I installed an HKS 6 cork crip from st croix on a 7'6 immortal rod rated 1/4-5/8. I wanted something wiith a thinner profile but didn't realize it until I glued it on. I don't have a lathe. Is there another good option for getting the grip smaller in diameter. Thanks -Mark

In my earlier years when I was poor I would do rough work with a course file or rasp than finish with sandpaper. If you take a stroke than rotate the grip and repeat till you have what you want it will stay centered and symetric. Dale Clemens himself showed me that trick. Mask off your reel seat so you can't damage it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2017 01:29PM by Spencer Phipps.

You can also loosely grip 60 grit sand paper in your palm/hand in the shape of your grip, and with your other hand rotate the rod. This will take some time but works in a pinch if you can't turn by a lathe. Finish it up by going with 100 grit and then 220 grit paper until it is the desired diameter.

DG

see if there is a builder close to you, with a lathe that could / would help you out for a few $$ the best way I think it might only cost a beer or 2 or some money it is open good luck
or remove the butt an start over ,

William Sidney
AK

Mark,
I don't know where you are located, but I made a system to do this exact job.

I have a 1/2 hp DC motor where I can vary the speed from 0 to 2400 rpm. The motor is connected to a jack shaft on which I have mounted a 3 inch machine chuck. If you were any where close, you could certainly use the setup to take care of your issue.

Wrap the butt with about 4 layers of masking tape to avoid marking the butt of the rod. Then, use a couple of rod rests to support the rod blank. Dial up the speed a bit and do the sanding and shaping.

It is nice to be able to start the turning of the blank and grip very slowly to avoid having the blank go into destructive oscillation and fracture the blank.

Take care

Back when I first started building rods, i glued cork rings directly to the blank and sanded them down by hand with very good results, and these were full length handles! So it can be done with a little elbow grease. First, mask off all areas around the grip with masking tape including your reel seat. Second, use a folded quarter sheet of coarse sandpaper that fits in the palm of your hand and move the sand paper up and down while turning the rod with your other hand. Keep the rod turning as you sand you can go up and down the length of the grip as well as around the circumference, just keep turning the rod. This will quickly reduced the diameter, but be careful not to go too far. Third, move to finer grits of paper (100 throght to 240) to get a smooth finish. When finished give the grip a coat of cork seal. It is not that hard to do and you will be surprised how round you can keep the grip, and how quickly it can be done.
I have also inserted a piece of old blank or dowel into the butt end of the blank with a couple of inches protruding so that it can be chucked into a portable hand held drill. You can get a good snug fit by wrapping some tape on this piece of blank or dowel. With the rod being supported toward the middle of the blank, you can hold the drill in your off hand and sand with the other hand using a folded sheet of sand paper as above. This also works well. Just make sure your blank does not go out of control, if done carefully this is easy to done. It sounds like you just want to reduce the diameter slightly, so either of these techniques will work fine and give good results. If you really screw up you can cut the grip off and install a new one, and chalk everything up as a learning experience.
Norm

All of these good suggestions assume you want a round grip, but this may be a good time to experiment with something else. Like maybe a hammer handle shaped grip. You can remove cork rather fast by hand with 60 grit sandpaper, then as you get the shape you want, go finer in stages to end up with a good, smooth finish.

One casting grip I made too big based on ergonomic guidelines (which work OK for spin, not so much for cast), and I fixed it by sanding a thumb "groove" and finger "grooves" into it, essentially taking it diameter down where it is gripped. Has worked fine.

Worst case scenario: You won't like anything you do. Then replace it with the "right size."

One thing I forgot to mention is that when you sand cork you may open up some pits. You can fill these pits in a variety of ways, which include RodDancers pit paste, Elmers exterior wood filler in golden oak, or make you own cork paste with titebond and cork dust. Fill the pits let dry and then sand smooth. After that then coat with the cork sealer.
Norm

lots of help out there ,any one near you with a good set up that can help you out ??

William Sidney
AK

All great suggestions. I'm gonna ask around to see if someone has a lathe around me (wv) or try by hand with sandpaper. My concern that it would not be even. And yes, trying to take a little off. Just feels thick. You guys are great help. Thanks

If you can't find someone with a rod lathe to sand down your grip, do it by hand. Believe me with just taking a little off you will not have any problem keeping it round. Many times when I repair rods and the cork grip looks really crummy I will clean the grip with a Brillo pad or soap and water and after drying I Hand sand the grip, fill the pits, and cork seal it. This is very easy to do and gives cork grip a whole new life. I have never had a problem with the grip going out of round. If you have an old rod with a dirty cork grip in bad shape, try to clean it up as mentioned above. This will give you the confidence to sand your new grip. Experimentation is a good thing!
Norm

Norm, You are on the money. Worked about 5-minutes on it last night using 100, then 150 then 600 grit sandpaper (what I had on hand) and looks good. I didn't realize it would be that easy. It feels like I reduced the diameter of the grip. It is now to my liking so guess that is what counts. Now just need to give it a good dust off then seal.Thanks all.
Mark

I'm happy it worked for you. Another technique added to your rod building resume.
Norm