I am ordering a 8’10 20-40lb Batson 1089 blank and would like to put cork grips on it. The butt end has an outside diameter of 0.790” and the cork grips have an inside diameter of 0.375” so I will definitely have to ream out the inside, but the problem is the reamer with the largest diameter that I can find has a diameter of only 0.550” - 0.700”. This reamer is the CRB extreme reamer. Any suggestions on what I should do?

Thanks, Noah

You can Use a reverse pilot bit. The shank of the bit can be shined with tape to fit the ID of the grip. You can make your own reverse pilot by grinding an edge on the rear portion of a spade bit that is the right size. [www.mudhole.com]
Norm

Ok thanks. Would that give the inside of the cork a taper to fit the blank or would it just drill a large enough hole in the cork?

You bore the grip to .750" than put the best taper you can on the cork from then on with your biggest reamer used more in a filing fashion, pretty easy to do, just don't be in a hurry and test fit a lot.

It will not give you a taper but rather a straight bore. When the ID of grips fits the butt you can shim the blank with dry wall tape to get a snug fit. Once glued in place the handle will not move. Another option is to make a reamer from a broken rod blank with the appropriate diameter. Basically buy a roll of reamer tape ( [www.mudhole.com] ) and spiral glue it to your piece of rod blank with contact cement. Contact cement holds up much better to frictional heat then does any epoxy. This reamer will give you a tapered hole. I assume you are using a premade handle and you are not turning your own.
Norm

there are many ways to skin the cat they all work quite well , it all depends on you , n what tools an equipment you around , some even build the handle on the blank , you ream each
ring to fit then glue the rings on the blank , then sand it down to what you want , good luck

William Sidney
AK

Noah,
A couple of tools,
I have modified a set of circular files that allow me to ream rings and grips to the desired size. If building a grip from individual rings you can ream each ring to be just a bit larger than the location where they will fit on the blank. Then, just doing a clean up through the blank after gluing and you will have a grip that will need no further reaming When I do the glue up, I will take a mandrel and use masking tape to increase the diameter of the mandrel to be just a bit smaller than the size of the blank. That way when I slip the rings on the mandrel for gluing, it all works out so that the grip is a nice fit on the blank.

In addition, if I purchase a prebuilt grip with a bore that is smaller than the size of the blank, I will use the selection of circular files spinning backward to insure that the butt end of the grip is a perfect match to the size of the blank. Then I will use a an appropriate sized circular file spinning backward to match the size of the tip end of the grip Then, I will use a long extension bit to drill from the butt of the grip 1/2 way through the grip in a size that matches the butt of the blank. Then, I will use a long extension drill bit to drill from the tip end of the grip. Then, if necessary, I will use one or both of the bits to drill near the center of the grip to allow the fit of the grip on the blank. The key part of the fit is the tip and the butt of the grip. If necessary, masking tape can be used to enlarge a portion of the blank if necessary to have the grip fit on the blank.

Thank you

Here is a video on how to build a custom reamer:
[flexcoat.com]

Flex Coat Company
Professional Rod Building Supplies
www.flexcoat.com