Drilling out cork

[JasonGotaProblem]

I need to make a blank with a 20mm butt fit inside a stick of cork with a 28mm outside diameter. Or more accurately i want to. Need is a funny word here.

What's the best way to go about this? Do I need to find a drill press? Wider cork doesnt seem to be a thing.

Ok so I should be clear that I'm familiar with the concept of a reamer. The question really is about how to pull this off with such a wide hole in the cork...

[Swami805]

You need a reamer. You can make one from a dowel or better still an old piece of fishing rod.  I epoxy sand paper to it and works pretty good.  I use 80 grit the piece of fishing rod is best since it's tapered.  I've been using gorilla glue to attach the cork to the blank. Been working good

[jurelometer]

20 mm bore in a 28 mm handle means 4mm walls.   That is getting a little thin for reaming, especially with the quality of cork available today.  If the handle is short and you go slow, you might get away with it.  Might be worth going down in grit to 150 or so.  

Low grade cork rings that are thin walled are not horribly strong,  as a defect can cross all or nearly all of a 4mm wall.  So even if you manage to ream one out, it might not hold up well in use.  Gorilla glue is a good idea except if you have an area with a big enough void, and a thin enough wall with a defect, the expanding glue might bust a ring.


You could go up to high grade cork- expect to pay USD $6 per inch for the good stuff in ring form.  

I personally would use individual composite (AKA burl) cork rings.  Standard ring outside diameter is about 32 mm.  I use a flush trim bit on a palm router, and a ring template fixture that lets me bore out centers of different sizes at 0.015 increments.   This just takes a couple seconds per ring.  No need to ream when  I am done boring.
Video here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DG-vgrbHwBNHz4vAFO8Hja35STSY70yu/view

Composite cork is tougher, more sensitive,  and much cheaper than decent solid cork.  It is not as squishy and grippy, so it does have its downsides.  I personally like composite cork grips better for fly rods and anything conventional/spinning up to inshore saltwater.

Cork of any kind is not frequently used on large diameter blanks.  My non-expert opinion is that 28mm is definitely pushing it.  At that point, most builders are going to use foam, cork tape or cord grips.

-J

[Swami805]

I use cork on my personal rods even the fat ones. I use these, about 5" long so no clamping and plenty fat enough for most blanks.  I'm going south to get some supplies Saturday, I could grab some and send it to you if you want

[JasonGotaProblem]

I use cork on my personal rods even the fat ones. I use these, about 5" long so no clamping and plenty fat enough for most blanks.  I'm going south to get some supplies Saturday, I could grab some and send it to you if you want

That's awesome i will take you up on that. i haven't been able to find it that wide. PM me the price and your PayPal address. I'll just save this handle for a narrower blank.

[Wompus Cat]

I use cork on my personal rods even the fat ones. I use these, about 5" long so no clamping and plenty fat enough for most blanks.  I'm going south to get some supplies Saturday, I could grab some and send it to you if you want

Those are what I have been looking for ! Can you post a link where to get them or is it a private hide away you have to get them ?

[Midway Tommy]

I use cork on my personal rods even the fat ones. I use these, about 5" long so no clamping and plenty fat enough for most blanks.  I'm going south to get some supplies Saturday, I could grab some and send it to you if you want

Are those two piece, one inside another? It sure does look like it.

[Swami805]

It's one piece.
I get them from island tackle in carson CA.  I've also gotten them at Bob Sands tackle in Van Nuys ca.

[oldmanjoe]

I use cork on my personal rods even the fat ones. I use these, about 5" long so no clamping and plenty fat enough for most blanks.  I'm going south to get some supplies Saturday, I could grab some and send it to you if you want

Are those two piece, one inside another? It sure does look like it.

I though the same thing looking at it .

[Swami805]

It does look like 2 pieces but I don't think it is.  Here's the other side

[Wompus Cat]

It's one piece.
I get them from island tackle in carson CA.  I've also gotten them at Bob Sands tackle in Van Nuys ca.

I went to Island Tackle website and the cork or cork handles,sleeves or anything corkey   does not show up in the search or under Supplies so will give them a call later when they open for bidness.
Thanks for the info 
Did find another source but they don't seem to have this size .

HERE

[JasonGotaProblem]

It's one piece.
I get them from island tackle in carson CA.  I've also gotten them at Bob Sands tackle in Van Nuys ca.

I went to Island Tackle website and the cork or cork handles,sleeves or anything corkey   does not show up in the search or under Supplies so will give them a call later when they open for bidness.
Thanks for the info 
Did find another source but they don't seem to have this size .

HERE

My favorite tackle shop has a website that doesn't come close to describing their actual stock. None of their rod building stuff is listed at all even though they have a lot of it. Neither is any of the highly specialized stuff. Their website is all drop shipped stuff, with the occasional announcement about in store sales. So if you're looking to order a Daiwa BG they got you covered, if you wanna know what blanks they have, stop by.
It may be a similar situation. Without intentionally generalizing, i havent found the average tackle shop owner to be super IT savvy. That their websites aren't always a reflection of current stock isn't surprising.

[Swami805]

Island tackle is more of a walk in shop, I don't think they do much online trade. Super nice though and might ship you some stuff if you call
Bob Sands tackle also will ship you stuff if you call and I've found that size cork there too    I doubt you'd see much on their website either

[jurelometer]

I use cork on my personal rods even the fat ones. I use these, about 5" long so no clamping and plenty fat enough for most blanks.  I'm going south to get some supplies Saturday, I could grab some and send it to you if you want

That is some good looking cork.

The large diameter solves the problem for reaming.  But perhaps a problem still remains if the goal is a smaller outer diameter grip on a fatter blank.  I would start to get nervous if the cork wall diameter gets under 1/4" (~6.3 mm), but maybe could push a bit with extra high grade cork.  Natural cork has voids, actually wears  down and takes significant torsional load (because it is so grippy).  It  does not seem to me to be an ideal material for a long lasting thin wall grip, especially if you are not gentle on your gear. 

Having said that,  I haven't ever built a rod with a thin wall, high quality natural cork grip to see if it actually works or fails for my situation.   And if you prefer fat grips, this could be a non-issue.

-J

[oc1]

You could build it up with cord and then wrap with cork tape.