I looked over my favorite fishing rods that get a lot of use the other day.
Then, I made a decision.
Time to do some restoration work on the grips.

Sure, one can build a new rod and or modify an existing rod, but if a particular rod works very very well - it is nice to just freshen it up a bit.

So, I took 16 of the rods that I use on a nearly daily basis and took them to the laundry room and sued Simple Green, Jungle Jack and assortment of brushes and scrubbers to really scrub up the grips and get rid of all of the use grime from the last periods of use of the rods.

Then, after letting each rod dry, I looked over each of the grips to see the extent of each of the grips needs.
For some years, I have been using Elmers Golden Oak wood filler to take care of deep pits and other issues with cork grips. It is a long wearing product that is easy to use, is a close match to the natural cork and has sanding properties close to cork.

I went to the shop and took down the bed of the full length cork lathe that I built many years ago and has been unused for a very long time.

I took my grip turning motor and head stock which is made from a 20 volt cordless drill motor, gear box and chuck and mounted it to the end of the lathe bed. Then, I transferred my rod rests over to this lathe bed and went to work.

Took each grip in turn and = using the length of the lathe - used the filler to go after any defects from years of use on the grips. Then, put the rod in a stand to dry. The next day, came back and starting with sanding screen, and multiple grades of sand paper to reestablish the glow of a new grip. The nice thing about doing this - with the full length rod lathe - is that the rod could be turning at speed ranging from 0-2500 rpm, with excellent stability and no whipping or oscillation of the blank.

A day in the shop and the rod grips have all been refurbished, have a nice clean grip with a new contour to match the hand and ready for some on the water action again.

----------------
It is fine to build rods, but at this time of the year, there has been too much in building time and time to get out into the sunshine and use the rods that I have built over the years again.

Best wishes and enjoy 2021.

Nice! I wondered about doing that. I don't have a lathe. Do you think it could be done by hand?

Roger,
I am jealous! If you “took 16 of the rods that I use on a nearly daily basis”, obviously you have exponentially more time for fishing than I do lol.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Is there any prep you do for the Elmers Golder Oak wood fill before you add it to the rod handle? I have a big gouge in one of my rod handles for my jacket zipper pocket that I need to fix. I wish I would have noticed the damage I was doing when jerking the rod all day before it got so large.

Make sure to get the exterior version of Golden Oak Filler. They have interior also.

Michael,
I simply scrub the grip very well with a good cleaner before starting the repair.

Then, I let the grip dry very well before using the filler.

Then, if there is a deep gouge, I will do a two pass process on the gouge.

I will fill the gouge about 1/2 full with the the filler and insure that it is pressed down into the gouge with an appropriate tool, stick, pencil or what ever it takes.

Let it dry for 6 hours and then fill over the top of the first fill - filling higher than the surrounding cork.

Let it dry for 8 hours.

Then, when sanding the filler down, use a light touch as you sand off any material above the surrounding cork.


Then, as needed go to finer grades of sand paper or sheet rock screen to match the repair to the rest of the grip.

Do, and overnight dry and double check the repair. If you notice any shrinkage such that the repaired surface is lower - so an additional fill and let dry well before sanding off the excess.

Shallow gouge - fill once and sand to match the surface.

A medium or deep gouge - fill 2 or more times to get a good solid repair with the filler completely cured. This is an air cure filler, so if the repair is too deep and done at once, the bottom of the fill - never cures and eventually fails - sometimes quite quickly. But, if you fill in thinner layers, you will have a good long time repair.

Best wishes.

For "pitted" cork handles [the only kind available today] I have had lousy results with "wood fillers" - probably because they are not a dynamic product - not designed to flex in the slightest amount. I have had good luck filing corks with a medium rasp and mixing the resultant "coarse cork dust" with a product called "GOOP" which remains slightly flexible even when totally cured. I mix the dust with as little GOOP as possible to produce a thick paste. I slightly enlarge the bottom of the "pit" in the grip and pack it tightly full of the cork/GOOP mixture. leaving the surface of the patch a bit high. It will sand down flush after the mix has cured. The resulting patch is hardly noticeable. I have been using some fly rod grips with these patches for 10+ years and they still are hardly noticeable - and NOT slippery!

Phil,
Read and understood.

I have used your system in the past, and although effective, it is remarkably messy and tedious in application.

Conversely, the Elmers exterior wood filler is nearly as long lasting as the system you describe and immeasurably easier to implement.

As the saying goes, clip the top of the tube, squeeze filler on a finger tip, rub it firmly into the pit or gouge, let dry and sand. Replace the cap on the tube when finished with the application and be ready for its next use.

------------
Note:
I have used several other wood fillers in years past with the exact results that you mention in your post.

But, the Elmer's product seems to have solved the majority of the issues of the other fillers.

[www.google.com]


[tooldepot247.com]

I see from the just posted link that the Pro Bond golden oak interior exterior wood filler contains ceramic Micro Spheres which aid in its longevity and durability.


Take care