I was reaming out a cork grip for a rod that has a lot larger diameter than I am used to. I knew it was a little thin so I was being careful while reaming.
When I was about done sliding the grip over the epoxy (propaste) the cork split and it started to ooze out under the pressure.

Do you guys follow any rules of thumb about minimum cork wall thickness? I would say this rod had about .060 of wall where it split.

Needless to say that I sliced the grip off and cleaned the blank well. I think I might make this a split grip rod.

It's not so much the wall thickness of the cork you have to worry about - it's how you fit it to the blank that matters most. If you have a very snug fit which cannot accommodate the epoxy, it's going to split. Same too, if you simply have the bore of the cork too small for that area of the blank. Cork doesn't stretch like EVA. It needs to be fitted closely to the blank where it will reside.

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

.60 is not a big deal.
X2 re Toms post
But that is one reason why I glue rings directly to blank.
Herb

Always dry fit FIRST before gluing
I have done many cause they did not want cork tape I usually if the handle is over 8 - 10" I will make it in two pices Making sure Dry Fitting the joining edges are nice and streight
Never a tight fit I have them where I can move Then put glue on
When reaming go easy as it gets thinner !!!

Bill - willierods.com

I reamed t ok a dry fit. But it was a snug fit in the area that split. Would a more liquid epoxy be beneficial in this situation?

I would just ream it so there is a easy fit I use rod bond and don't really use much I just make sure
( or try to ) that the inside is covered with epoxy
There are larger rings you can get so the handle is thicker

Bill - willierods.com

On something like what your describing with a final wall thickness of just 1/16 inch I'd recommend a slow methodical approach sweating the details of ring fitment.

Starting with rings, lay the rings on their side and look over each ring your using and hand pick a few that look to be the most solid at your final diameter where your contour shape will be at the 1/16" wall thickness. You might end up uncovering a bad spot later when you turn the rings down, but starting with your best rings in the toughest area of the grip will at least put the odds of success in your favor. Number the rings in their final sequence.

The approach I would use is to hand fit each ring to the blank. I would pre-ream each ring so that with the rod positioned with the tip up each ring would drop under it's own weight and rest naturally in it's final position. Any ring that stops short of achieving it's final resting spot would be reamed larger. No ring will be pushed into place.

Now the reamed rings need to be mounted to your mandrel. Use some 1/2 wide masking tape and build up just enough tape to provide a snug fit for each ring. The snugness of the fit should be just enough to hold the glued rings in place proving enough snugness to allow you to shape the grip without it spinning loose on the built up mandrel.

Dismount the rings and then glue them together on the taped built-up mandrel. When the adhesive is cured, turn and shape the grip as you normally would, then closely examine each resulting thin wall ring for any defects. If you find any significant defects, cut that ring out of the grip and replace it with a new one and reshape the contour.

Normally I'd be inclined to mount a preformed cork grip with a paste type epoxy but in this case I'd go with a more compliant liquid epoxy . Liquid epoxy will flow more easily under the grip and lessen the chance for a blowout.

Herb,

The original poster wrote .06" not .6" - that's pretty significant.

John,
X10 on the previous comments. I fit grips so that the grip will drop into its final position when put on the blank. i.e. virtually nothing touching the blank. This gives plenty of room for adhesive with no worry about cork issues.

When I make hidden hood grips, there will be one piece of cork that gets to be pretty thin when the handle is shaped. I suppose that I have had some grips shaped so that the cork is only about 1/16th of an inch. Of course when I make the hidden hood grip, the grip is shaped and glued on the reel seat before ever putting on the blank. But, I am quite concerned about this final thickness to be sure that there is adequate cork to avoid not having any cork over the reel seat at its thinnest spot.

Good luck

Simple
Do not make things handles cork - eva anything a TIGHT FIT - Why - This is what happens Use some common sense If it is tight it will push the glue out and split and be harder to put into place
The extra work will just make it all fit The OLD WAYS don't work and are of no use Like pushing on eva very tight - Why It can be reamed out and make life and rod building a lot easier

Bill - willierods.com

John,
Thanks.
I was off on two counts.
Poster said: " I would say this rod had about .060 of wall where it split"
Reading it fast I thought he meant the blank was .6" at that point. I did not realize he was talking about the cork being .06".
Herb.

If the cork becomes too thin it may be considered a veneer bonded to a form.

In my opinion cork, because of its inherent nature to have voids or inclusions would be a poor choice to use as a veneer. If the cork is not completely bonded to the substrate, the cork would lack strength and be very fragile and can easily break off in sections under normal activity.

I personally do not use cork less than 6.0mm (0.24) in thickness. This limit gives ME piece of mind.

As mentioned in other responses cork does not stretch therefore a slip fit is required prior to final assembly.


John

When I do a handle that is going to be thin cork I ream ( carefully ) to fit the area Not tight
Then I mark 1/2 - 1 " in front of it Slide it forward and put 2" tape painters at least as long as the handle over the blank Making sure that it has lots of room over the tape Load the tape with glue down to the area it will sit Slide the handle over the tape and turn till I Think it is covered with glue inside Then as I turn it slide it to rest I also check before glue to see if it needs any 1/4" tape arbors in loose areas If needed I check the ends to be sure there is plenty of glue in them which as said will help to stiffen it Slid it at least 2 times to check the glue
I also have made new reamers to fit the size of the butt of the blank so the ream hopefully is even all the way Once in place Pull the tape off and the blank is Clean just a little to wash off
Easier done then written

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/18/2015 12:41PM by bill boettcher.