Hello looking for some info on working with eva grips. I don't have much experience with eva as I am a big on cork.My question is can you turn and reshape eva foam and what is the best way to do this. Can you do the same way as cork.Im a week away from parts here so if someone can throw me a tip or two it would a big help. thanks

Do a google search for "how to make eva fishing rod grips" and you'll find lots of info, much from sponsors accessed by clicking on left side of this site.

I turn EVA on a cobbled "lathe" rig on my drill press, chuck one end of the mandrel in at the top, the other end goes into a ball bearing I've sunk into a board at the bottom (clamp the board to the press bed). Experiment with speed. I start with very coarse sandpaper and progressively go to very fine paper.

To sandwich different colors, cut the slices from turning EVA using a very fine saw held against the turning part or a length of heavy braid fishing line (DO NOT HOLD THE BRAID WITH YOUR FINGERS-YOU MAY LOSE ONE- WRAP IT SECURELY AROUND DOWELS AND HOLD THE DOWELS-IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS ABOUT THIS, USE A SAW AND CAREFULLY PASS IT PERPENDICULARLY INTO THE TURNING PART). Use contact cement to glue them together with light clamping pressure (do this before turning).

Thanks for the tip.

Send me an email and I think I can help more.

Theses should help a lot
[www.youtube.com]

Bill - willierods.com

When turning eva, it's helpful to turn at high speeds and to start out with coarser grades of abrasive paper than you would normally use for cork. For efficient removal of EVA for shaping try some cloth backed stearated paper of around 40 grit, then once the rough shape is ready for refining, up the grit to 60-80 still using the cloth backed stearated. From this point I use two backings, the cloth backed stearated for straight or gently curved areas, and a lighter paper backed stearated for curves with smaller radii (the paper backed is more flexible but far less durable)

If you are beginning with a raw square shape, you can actually begin knocking off the corners with woodturning tools to round the grip before beginning to work with the abrasive paper.

Check out Billy Vivona's instructional grip turning videos on YouTube, he demonstrates just about everything you'll need to know.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2015 12:27PM by John E Powell.

thanks for the help guys.