Hi all. Is there a trick to this? I had a @#$%& of a time reaming my cork handle to a mag taper blank recently ,I got it done but it wore me out! I prefer to ream by hand as I am not too sure of myself with a drill,keeping things concentric. My next build will be a lamiglas mag taper steelhead blank with a spinning G2 Aero handle kit from American Tackle. These have graphite arbors correct? How do I proceed? Thanks in advance,Robert.

Full length cork grips are a little more difficult to ream just because of their length, creating more friction and heat. The easiest way to ream, is to first use a Flexcoat reverse pilot bit. [www.mudhole.com] This will get you in the ball park making it easier to ream with a tapered reamer to get a good fit. Don’t be afraid to use a cordless drill to ream, I believe it is easier to keep the hole concentric using a drill then by hand. When reaming under power go in and out and just let the grip slip in your hand every once in a while when turning, this helps to keep things concentric. I have not used the AT G2 grips yet, but I assume that the arbors will be polyurethane foam and will not be full length, and probably need to be glued into the grip. These foam arbors ream extremely easily, and you have to be careful not to over ream.
Norm

Robert,

I just mounted a G2 adjustable length rear casting grip last week on an MHX FP885 cut down to 7'. I assumed the arbor material was polyurethane by the look, but it's more of a rubber. When you ream, the bits have a texture like pencil eraser bits. The arbors are about 1"-1.25" long, and aren't too terribly hard to ream. You'll find it way easier to ream than a full length cork grip. I too ream by hand and use the Batson Dream Reamers. Any time I chuck them up in the drill, my hole wanders too much. The reel seat end of the adjustable length grip did not have an arbor, so I used graphite colored Pac Bay arbor on that end.

Yeah I have the dream reamers. They work great. I have a hard time with the drill. I feel like I do a fine job of reaming by hand,but that last rod grip wore me out!!

Grip reaming is a little trickier than we are often led to believe, even with dream reamers. I consider the reverse pilot bits as Norm said to be money well spent. Short grips can be tough also. Things can go south in a hurry.

The reverse pilot bits are only 15 inches total length so they won't cut a standard 14 inch rear grip, the shaft not counting the cutting head is to short, you might get a 12 inch grip done on a spinning rod version. Go to the Flexcoat site to the left and see how much length is taken up cutting a 10 inch grip
The mag taper blanks from Lamiglas aren't built any different in the butt than any other of their blanks, no concern there in building.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2020 01:04PM by Spencer Phipps.

One of the many reasons to glue the grip ring-by-ring directly on the blank is to avoid all that nasty stuff.
Herb

Reaming out grips for Fuji Point Blank blanks or any wide butt blank can be more difficult because you are taking off more of the core material, so the grip itself will be thinner. There is a greater risk of being uneven and with a grip that is closer to the blank, the flaw is more noticeable. I use dream reamers to start on a cordless drill but then I have a longer reamer that is wider at the base. I get them close then finish them off by hand to get the uneven areas out. You can make them almost perfect center this way and a good fit. You can always take off but you can't add.

Lance Schreckenbach Wrote:
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> You can always take off but
> you can't add.

Truth. That's why you go slowly when you get any where close while reaming.

I have learned to go slow ,for sure. Thank you all for the tips. I'm looking forward to this next build a lot. Those G2 grips look awesome!

I too use a cordless drill to ream. I made my own reamers out of sections of old rod blanks, but they are fashioned the same way as the Dream reamers that have been mention. I run the drill in reverse when reaming. With the adhesive being spiraled, running the drill in forward causes the reamer to draw into the grip. Running the drill in reverse (relative to the direction the adhesive strip is spiraled) make it easier to control. At least for me.

And as Norman said, letting the grip spin in your hand from time to time definitely helps.

Thanks for the tips! I want to be sure I do it easy and I will practice the drill bit thing on maybe some cheap cork grips .

With a broken rod blank, a saw, two sheets of medium sandpaper, scissors, and some contact cement you can make three or four different size reams that will make tapered, concentric holes in rod grips that match the taper of butt of the rods you build and do this for decades. Just cut 3 or 4 1/2" strips of sandpaper, cover the back of these strips and most of a 28" segment of a broken rod blank with contact cement and glue the sandpaper strip on in an open spiral. $5 can make three or four sizes of such precise reamers.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2020 04:08PM by Phil Ewanicki.