I want to make my first cork handles. I have read there are basically 2 techniques commonly used to make a handle . 1) glue the rings on the rod and turn the handle on the blank or 2) glue up the rings on a mandrel and file out the center using a tapered reamer . The idea of turning the cork glued up to the blank does not appeal to me ,to many chances for a snaffoo on my part . Then theres gluing up the rings and reaming , for me and my motor skills it screams oblong hole and off center grip again unappealing to me . I have read a post here about making a tapered mandrel using threaded rod and tape to build the rod diameter up to match the rod diameter/taper . To me this makes sense fitting the cork to the rod blank 1 ring at a time then transferring the cork to the built up tapered mandrel for glue up. Has anyone here ever done this ? If so did it work and how did you put the tape on , in rings or a spiral wrap? The reason i am asking is i dont read anywhere anyone else doing this .Thanks for reading this any thoughts are welcome .

Stee,
Bad idea.
You'll never be able to remove the cork from the tape.
Why are you concerned about gluing the rings directly to the blank?
It's the bestway to do it.
Most accurate way to install the grip - no voids under the grip.
Just go slow when turning the cork on lathe.
Herb

Steve,
As you mentioned, there are basically two ways to shape a grip; 1. Bond the all pieces onto a mandrel, chuck it into a lathe, turn (and sand) to the desired dimensions, remove from the mandrel, and taper bore to fit the blank, or 2. Ream the pieces to progressively fit onto the blank, bond to them to the blank, turn (and sand) to the desired dimensions. While it should be obvious that the latter will achieve the most concentric finished product, many builders fail to recognize and implement a method of controlling the inherent “whip” of the upper portion of the blank while turning at speed. Hence, the majority probably build their grips on a mandrel and HOPE their taper-reaming is concentric. I utilize BOTH methods depending on the circumstance, but 95% of the time, the “bonded-to-the-blank” method produces the most concentric results.
As for ATTEMPTING to build a PRECISE tapered mandrel, let alone hoping to match the taper of the actual blank is about as far-fetched as I can imagine; I am guilty of taking-on quite involved fabrication projects but would not even consider such.

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

Ok thats 2 nays to the tapered mandrel idea . Herb what concerns me most about turning the handle glued to the blank is if I make a mistake and nick the blank . Beings this is my first attempt stuff happens and this blank is 6 feet long . Thanks for the replies I really value the opinions .

Steve,
In spite of other comments, I have made many many cork grips using a threaded rod with masking tape arbor to fit each cork ring as it is reamed out to fit the particular spot on the blank.

Herb is right, about gluing the cork to the tape, If you use epoxy glue to glue the cork rings together.

However, rather than using epoxy glue, use titebond III glue. Titebond III glue is much less expensive than epoxy, air cures rather than chemical cure and sands somewhat easier than epoxy.

But: the titebond III takes longer to cure. But you can then use the longer air cure time to solve the issue with the rings glued to the cork.

When I build a grip this way, I use circular files in a drill running counter clockwise to nicely ream the center of the cork ring to match the diameter of the rod blank - at the location where the particular cork ring will be placed. After all of the cork rings are reamed, I then use masking tape along the threaded rod to create an arbor that is a bit smaller than the hole that is in the cork ring. Remember, at this stage, you are primarily interested in getting the cork well glued together and have the rings all match on the outside of the glue up.

When all is set, I just push the rings up the rod, to a clear location and then apply a thin layer of glue on the face of the first ring and began assembly. When all of the rings have been coated with glue, and slid together and aligned, tighten the washer and nuts at each end of the assembly to make a nice grip. Tighten the nuts to just insure that all of the cork rings are tight together, without compressing the cork too much. At this stage- since the glue takes several hours to dry, just take a wet rag to wipe all of the glue off the cork grip that has been glued up. Note: by doing this when it comes time to shape the grip there is no glue to cut through - as may be the case with an epoxy glue up that still has residual epoxy on the outside of the cork.

Then, after drying overnight, remove the nuts and washers at each end of the grip and chuck the threaded rod in a drill and unscrew the threaded rod with the masking tape arbor on it.
At this point the glue will still be wet on the outside of the masking tape arbor and will also still be wet on the inside of the cork holes, since the glue needs air to cure.
Now, take a wet rag and wipe the glue off of the threaded rod with the masking tape arbor and then using the drill run it in and out of the grip several times, wiping off all glue that remains on the masking tape arbor. This also, then removes any wet glue from the insides of the holes. Set the grip aside and let it cure for another 12 hours and you will be ready to turn the grip to shape.

Simply take the threaded rod that you have pre drilled 60 degree centering holes in each end - in your lathe, using a live center to hole one end of the threaded rod, and feed any excess rod through the hole in your head stock chuck assembly.

When finished, use a reamer of your choice to do any final minor reaming that will be required to have the perfect fit on your rod blank.

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Herb is also right that it is very simple and very effective to ream each cork ring separately, and place it on the rod grip in its location. When all of the rings have been reamed to the perfect size,glue up with epoxy, place a cork clamp over the end of the grip on the tip side and place the bottom ring in the bottom cork clamp and make it tight. Then, clean up the outside of the cork with DNA and let it cure.

Place the dried cork grip on the full length rod lathe and turn the grip to shape. Done.

But, Steve, you are also absolutely right - if at any where along the line - you make a mistake or have a miscue when turning the cork, you are given the opportunity to remove all of the cork and glue and reel seat from the rod blank and start over. So, if you use this method - simply don't make a mistake. At the rod shop where I took lessons, this was the method that they used for building rods and they still use the same method today and have built many thousands of rods over the years using this very effective method to make cork grips and build rods. When completing the school, I built my own full length rod althe and built many many rods using this rod lathe for the grip work. But, after purchasing a wood lathe with a bed extension and the appropriate accessories, I switched 100% to building all of the grips on the wood lathe, using larger size threaded rods, using the masking tape arbor and titebond glue for the adhesive. Then, as you point out Steve, if a mistake was made or a mind was changed, it was a simple thing to start again to create the desired cork grip.

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Also, for something to consider:
Many many rod blanks have very little diameter change in the area of the rod blank where the grip is installed. If that is the case, it is often very effective and time saving to use a simply aircraft extension bit to bore the grip as needed to fit the blank.
One time saving thing that I have done on some rods of this nature, is to use a tapered circular file rotating counter clockwise to form the perfect smooth opening at each end of the grip to perfectly fit the rod blank at the location in question. If there is a taper on the blank, size the butt of the grip at the appropriate size and the reel seat end at the appropriate size. Then, take a drill bit that matches the diameter of the butt of the rod blank to bore the grip 1/2 way through the grip. Then, take the appropriate size drill rod diameter to match the hole size at the reel seat the top half of the grip. Then, when one does the final reaming one only has to ream an inch or two in the center of the grip for a nice fit on the blank - especially for those rod blanks that have a very mild taper in the butt section of the rod.

Just a few thoughts for your consideration.

Thank you Roger for the detailed reply . When I bought the cork I figured making a handle would be simple lol, not! Thread wrapping has been the same way but hey its supposed to look custom isnt it lol . All of you have a great day!

Steve, I recently built my first 3 cork grips. If you have the proper equipment, and that doesn't necessarily mean a lathe, I used my power wrapper, building cork grips isn't as hard as you may think it to be. Just to mention some things that I discovered as a first time grip builder.

First was that the holes in the cork rings aren't all perfectly centered. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have expected them to be, but I was surprised that some of the center bores were off by 1/16th of an inch or so. Now you can make a jig to bore all the holes so they're centered. Or you can just glue them up as is, and let the turning process with lathe tools take care of the unevenness. Initially I made and used a jig, which was nice, but in reality, it isn't really necessary. As long as the finished OD of the grip you plan on making isn't really close to the OD of the rings you're using, the turning process will take care of any crookedness in the cork rings.

I can understand your worrying about the reaming process. It can present some problems for even experienced rod builders. As for myself, since I too can have problems with reaming, I purchased one of the Flex Coat reverse spade bits to bore the length of the grip closer to the diameter of the blanks I have used, so I don't have to ream as much. I use a 3/8" Alps Mandrel for gluing up my rings. The actual diameter of the mandrel is .390" (.015" over 3/8") so I bore the center holes of my rings out to 3/8". The rings are snug going on the mandrel. Smear some paraffin wax on the mandrel surface and they go right on and come right off and still are tight enough that they don't slip during the turning or sanding process. I use a parting tool turned on edge to cut any tenons I have needed.

As long as your chisels are nice and sharp, cork turns very easily. Just don't dig in hard with your tools as you're turning, at least not while in the learning process. Get some calipers so you can check your ODs as you go. The grips I have built needed a finished OD 1.06" to match up with the OD or trim rings and reel seats that I've used. I used tools to turn the grip OD down to a little over 1.125" and then went the rest of the way using 80, 120, 220, and 320 grit sandpaper. I have went as high as 400 grit on the rubberized cork rings I have used in 2 of the grips I've made.

Anyhow .... as long as you take your time, and don't rush the process, chances that you mess something up so terribly that you can't fix it, are not likely to happen. I was like you in that I was a little apprehensive going in. But it isn't nearly as hard as your mind is making it out to be.

Here are a couple pictures of the grips I made thus far. In the first picture the one on the right is the first grip I made. The ones on the left, the second grips I made. The second picture is of a grip I just finished last weekend. I did more contouring of the grip than how it sits in the picture.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

[www.rodbuilding.org]

David ,
Thank you for your perspectives on first grip making . I had no idea the holes in the cork were off center , the price of the cork does not reflect it lol. I am an old woodworker who has a tendency to over study things before I jump in . Also when you have a couple hundred bucks in a fishing rod you want it to look like a couple hundred buck fishing rod . Soon I will be starting 2 rod builds at the same time . David I really admired what you made and hope to achieve simular results . What i had in mind was more of a tubular shape for simplicity . Are the contours you put in yours functional or asthetic ? Again thank you all for the input its very much appreciated .

Shawn, thank you for the comment concerning the grips I made, I appreciate it. And I completely understand what you mean when you say you want the money invested in a rod, to look like a rod in that price range. I definitely study what I want to do before jumping in and doing it, and this forum is an awesome source of information. I wouldn't be building the rods that I have without the help of the membership of this web site. As you can see from your thread, they are more than helpful and willing to share their thoughts. I have said it many times ..... I love this place.

As far as the contouring of the grips, I would say it's both aesthetic and functional. Or at least it could be, depending on the use of the rod. Having a smaller diameter center section of a full length grip means you have a swell in diameter at the butt which IMO gives a firmer more comfortable grip for two handed casting. The diameter adjacent to the reel seat is of course to give the heel of your hand somewhere to rest comfortably, and once you don't need to rest your hand on it or grip it, what good is having a straight handle? I just think the contoured grip looks more custom.

As for the grip not pictured on a rod, That grip weighs quite a bit compared to a standard cork grip because of the amount of rubberized cork I used in it. So the contouring served a purpose as lightening the grip as well. The full length grip pictured on the rod weighs .65 oz. The full length grip not on the rod, after contouring and reaming to fit the blank, weighs 1.35 oz. Prior to contouring, boring out the center with the 1/2" Flex Coat spade bit, and reaming, the grip weighed 1.85 oz. As pictured It was only bored out to 1/2" and a little contouring had been done. It weighed 1.60 oz as pictured. So the reaming and contouring took off IMO, a good amount of weight.

Anyhow .... good luck on your grips. With your wood working background they will be a piece of cake.

David makes some very good points.

Over the years, I have tried a lot of different shapes for grips. However, for myself, I have found that a grip with a pronounced swell is the grip for me. With this shape, the palm has the maximum gripping area on the grip and the most comfortable for hours on the water:

Here are a few pictures, including grips made with the Aero reel seat - which by itself is an extremely comfortable grip:

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Again, for myself - I don't use a split grip and I don't use a grip with open locations along the length of the grip.

For myself, I simply have not found them to be nearly as comfortably for hours on the water as the grips mentioned above.

Best wishes.

Thanks again David . I see what you mean on the taper of the butt grip it does look better . I can see how it would improve the grip on the rod during casting also. . I totally agree with you about this site these guys are top notch .

Thanks again David . I see what you mean on the taper of the butt grip it does look better . I can see how it would improve the grip on the rod during casting also. . I totally agree with you about this site these guys are top notch .

Thanks again David . I see what you mean on the taper of the butt grip it does look better . I can see how it would improve the grip on the rod during casting also. . I totally agree with you about this site these guys are top notch .

Ok I decided to go ahead and try making a tapered mandrel. It was a piece of cake . I took a 3/8 threaded rod and wrapped tape around it to match the o.d. of my rod blank . Fitted the rings ,that I had filed to fit my blank , onto the taped threaded rod with a kinda touch fit so it would not be to tight . Glued the rings together with TitebondIII and used the threaded rod for the clamping device . I let it set for about 2 hrs and gently twisted the cork off the taped rod using 2 hands to twist with . After taking the cork grip off I let it set another 6 hrs . I very lightly sanded the inside of the cork for a snug fit I sanded maybe 2 minutes total. Then I put the grip back on the taped mandrel and turned it round on a lathe . I am a happy camper at this point ,but I have a delima . Where can I find information that gives me an idea what shape I want to sand the grip to?