Tom and Robert, thank you much for the replies. Much appreciated.

I took interest in an earlier thread that talked about coring grips. Very cool idea. At the time I hadn't thought I would ever consider it as I am not one that worries about weight behind the reel seat all that much. That was before I built a grip using 4" of rubberized cork. I knew it was going to be heavier than an all cork grip, I just didn't expect it to be that much heavier. As it sits in the photo it weighs 1.6 oz. It current has a .5" ID and I have to open it up to .574 to fit the blank it's going on.

It's going to be going on a flipping and pitching rod that I am building, and I will be putting weight in the butt to get to balance the way I like, so the added weight isn't a huge concern. It's just that the majority of the weight of the grip is in its' mid section. Not the most efficient position as far as using the added weight to lessen the amount I will have to put in it.

If I ever build another one like it, I will definitely consider coring it and adding a foam core. Especially if it's going on a rod that won't require me adding weight to get the type of balance I am looking for. I'd just rather not take the chance of messing this one up. I'm hoping once I get it reamed and the final contouring done, that I can get it down under 1.5 oz.

Have to weight lol and see.

David - I’ve made a few grips using burl cork, and to reduce their weight I have used polyurethane foam arbors. The way I do it is quite easy and works well, and you don’t have to core out the handle after you have made it. I fit 20mm, or 24 mm foam arbors, or both on the mandrel, and then drill, ream or punch out the burl cork rings to fit the foam arbors, and glue them in place. Once the glue has cured I turn the handle to shape it. You can now easily ream the handle to fit your blank. When using a 20 mm foam arbor you leave some extra at the end of the handle to serve as a tenon for your butt cap, and a 24 mm foam arbor can be used as a tenon for your casting reel seat. Not that difficult to do and works well.
Norm

Norman, thank you for the response, Very much appreciated. And yes, the way you just described is the way I thought I would approach it, if I were to ever do another similar grip. So seeing you post doing that way gives me solace that it was a good way to approach it.

And while the burl weighs more than regular cork. it''s that dang rubberized cork that's really heavy. But as tough as it is to sand, I know it's going to stand up to wear, very well. I'm reaming the newest one to fit the same blank I built my first cork grip for. I'll see which one I like more and then use that one.

I'm leaning towards this newest one because it looks a lot more custom. I've spent the last three years as pre tournament live well checker for the tournaments I fish. I get to see a lot of rods laying on decks. Haven't seen anything like it on any of the decks of my fellow competitors.

I also have done ramps the way Norman describes, works great. I paint them to make sure I have consistent color between the ramp on the front and rear, and if painted in a light color they provide a great background for a feather inlay.

Regarding burl cork, I use it often on spin for ramps and butt knob, with rubberized cork ring at the end of the butt knob. On my latest build the three pieces weighed .643 oz, including the epoxy to mount them to the blank. Even with a size 17 DPSSM seat + lock nut the rod will come in about 3.5 oz. (XRay 6100 Drop Shot )

Well, after reaming and some more contouring the weight of the grip is down to 1.35 oz. Despite the majority of the weight of the grip not being optimally located for balancing purposes, the added weight of the grip is definitely going to reduce the amount of weight I am going to have to add once the rod is finished and the reel is on.

This is the second rod I've built on the MB 709 blank, and I have a 9.75" grip that I made using the CFX grip making kit, on the first one. I added 2.125 oz to the butt of that rod to get the type of rod and reel balance I was looking for. If I were to guess, I am thinking I'll need to add 1.75 oz to this one to get the same type combo balance.