Sorry to ask such a basic question. I have a cork grip that is installed on a rod glued on with Titebond 3.

Does anyone know that if I BOIL the grip, whether the bond will break including between the cork rings so that everything will fall apart? I don't want to try unless I know it may work. This cork grip has my 'best of the best' flor and is really pretty special. I'd like to reuse it after a bit of modification.

Thanks in advance for any insight if anyone knows.

According to Titebond TitebondIII does soften at 150 degrees.
However when heated above 150 (160-180 degrees) then allowed to cool it activates a secondary cross-linking in the glue making it SUPER strong! After it has been heated to temps between 160-180 then allowed to cool it becomes so strong and impervious to heat it will not come apart when soaked in boiling water (they actually test for this). If you are not in a hurry i would glue up a few samples and let them dry for a week and try those first just to make sure.

Hey Mo,
You're asking a lot of your epoxy.
You expect the heat to permeate through the cork to release the grip from the blank - and do this without having an effect on the epoxy holding the cork rings together???
I don't think so.
Herb

Hi Mo,

The way your post is worded it sounds like you used the Titebond3 to glue the grip to the rod? Or was it just to assemble the cork rings?

If all Titebond 3, the product description for that says "not for continuous submersion." Maybe try soaking a couple of test rings glued on a piece of scrap blank for a few days to see if it will loosen, but I wouldn't be too optimistic...

To save your cork, you may be better off carefully hand sanding the grip to reshape it rather than trying to remove it from the blank to rework it.

Did you build those solid blank SDI finesse rods that we discussed a couple years ago, and if so how do you like them?

Good luck.
Dan

As cork has a closed cell structure, it will not transfer the heat efficiently enough to release from the blank! Boiling may soften up the Titebond but I am doubtful.

Hello Mo.

Are you keeping the blank?

If not just cut the grip off and drill out the blank to the size you need.


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Thank you ALL for being so kind with your time and replying.

To clarify, I can remove the cork grip from the blank, so I am now left with a cork grip that has Titebond 3 gluing the rings together. I don't have a bottle of Titebond 3 with me anymore or I would just do the test and no do my query here. :) For sure I can also go purchase another bottle if I need to.

Dan, I am very very grateful for your help back then. I did actually pick up those blanks - both fiberglass and carbon fiber. I ended up not building on it due to a number of factors including length limitations and my time. But I AM grateful for your very informed help and have the 'info' tucked in my mind. I ended up getting a much longer all solid blank all the way from Japan. It did cost a pretty penny and I hope to build it this winter.

Thanks everyone!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/10/2020 12:55PM by Mo Yang.

I guess another question is whether boiling cork for 30 minutes harm or weaken the cork..... LOL, anyone knows? After all, it is organic and lots of organic substances do not do well boiled.

Thanks.

It sounds like you can take the grip off the blank and just want to break the grip back down into cork rings? It might be easier to saw it into 1/2 inch, etc. sections rather than fighting with the glue to make it release. The rings could be marked to match them together later to minimize gaps, or they could be trued up on a disc or belt sander.

Sounds like a lot of work to save some cork. There Are sources for excellent quality coek.

Here we go again with using heat to attack an adhesive. Then we will go over how to salvage the blank with the deformed butt.

If you need to take off a reel seat cut it carefully longitudinally, then clean up the mess after prying off the seat. If you want to take off the cork, cut it carefully off the best you can, then work on the rest with a piece of braid fishing line or a knife working mostly parallel to the blank, finally sanding.

Some can make heat work, I expect because they know the characteristics of the epoxy they are using very well, and have experience working with it. But for most of us, using heat is very risky. Part of this comes from believing that epoxy (and titebond, I expect) has a melting point. But it does not. And the temperature that it takes to deteriorate the adhesive to the point it can be torn off is very close to the temperature that destroys the similar materials that are used to make the blank.

Now will come the posts telling us how they use heat all the time, no problems. And I don't doubt them, but if it were a piece of cake that we all could do without risk then there would not be so many posts on this and other building forums asking how to salvage the blank.

Whet he said
Herb

fishing rods and heat are not compatable..not even a cigarette lighter..