Hi everyone. Working on my first build here and I made a little bit of a mistake. Because I was getting dangerously close to relieving too much cork from the handle, I left it a little too tight to the real seat. Once I added epoxy to the equation it left a small gap. Any tips on how this can be fixed? Or at least covered up? It's not glaring but it's just shoddy enough craftsmanship it's going to bother me.

Pics: [imgur.com]

You could alway tint or mix up some cork dust in a little rod bond epoxy and put it in the gap.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2018 02:11AM by Jerry Driggers.

+1 on Above, Or use to same color thread as your guide wraps and fill it to make a trim band and Finnish with epoxy

The cork dust will have to be very fine, and the color right. I think the latter suggestion using thread will make it look just fine. Good looking grip. What is the finish on it?

It can't hurt a build if you do a dry fit of handle components in future builds. If the fit is off,put the offending piece on a mandrel,chuck it in a lathe,and then correct it. It is always a good idea to make sure that grip ends are always squared up to begin with.

I agree either cork dust or thread to fill the gap. Cork dust mixed with the same finish used for the grip may be the easiest - either a matching or a contrasting color. If you go with thread the gap will have to be cleaned out so that it is equal width and depth for the thread to lay evenly..

Hello Taylor.

What about metallic thread?

Just fill up with the thread then take a toothpick and epoxy over the thread, that will give you an accented look.


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

All spectacular ideas! One thing that I forgot to mention is that the gap is not even all the way around, it actually presses tight to the real seat on the other side. Dan mentioned evening out the gap to fill it with thread. Does anybody know of a way I could go about that without chunking up the cork? I'm using a metallic copper thread for accents on the guide wraps, so I do like the idea of using that. Otherwise the cork filler is probably the better option I suppose.

There is no finish on the cork, it came shrink wrapped and I've opted to keep it on to protect the cork until the build is finished. Is it at all common to somehow finish the cork with some kind of epoxy? I do like the shine, though it was my understanding that the cork needs to "breath" so it doesn't rot and swell if water gets in.

use a fine tooth saw blade an make it even all the way around, then fill , be carfull not to cut blank,

William Sidney
AK

A saw blade it is then. Thanks for the advice, I'll give it a shot!

Cork is a closed cell material, thus it does not absorb fluids and swell and does not have to "breath!" Many builders apply a list of different coatings, others prefer the natural fell of uncoated cork........your choice.

If it's your first rod, no one expects it to be perfect. Just put some epoxy in the void and forget about it. No one is likely to ever notice. And it won't effect the rod at all. The next one you make will be better and the next one after that. I made my first rod about 7 years ago and it isn't perfect. But I still fish with it every year. Caught many salmon on it last fall and it isn't perfect. But it's still ok, and yours is too. Use it as intended.

In fact, from your picture, it's fine as is. Just use and enjoy. These are fishing rods, not holy sepulchres. You'll make better rods as you go. Don't sweat it. When you're working on a rod it's easy to obsess about the details. But catch one fish and you realize it's just fine. Catch 100 fish and you realize it's great. As is.

My advice, spend no additional effort on fixing this minor flaw, and instead, order the parts for another rod and build that.

Drew



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/13/2018 10:56PM by Drew Pollock.

X10 to Drew's comment. I'm on my 17th build, and each one gets better! While I can find imperfections, no one else is likely to notice. Put those efforts into the next build!

I would fix it to the best I could bar none , when it is finished it should be the best you can do , not half BAKED , do a good job that you could be proud of , an happy with ,

William Sidney
AK

Regarding finish on cork, I have used wrap epoxy (on small ramps off the front and rear of spin seats), Tru Oil gunstock finish, and cork sealer (U40, I think), and all work fine. Epoxy will go amber with time, so I use it mostly on darker burl cork mixes. If you like the feel and look of the bare cork, the cork sealer will not change the color of the cork, will not give a shiny finish, will not affect the feel, and it will keep the cork looking good much longer. Also makes cleaning it easier. If I don't use some other finish, I always use the sealer.