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The cork rings glued to the rod shaft and compressed as the glue dries. |
Thomas Penrose's Bamboo Fly Rod Pages: |
Turning a Cork Grip Using a Hand Drill |
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The cork rings glued to the rod shaft and compressed as the glue dries. |
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| A hand drill mounted horizontally in the jaws of a vise. This drill has the advantage of having a speed control on the trigger as well as a trigger lock. This makes it easier to control how fast the rod spins, since you definately do not want it spinning at the drill's full rpm. |
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| In this image I have mounted one of the rod support to the workbench with screws. I have also wrapped tape around the butt end of the rod section at the point where it will be making contact with the support. This protects it from both wear and heat build-up as it spins. I have also often turned grips with the reel seat in place. You will need to wrap the reel seat insert with tape to protect it, and also tape the reel seat lock rings so that they do not flop around as the rod spins. Once the rod section is protected with the tape wrapping, an elastic strap is used to hold it securely in place. This strap does not need to be very tight. It is used primarily to keep the rod from accidentally jumping out of the support. |
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The tip end of the butt section is also given a heavy wrapping of tape to protect it from the jaws of the drill chuck. |
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| I have also turned many cork grips on butt sections that already have the female ferrule mounted. Most drill chucks have a dead air space at the very back, behind the jaws, so the trim ring soldered on the end of the ferrule is not in danger of being caught in the chuck jaws. However, it is still a good idea to put a very heavy wapping of tape around the ferrule to protect it, as seen here. |
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You will want to add a second support toward the middle of the rod section. You also need to put a wrapping of masking tape here to protect the rod shaft from heat build-up. This support is also lined with a strip of plastic milk carton material to reduce friction. |
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| This image shows the complete setup. Probably the most time-consuming aspect is aligning the wooden supports with the drill itself. For very thin rod sections (3wts., etc.) it would be a good idea to mount the middle support closer to the grip itself. If your rod does not have a reel seat installed, and if your drill chuck can accomodate it, you can also put the butt end of the rod section into the drill. However, since I am usually turning a grip that is mounted on a rod section that already has a reel seat installed, I typically use the setup shown here. |
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| The rod spinning on the supports. Start the drill off slowly, and only make it go as fast as necessary in order to avoid stalling while you are sanding. |
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| The sanding pad should be positioned on top of the grip as it spins, with the top of the grip spinning away from you. I begin sanding with a 60 grit grit sandpaper and progress down to a 300 grit paper. For final polishing I may use 600 grit. During the sanding process you need to stop often to take measurements to make sure you are not sanding the grip too small. Also check regularly for heat build-up at the contact points on the rod shaft. I have not found heat build-up to be a problem, but it is a good idea to make sure it is not occurring. |
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These cork grips were all turned using a hand drill. |
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This site created and maintained by Thomas Penrose
All images and text copyrighted ©Thomas Penrose 1997, 2001
