higher tolerance to heat than epoxy. So if you choose to ream by power , whether on a lathe or drill, the reamer made with contact cement will last much longer.

Lance

That is a definite plus. I do ream with a drill. It will be interesting to see how the epoxy holds up as I have already used it. I will do the next size up with the contact and see which one holds up the best!

Lance,

Thank you for suggesting the use of contact cement rather than epoxy. I bought a set of reamers from Mudhole with the silicon grit and learned the hard way the first time I used them with my drill. I overheated the reamer grit reaming out an 8" cork handle and ended up with a reamer, less the grit and a cork grip stuffed full of the grit from the reamer. Obviously the contact cement works with sand pager; but not silicon grit. Check?

Don Campbell
don@sensorfishingrods.com

I only use a variable speed drill and ream at the lowest speed that will let me get the job done as to many RPM will wear out the sand paper and risk the grit coming off.

For reamers I buy used golf club handles the graphite ones (thrift shop) they are very sturdy and can be chucked . Last time I used 5 min. epoxy . Took a rubber band and secured the top of the sand paper strip spiralled down and held the end for a few moments. I used it with in 15 min with out a problem and have used it several times after. For smaller reamers I save the left over rods and scrap Look for rods that have been throwen away.Live in a fishing area. I put at least 2or 3 smaller pieces glued inside where its going to be chucked for more strength. For sandpaper I buy the sander belts and cut to size.

Phil Erickson Wrote:
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> Be very very careful using the epoxied grit
> method. The grit can and does come off the reamer
> inside the cork or foam cores. If you do not get
> this all out before putting it on the blank, the
> grit can badly scratch the blank, especially
> noticeable on a colored blank! I speak from
> experience. This does not happen with the
> sandpaper reamers.

Good headsup! Think I'll go back to sandpaper.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/2015 08:48PM by rick humphrey.

I made my own reamers out of pieces of old fishing rod blanks, using rubber cement. It worked beautifully once I I got the right kind of cement. Don't expect to buy rubber cement from a craft store and have it work, because I won't. At least it didn't for me. Go to a Lowe's or Home Depot or that type of store and buy a good heavy duty contact cement if you want the job to last.

I used sanding belts to make my strips out of, and even after 2 coats, the cloth material just absorbed the cheap cement. Didn't have that problem once I went to the good stuff.

ricky espenschied Wrote:
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> Epoxy works but next time use contact cement. LOt
> easier and not as messy
> Ricky
x2