Hi all,

Since we're limited to only a few colored cork, I've been using foam sheets to design my handle trims. It's easy to work with and has a good amount of colors up until the sanding portion. I can't seem to level the foam out with the cork and it's leaving "ridges" or high points in my handle. Keep in mind these are 0.5 to 1mm foam trims that are layered in between thin cork rings also (think cf burheimer handles). Any suggestions? Thanks!

this is the result of the craft foam being softer
Billy Vivona sells thin strips of the same density as the eva blocks
in a recent RodMaker magazine there was an article about using a rotary sander in combination with a lathe
I think the technique was designed for working with materials of different densities

Hello Sid.

You need a board or other flat surface to sand with because of the different densities a sandpaper held by hand will not stay flat like a board will, also gently sand don't push hard on it.

Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

With a brand new single edge, or even better, a double edge blade (tape one side and be very careful handling it) get the blade as flat as you can and slice off that slight ridge. Of course, this done by hand, not while the grip is spinning in the lathe.

Afterwards you may find it perfect, if not, give it a quick going over on the lathe with sandpaper, but only for a few seconds to clean things up, or you'll be back where you started.

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

Sid,
If you can do the grip work on a lathe, spin the grip and then always use a backing board behind the sand paper on the grip for the finish work.

In addition, the use of a semi orbital sander running end grain at the same time as you spin the grip will also work very well.

I have found that when doing this sort of work that a high speed on the turn of the grip, a very light touch on the sand paper and a medium grit seem to do the job the best.

The idea of the light touch on the sandpaper that is backed with a piece of flat stock is that you want to sand off the ridge of the trim piece without affecting the body of the grip. If you use too fine a grit used with a heavy hand, you will end up compressing the pieces and when you stop you end up having ridges that spring back up after the heavy handed sanding.

Good luck

Thanks all for the tips and info. Will attempt to smooth out the foam ridges!