[jmrodandgun]

I'm struggling to find cork that I like, especially fighting butts. Above all else the quality seems to be all over the place for what most vendors call high graded cork. Are there any builders who sell their cork who aren't one of the big paint by numbers rod building distributers?

 

[Smackdaddy53]

I turn my own grips

 

[jmrodandgun]

Are you turning them on a metal lathe or one of the power wrappers?

 

[Smackdaddy53]

I have a wood lathe outside, no way in hell would you want to do it on the rod wrapper and get cork dust all over the place and compromise the area where you do the clear coat on guide wraps.
A Harbor Freight wood lathe is good enough for turning grips.

 

[TheAdamsProject]

I turn mine as well. Have used a corded drill, power wrapper and a harbor freight lathe. All work but depending on how many you are doing the lathe is the nicest. I have my lathe on the work bench but usually set it on my truck tailgate so I don't have to vacuum out my garage.

 

[AMiller]

Most of the time I purchase super grade cork grips thru getbit and so far the quality has been good. If a customer requests it I will turn custom grips. I have a lathe I set outside my work shop but I have also turned them on my wrapper and I just tape the shop vac under the grip and it keeps the area relatively clean. I also do finish in a separate clean room, so I don't have to worry about the dust issue.

 

[Andrew Jones]

I turn mine as well. Have used a corded drill, power wrapper and a harbor freight lathe. All work but depending on how many you are doing the lathe is the nicest. I have my lathe on the work bench but usually set it on my truck tailgate so I don't have to vacuum out my garage.

I also have a harbor freight lathe that I use on my tailgate! LOL! Works great!

 

[joegil476]

Hey
I usually glue up the rings in a press then
Put the handle on a mandrill then shape it on my Atlas lathe
Then use special rasps to adjust the bore

Once in a while I’ll glue the rings on the rod then chuck the whole rod protected with a wrap of tape where it goes thru the chuck jaws because my head piece is hollow
I use a cork ring at the back of the headstock and a guide arm to keep from bouncing you can see on lathe pic
They turn out pretty nice I have patterns for full wells,half wells,and cigar but I finish each one by hand so there are small differences

1. 
   

If you can find an Atlas 6” you’d be golden
Good luck
Joe

 

[sidelock]

Home made lathe to turn cork grips, notice the dimmer switch for RPM control.

 

[jmrodandgun]

I usually glue up the rings in a press then
Put the handle on a mandrill then shape it on my Atlas lathe
Then use special rasps to adjust the bore

Got my hands on a small metal lathe. I'll make some 1/4 inch mandrels tomorrow and start gluing up some rings. For the bore I made some reamers out of some old surf rods. That should cover just about any weight fly rod. I struggled with reaming the cork for a 12wt glass rod, the grip kept coming apart at the accent rings. I think my reamer was too aggressive so I'll need to keep that in mind on the next round.

This would be way more fun if blanks weren't so damn expensive!

 

[joegil476]

It’s a sloooow process reaming and fitting I’ve ruin a few grips by slipping with the rasp especially at the winding check
I got some reamer from “Golden Witch” in PA I don’t know if they still have them but give them a try
They’re sweet
It’s a little harder to cover mistakes with a small Hex winding check