The core IS the strength. They're light but very rigid. All the carbon skin or paint really does is add a little "dent" protection. I've made dozens of these with no carbon skin or paint, just nylon flocking and they hold fine on big game rods.

.........

Heat shrink tubing over foam core works well, too. Very fast and simple.

I never cast the foam on a mandrel, just use a vertical walled baking pan with release agent spray for a mold.

I cut the foam into blocks with a small band saw, then bore the blocks 1/16” undersized for the mandrel I am going to use. Force the mandrel into the bored hole, and turn to shape.

Thanks
Very informative I will do some fiddling. I think I can have fun with this.

If you peek in the Pac Bay catalog, you will see many different polyurethane grips that they designed that needed no skin to use. I handled quite a few at the company in 2018 or 19 time period.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

this is a photo of some of the foam core blanks that I have and my first attempt at a foam core grip. We sanded the rough foam into shape then painted the foam black. Next we added some Testors black paint to some thread epoxy and coated the foam. This rod was also my first rod I ever built.

Steve

Joel Wick Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Heat shrink tubing over foam core works well, too.
> Very fast and simple.

Wish I knew your secret. I've tried heat shrink many times over foam core but never got the ends where I was satisfied.

Neil Toland Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Joel Wick Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Heat shrink tubing over foam core works well,
> too.
> > Very fast and simple.
>
> Wish I knew your secret. I've tried heat shrink
> many times over foam core but never got the ends
> where I was satisfied.


I will add I do that too, still ends up just a scoach lighter than cork or EVA but feels good. I do slather a coat of quickbond over the foam before shrinking the tube over it. I will give that first shrink about 10 minutes to settle down, then I'll use fly tying scissors to trim the unsightly ends, then reheat the ends only and press them against a glass or porcelan flat surface to make a clean mating surface for winding checks.

Neil Toland Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Joel Wick Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Heat shrink tubing over foam core works well,
> too.
> > Very fast and simple.
>
> Wish I knew your secret. I've tried heat shrink
> many times over foam core but never got the ends
> where I was satisfied.

Two tips:

I coat the foam with Two-Ton epoxy before shrinking. Immediately after shrinking the tube, while it is still hot, wrap one loop of 100lb test Power Pro line or similar, and gently cinch or garrot the heat-shrink right at the ends of the foam. Work the loop back and forth a little bit, spinning the mandrel in the lathe, stretching the heat shrink material over the contour. Then told or tie off until cool. Part off the excess cleanly with an Exacto Knife. This also works well when using heat shrink tubing to make Carbon fiber grips, forcing the carbon sleeve to the very end contour of the foam core.

Two, finish the ends with another materiel, like EVA, acrylic, wood, or a cork ring, wherever the grip isn't going to mate with the reel seat or pre-made butt cap. I'll part the grip to the exact length I want with an Exacto Knife while in the lathe on the mandrel. Most often I use 5/8' of EVA, turning the mating surface close to the same diameter as the foam core grip, then finishing it with a cotton rag, which seems to cut the EVA, but not the heat-shrink.

That's a good technique.

.............

I'd certainly like to see a video of this. Not sure I'm following the use of power pro to cinch and shape the ends. You running the lathe under power when doing this or spinning by hand?


Joel Wick Wrote:

> I coat the foam with Two-Ton epoxy before
> shrinking. Immediately after shrinking the tube,
> while it is still hot, wrap one loop of 100lb test
> Power Pro line or similar, and gently cinch or
> garrot the heat-shrink right at the ends of the
> foam. Work the loop back and forth a little bit,
> spinning the mandrel in the lathe, stretching the
> heat shrink material over the contour. Then told
> or tie off until cool. Part off the excess cleanly
> with an Exacto Knife. This also works well when
> using heat shrink tubing to make Carbon fiber
> grips, forcing the carbon sleeve to the very end
> contour of the foam core.
>

By hand, lathe off.

Often with the tail stock retracted, because I previously slipped the tubing over the foam from the tail stock end of the mandrel. Just be sure to reestablish the tail stock before parting off the excess when cool.

Don’t over think it. You’re just using the line Ike a hose clamp on the mandrel to force the heat shrink to compress tightly to the contour of the foam all the way to the surface of the mandrel, right at the edge of the foam.

Thanks Joel. Believe that helps. I'll be trying this soon.... again.



Joel Wick Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> By hand, lathe off.
>
> Often with the tail stock retracted, because I
> previously slipped the tubing over the foam from
> the tail stock end of the mandrel. Just be sure to
> reestablish the tail stock before parting off the
> excess when cool.
>
> Don’t over think it. You’re just using the
> line Ike a hose clamp on the mandrel to force the
> heat shrink to compress tightly to the contour of
> the foam all the way to the surface of the
> mandrel, right at the edge of the foam.

I place of using line, I use narrow zip ties cinched down tight. Trim afer epoxy is cured

It's a little off topic, but can you take a carbon fiber grip and cut it down without ruining it? Does the fabric stay in place and not unravel so that tenons can be created if desired? For example, cutting 3" off an 8" grip to create a 5" fore grip? I haven't had any experience with carbon fiber over foam core grips.

Dave Sytsma

They shouldn't unravel as they are imbedded in epoxy. I put a photo up somewhere of a grip I cut in half to show how thin the carbon is. the cut is perfectly clean both carbon skin and foam core.

..............

The answer, as Tom has said, is yes.

I've done it dozens of times, likely hundreds, to make grips of multiple materials, and adding carbon fiber highlights, for lack of a better term, into handles.

@Joel - do you have any pics of this? I'd love a visual of what you mean

Building rods in MA, Building the community around the world

El, do you mean of the finished product, or of a cut-down piece of a foam core carbon fiber grip?

I'm just beginning a musky rod, and it will include some carbon fiber 'highlights" in the handle. I'll take some pics of the process as I work on the handle this weekend.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/2023 10:54AM by Joel Wick.

Regarding the Carbon sleeves, does anyone know what the ones that appear like the NFC soft touch or AT 3K is called? It looks like a twill, but not sure.

Thanks

From what I understand, the NFC soft touch and AT G2 grips are not built on a foam core, they are built on a mandrel using CF prepreg and then baked, similar to the way a rod blank is made. They are hollow and then may get a polyurethane foam arbor.
Norm