I'm building rods with a 1/2+ diameter at the butt section, and all I have is 1/4" bored cork rings. So far I've tried two methods: a regular drill bit - which I did not like at all because it would not cut a nice hole - some chuncks of cork would get cut out on the backside. I also tried a wood boring bit from Speedbor that I liked very much - it gives me a nice smooth hole straight thru the center of the ring.

The problem I have is that cork is getting thrown all over the place. I have a vacuum set up behind my lathe, whch works well when snading. But with boring the cork, it just doesn't do much good.

Does anoyone else do this, and if so is there an easier method then what I'm doing here? Do I just have to deal with the mess and just clean up when I'm done?

Thanks, Billy

a forstner bit is the way to travel but the chips are still there. I made a jig with a 1 1/4" forstner bit and made it about 1/4 inch deep. Then i use a drill press to bore the center hole. Using different size bits and then using a reaming tool, (or round metal file) I slightly ream them out to fit snug.

I use the same method Wishbone describes and agree that quality Forstner bits (and yes they are expensive) are the best tools for the job. I have my shopvac set up to draw away most of the chips but its still a messy job. My turning/ reaming/ drilling set ups are in a separate building from my wrapping work so I don't have a dust transfer problem.

Andy

Depending how your drill press's table is made, you may be able to build a vacuum port directly below the drill bit, so the vacuum pulls downward thru the hole in the cork and a hole you've arranged in the tabletop/drilling clamp. This should really suck!

I use a hole saw with a 1/4 inch rod
to replace the center bit.
this set up puts the hole on center every time
I have used this on over 1000 times
If you need more help e-mail me
Hope this is of some help
Arthur

We have done a quite a bit on boring cork rings in RodMaker. With a sharp spur bit (even a B&D Bullet Point) and the correct speed, you will get a nice, clean bore. We have discussed how to do this many times.

In one of our tips columns we showed a photo that depicted a "chip collection box" made from a cardboard box that fits around a drill press and captures all the chips and debris when boring rings. It does not require a shop vac or dust and chip collector in order to be 100% effective. Cost is a few pennies and maybe 10 minutes time to make.

One of our early issues also featured a cork boring tool which allows you to utilize a drill press to bore perfectly centered rings in a mostly "hands off" fashion. With it you can bore about 200 rings per hour and never have to turn off the press nor re-center any rings.

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If weather permits, I do all my cork work outside. I even take my lathe out on the deck and clamp it to the top board on the perimeter of the deck. This completly eleminates all cork dust. To clean the lathe of cork dust prior to bringing it back in the house I blow it off with my yard blower.

Is boring rings really that much quicker? I use differing size dowel rods with grit applied via Elmer's wood glue. Takes a total of 10 minutes setup and fitment on a handle. I can't see where boring (including the setup) would save that much time unless doing huge production quantaties, plus doing them by hand gives a sense of craftsmanship for me.

Boring is much quicker. Normally one would do this to open up the bore to size closer to that required with any hand reaming done just to provide the final, perfect fit. I wouldn't want to take a ring with a 1/4" bore and use a reamer to open it up to 5/8"! I've done it, but found a better way.

I used to turn all my own cork handles in a steel mandrel. I would bore the rings to fit whatever size mandrel was closest to the size of the blank where they would sit and mount and turn them on the mandrel. After turning they were popped off the mandrel and reamed to get a perfect fit. Because they were bored so close to begin with, reaming took only a few seconds.

I used to keep boxes of cork rings with various bore sizes. When I would get in a big (5000 rings) shipment of cork rings, I'd spend an afternoon boring them to various sizes. The boring jig shown in an early RodMaker issue allowed me to do this very quickly. Only one set-up was required and the operation was nearly hands-off save for popping the rings in and out of the jig. No mess, no fuss and very fast.

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