I just attempted to turn down an EVA grip on the Clemens lathe for the first time. I assumed that when the grip in permanently attached to the rod, and the rod is tighten in the chuck, that it would turn uniformly and when sanding, an even amount of material would be removed around the circumferance of the grip. That didn't happen. I don't know what happened, but the grip is now oblong along its length. I noticed what appeared to be high spots as I was sanding, but no matter what I did I couldn't correct it. Has this happened to anyone else out here? and can anyone tell me what went wrong?

Can the grip (that has not been reamed out) be off center. I never checked before. The other possible problem might be that I've placed my rod support to far from the chuck, and I'm actually placing to much pressure on the rod and grip causing it to bend as I'm sanding. It seems pretty sturdy in the lathe. If this is the cause, I hope this may prevent someone else from making this same mistake.

Turning any item that way will result in your sandpaper or cutting material "floating" on the grip, responding to any stiff or hard areas. Most of the time your result will be exactly what you have now - a grip that is not concentric with the blank.

In order to get a grip, or any object in a lathe, concentric, you must use a cutting tool such as a scraper, held a consistent distance from the object being turned. This will remove any high spots and soft and hard spots equally. (I went into some amount of detail on this in both my book and the series of articles we did in RodMaker on turning your own grips.) After you have gotten your rough shape and everything is concentric, you can use your sandpaper or cutting cloth to smooth things up.

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Yeppers, have had eccentric un-reemed grips. Rare, but I have had some 1" ID that were eccentric.

Agree with Kirkman on rough turning with a metal screen or heavy sanding screen before lighter sanding methods are used. Two things happen if you don't:
1. You build up a lot of heat in the grip making it softer in places.
2. You have to press harder on the grip, thus putting a bend in the rod as you indicated.

Place the rod support as close as possible to the grip. I always try to turn a rear grip before installing the reel seat for that reason.

Right. The cutting tool must be fixed and not allowed to float on the grip. There is your problem. If you have to remove much material sharpen the end of a file and raise a burr on it. Use that on a tool rest and cut the grip smaller. Then use sandpaper or sanding screen to sand it smooth and take out the cutting marks.

Thanks for all the information. I need to get my self set-up better, I do have the Stanley hand tool with the metal screen, can't remember what it's called. I sure like the way that tool peeled off the material. But I understand the "Floating" I will get me another grip and try this again ( I better get two or three) I should probably look at the back issues of rod maker and get the one that covers this. Thanks again

I had this problemon a surf rod I was building. Worked on it quite a bit before I relized the but was not straight! It had a marked bow in it I had not noticed. maybe someone else can come up with an answer but I can't see how youcan get a concentric shape when the item you are turning has a bow in it.

I did the best I could which was not too bad. The rod was for personal use and it works fine. When you get the blank be sure to check all parts for trueness. I just never expected the but to be bad.