Wolfgang wrote:

Cheap, fast, easy, and effective. However, the trouble with all methods
using, ground, powdered, sanded, or otherwise disintegrated cork in a glue
base is that you lose both of the primary benefits of using cork in the
first place......insulation and, more importantly, resilience. Essentially,
the method you describe (variations of which have been put forward by
others) is that you are simply filling with epoxy or some other gap filling
compound. The cork bits become mere window dressing. Better to cut a piece
of solid cork to fit.....even to enlarge and shape the defect if necessary,
and then cutting and gluing a patch to fit.

This reminds me of a woodworking technique that actually makes the
defect into a feature. It's called a "Dutchman" (no offense to any
Dutch or their relatives). Cut a piece of whatever material you plan to
inlay in a diamond or "bowtie" shape slightly larger than the defect.
Lay the inlay piece over the defect and trace its outline. Remove the
material from inside the lines, sneaking up on the fit. Glue (I'm
guessing a flexible glue would be best for a cork handle), let dry, and
sand flush.


Chuck Vance (but before we get started, let's take a moment to
talk about shop safety ...)