Any recs on where to buy cork handles? On my last build I had epoxy seap through small cracks in my handle. Thanks.

Gary

Gary,
The real answer is to turn your own out of glued-up rings.
Other than that - I provide my customers with REC Flor pr--made grade grips.
Herb

Thanks Herb. I don't see those in the rec website.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2020 10:48AM by Gary Goldsmith.

If you can do it, buy the cork from Portugal.

There are a couple of vendors in the list on the side of the page.

Really really really good cork is very very very expensive today.

So, the idea of having some epoxy seep through small cracks may not necessarily be bad. Just baby sit the glue up during the first two hours after glue up and be very generous and diligent with the use of DNA to continually wipe off any glue that may seep through the cork. Any glue that seeps to the surface will effectively plug any porus spots in the grip and just make for a better longer lasting grip.

It is really nice to have perfect cork as was readily available 40 years ago.

But, with cork demand up, and the supply of cork constant - the price goes up and quality goes down.

maybe try making flocked grips from mudhoe urethane sticks using the contained flocking method described in rod builder issue 22 rticle 3..tough as carbon and some color..

Gary:
[reelseats.com]
Herb

Be aware that no fish you catch is concerned about the handle on your rod.

Thanks Steve. I realize that but part of this new hobby for me is to build something really nice. It takes me many manhours as I'm a new builder. I want it to be really nice. The extra money is worth it to me.

glue for cork GRIPS ? use Tight bond 111 , EPOXY is not the best for CORK grips , leaves ridges in the grip ,

William Sidney
AK

Batson has some pretty nice pre-formed cork grips.

With careful turning there need not be any ridging from epoxy used to glue rings together. I've never noticed this as a problem. I use 60 grit sandpaper to form the shape, and take it slowly until any epoxy that seeped out is sanded off. When I get done after going 60-150-500 grit the cork surface is like glass. I have to try titebond III-so many recommend it , it must be very good.

I am new, well 9 rods in, to rodbuilding and glued up and turned the grips for the six rods I have built for myself. You can get some great looking burl cork rings in all kinds of colors that make beautiful handles. I bought a Wen wood lathe for the turning and it has just become another part of the rod building process, one that is very gratifying when finished I might add. I also use Titebond III and 60,120 220 400 sandpapers, comes out like new money.

You can use fine sandpaper on scrap cork to make fine cork dust and mix this dust into low viscosity epoxy to produce a thick paste. Press this paste into gaps and holes in the grip, leaving the surface of the patch just a bit high and sand the patch level after the epoxy has cured. I have rods with grips repaired like this for over 15 years and they continue to look good and function perfectly - but then I still prefer walnut to plastic or fiberglass for gunstocks.

I used to use epoxy for gluing up cork rings for a grip. Epoxy works find and when ever you use sand paper to shape and form a grip, just always use a backing board behind the sand paper.
By using a backing board, you avoid the issue of ridges on the your grips.

Epoxy, is considerably harder than cork and as a result, if you sand or shape with something flexible like sand paper, it is quite likely that you will leave ridges.

When I used to build handles on the rod blank and then spin the full length blank, there was little option except to use epoxy to put the rings together, since one is both gluing the cork to the rod blank as well as to the next cork ring at the same time.

Wood glue is NOT a good glue to use to glue a grip of any sort to a rod blank. As well as the fact that wood glue does not stick well to an epoxy and fiberglass and graphite blank, wood glue cures by evaporation of moisture. As a result in the tight and airless spaces of a rod grip on a rod blank, the moisture can not evaporate and the closed cell nature of cork does not let the moisture evaporate through the cork itself.

----
But, once I began to use a lathe to shape my grips - and build the grips completely off the rod blank the factors change.
Now, if wood glue is used to glue rings together, the outside of the grip can cure and the inside of the cork can cure.
For myself, I normally use a long outside clamp or threaded rod to form a clamp to glue up rings to form a grip. The nice thing about titebond III is that it is water soluble. As a result, clean up can be done with a wet rag. Apply glue to the face of each cork place together and when complete tighten the cork clamp. Then, with the clamp tight - you can virtually wipe down the grip with a dripping with water rag to remove all traces of exposed glue.
Then, I let the grip dry over night. After drying overnight, I remove the clamp. But, the glue will not be cured on the inside of the cork rings in the hole area of the cork. Thus, I use this opportunity to use a variable speed drill to hold the threaded rod and to spin the threaded rod on the inside of the glued up cork to remove the bulk of any glue that may be additional non cured glue on the inside holes of the cork rings. Then, I will take the grip and set it aside for an overnight cure of both the inside and the outside of the cork rings and the titebond III glue. I then, just take a nice wet cloth or run it under the sink to spin the rod in the drill and remove any glue from the threads of the threaded rod to make it clean for the next grip.

It takes longer to type up the procedure than to do it.

A final advantage is cost. Titebond III is a fraction of the cost of epoxy and the clean up is so much easier and uses water, rather than any sort of solvent.

Now, the dried set of rings are moved to the lathe for shaping and if necessary, filling on the lathe. If there are any significant pits found on the cork I use ELMERS light oak wood filler to fill any blems in the cork grip before removing it from the lathe. This wood filler is easy to use, reasonably priced and simply works and shapes very well and is long lived in the cork grip

Now that one has the completed grip, I do use 5 minute epoxy to attach the gtip to the rod blank. Easy to use and an appropriate application of the glue expedites a quick installation of the grip, and appropriate use of DNA before the glue has set removes any residual epoxy from any part of the rod, grip, reel seat or blank that should not have epoxy on it.

Best wishes.

Thanks for all the good thoughts. I was mainly taking about premade handles but this has me interested in making my own. Can you turn cork in an alps power wrapper or do you need a dedicated lathe?

Hey Gary,

I started making my own handles for all my builds several years ago and never looked back. I buy my cork from 3 sources and have had great luck with the quality and variety I have used. You don't need a fancy lathe either. If you're going to dabble in wood...maybe...but I have turned hundreds of open water and ice fishing handles on a simple lathe I built myself. I use primarily sandpaper and a Stanley Surform for sizing. Buy a couple jigs from Mudhole and jump in. I also use the Titebond III for cork. Works awesome! PM me if you have questions on sources...etc.

Chuck

><))))">….><))))">….><))))">….Just Fish

Prior Lake Rod Building Guild
Instagram @pl_rod_building_guild

Thanks Chuck. I'd like to pick your brain a bit. Where is the DM function here?

Sorry. I meant email me.

Chuck

Batson has some real nice cork handles also Mud Hole

I've been using mudhole. They are pretty decent for the price.