need a little help on cork filling [ holes an cracks ] got some cork filler from one of the jobbers on the left [ not there fault ] it is a product off the shelf , made by Elmers glue Mfg , I look at the rods in the local tackle shop an there fill job of filling looks supper , you can see there fill's but it still looks great
when I do it I don't seam to get all the cracks filled in an there is a slight brown boarder around the crack / hole that don't show up on the rods at the tackle shop, almost like they ground the crack larger an them filled it in , I can do it but many hours on a fly rod handle [ cost is way out ] so what am I doing wrong ,
I mixed some of the fill with Tightbond 3 [ made it more soupy ] it did not work any better , don't get me wrong
it works , but I get the light brown shade around all my holes / cracks , so how can I improve what I am doing wrong ?
or just get the supper delux cork rings $$ , or just live with it as it don't effect any thing the handle is
great I just want to improve the looks.

William Sidney
AK

William there is a video of Cousins rods on Youtube, of them making rods in their factory. Near the end a guy has a rod in a lathe and is filling in the cracks and holes in the cork grips. He takes his finger and puts the material on while the rod is turning and smooths it down the cork. It turns out absolutely beautiful. It doesn't say in the video what the material he is using but it is of a creamy paste consistency. I tried reading what was on the can but it is not legible. It is a pretty cool video as well.

If any one knows what that stuff is I sure would like to know too.

Tom

[www.youtube.com]

Mix a little water with the filler to obtain a peanut butter consistency, use a craft stick to cover the entire grip and fill the holes like buttering an ear of corn, remove excess with vertical strokes of the stick, hold a folded paper towel lightly against the grip and spin the handle slowly moving the towel up and down the grip until smooth, repeat if the filled areas shrink after drying, let it dry completely and finally remove surface residue with a sponge holding the handle under a running water faucet.

William,
I do the filing when the rod is still on the lathe from turning.
I take my blow gun to blow away all dust and any loose particles on the grip while it is turning on the lathe.

Then, I use Elmers light oak filler to fill the pits and cracks. I just start at one end of the blank, and use my finger to work filler into each and every pit and crack. No need to put filler on the cork where there is no issue.
I let the filler dry for an hour or so, and then turn on the lathe and use first 220 and then 400 sand paper to level and smooth the filler. Then, I will blow off the grip and check for any remaining voids and I will use the filler to top off those areas.

To help blend in the fiiller I then use acetone or other solvent on a cloth to polish and level the filler. Finally, I will use the back side of sand paper for the final polish of the grip which blends and gets a very good final finish on the grip.
The final result is a grip that looks very good and is dead smooth.

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Sometimes I will just fill all of the holes very generously and then let dry for about 10 minutes and then use a cloth to polish and level the filler. Then, after getting the uniform appearance, will use finer and finer grades of sand paper to remove any high spots or thicker areas of filler. This can often be done in about 20 minutes from start to finish - including the filler drying time.

I always keep a couple of tubes of Elmer's light oak filler on hand, and if a tube has began to get thick, I just pitch it and open a new tube. I buy the filler at the local home improvement store for a very reasonable price.

Be safe

I have tried all of the above way an I still get a light brown line around the fill spots cracks or holes will keep trying to get a finish
that I am proud of thanks for all the inputs

William Sidney
AK

Why use cork rings take all that time to fill in the holes Use burl [www.mudhole.com]
Or
Yoga blocks Just seal them [www.yogadirect.com]

Bill - willierods.com

I like a little for ACCENT but not as complete handle , I tried it an was not impressed ,, you have to have rubberize rings to start an stop the grip for wear an tear [ hold up better ] I think still working on my problem thanks for the input people

William Sidney
AK

William,
I don't do it, but you might try using ground up cork and duco cement as a filler for your grips. The down side is that you need to mix up small batches and use no more than what will dry in about 3 or 4 minuted.

Take a bunch of cork rings and using a sander, turn them into dust. Then, take the cork dust, mix up very small quantities with Duco cement. This is essentially an old time very quick drying clear cement that has been around for a very long time.

Work on holes that can be filled before the cement starts to setup, which is only a couple of minutes. When that mix has dried, then mix up a bit more and continue. After drying use the same method of using finer and finer sand paper to level and smooth the finish.

If you use cork of the same batch from which the grip was made, you should have a perfect matching filler with no difference in the edges.

Be safe

There is the fine burl rings in a natural and then you can mix other rings The good thing is -- no holes to fill less labor

Bill - willierods.com

PitPaste is the best solution. GetBit carries it.
Herb

Herb Ladenheim Wrote:
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> PitPaste is the best solution. GetBit carries
> it.
> Herb


That is what I use too Herb. Good stuff.

Tom

Id second on the using ground cork,i use to make my putty for wood same way,use from same batch,or a lighter color.