Cork filler (need to buy or make)

I got a pretty good size divot where my index finger touches the cork on my
fly-rod. There are a lot of divots but this one is annoying. Is there a
cork filler on the market, or can you make it yourself? Been to the hardware
store, wood filler (not sure if that will do), but no cork filler.
-tom

"Tom Nakashima" wrote in message
...
I got a pretty good size divot where my index finger touches the cork on my
fly-rod. There are a lot of divots but this one is annoying. Is there a
cork filler on the market, or can you make it yourself? Been to the
hardware store, wood filler (not sure if that will do), but no cork filler.
-tom

Never had to do it myself, but it seems to me that the best filler for cork
would be......cork. You can buy it in various forms from hardware, craft,
and other stores, including, of course, fly shops. But I'd guess your best
bet is to go out and buy a bottle of red wine (seems to me I recently
learned you've got an interest in this anyway) and enjoy a glass or two
while shaping the cork to your needs. There is a wide variety of waterproof
glues that will do a good job of holding the patch together.

And no, wood fillers won't do at all.

Wolfgang

Grind a wine bottle cork in your food processor, mix with two-part
epoxy, apply to handle, let cure, buff down with a fine-grit paper or
nail file. Done! I prefer white wine corks because 1) I don't have to
cut the stained portion off the cork, and 2) red wine does bad things
to me.

On 6 Dec 2005 15:07:40 -0800, "scott" wrote:

Grind a wine bottle cork in your food processor, mix with two-part
epoxy, apply to handle, let cure, buff down with a fine-grit paper or
nail file. Done! I prefer white wine corks because 1) I don't have to
cut the stained portion off the cork, and 2) red wine does bad things
to me.

While I have no doubt that will fill the divot, that's not the preferred
way. to do a true repair, you need dust, not chopped cork. I'd offer
there's no reason to add the (chopped or dust) cork if one is going to
use something that dries like Devcon or similar epoxy. I'd also keep my
flies and line well away from such a patch because of the smell.

HTH,
R

"scott" wrote in message
ups.com...
Grind a wine bottle cork in your food processor, mix with two-part
epoxy, apply to handle, let cure, buff down with a fine-grit paper or
nail file. Done!

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.

I prefer white wine corks because 1) I don't have to
cut the stained portion off the cork, and 2) red wine does bad things
to me.

1) is a matter of esthetics, and I won't try to dictate tastes to anyone.
Personally, I'd leave the red wine stains.....character and story material.

2) tell us more!

Wolfgang

On Tue, 6 Dec 2005 17:27:09 -0600, "Wolfgang" wrote:


"scott" wrote in message
oups.com...
Grind a wine bottle cork in your food processor, mix with two-part
epoxy, apply to handle, let cure, buff down with a fine-grit paper or
nail file. Done!

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.

Um...sorta. That's why the preferred method is dust rather than chopped
"bits." and a less-hard-setting adhesive rather than epoxy. Think of a
wood dough of fine sawdust versus a mixture of chips and epoxy - neither
is an impossible-to-detect restoration, but the former is preferable to
the latter.

HTH,
R

wrote in message
...
On Tue, 6 Dec 2005 17:27:09 -0600, "Wolfgang" wrote:


"scott" wrote in message
roups.com...
Grind a wine bottle cork in your food processor, mix with two-part
epoxy, apply to handle, let cure, buff down with a fine-grit paper or
nail file. Done!

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.

Um...sorta.

No, exactly.

.. That's why the preferred method is dust rather than chopped
"bits."

Preferred by whom? Double-naught superheroes everywhere? Not by me.

and a less-hard-setting adhesive rather than epoxy. Think of a
wood dough of fine sawdust versus a mixture of chips and epoxy - neither
is an impossible-to-detect restoration, but the former is preferable to
the latter.

You haven't done a great deal of restoration work, have you?

Wolfgang

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 ...)

On Wed, 07 Dec 2005 07:02:37 -0600, Conan The Librarian
wrote:

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.

I suspect one would find that using a Dutchman (and the name might give
a clue as to it making a "defect into a feature" versus simply being
frugal and better than wasting material/furniture/etc.) in a rod handle
to be more trouble than it'd be worth, even if it worked. I doubt it
would. If the handle is losing multiple "chunks," the cork is
deteriorating (and/or one of the hinkier pressed cork types) and such a
patch attempt is likely to do more damage by taking out more cork when
it fails.

There are multiple grades of cork used for handles, good and not-so-good
variations of "pressed" cork, and cork tape. Assuming the most common
type, rings, and if the divot were large enough to make use of a "piece
patch" technique, it would be time to replace at least one ring, if not
the whole handle. The replacement of the cork itself is not hard at
all. The shaping can be a chore if done completely by hand, but power
tools can speed things up and access to a lathe can make things pretty
much a breeze. Depending on the rod, the amount of "deconstruction"
necessary for a complete replacement could be significant. If Tom had
asked for opinions on that, I'd have happily offered what I could. As
he asked a pointed question that had a single answer, I provided it.

If you have access in your library to "Advanced Custom Rod Building" by
Clemens, look on page 104, "Filling the cork." Also, "A Master's Guide
to Building a Bamboo Fly Rod" by Garrison and Carmichael, page 216-217,
"Cleaning and Repairing the Cork Grip." I haven't bothered to check
other such references, but I suspect they would detail the same standard
technique for filling minor defects.

TC,
R

there are some who might consider such a divot a feature. use some
sandpaper, working to a finer grade, smoothing it out.

eric
fresno, ca.


From: "Tom Nakashima"
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.fishing.fly
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 13:55:15 -0800
Subject: Cork filler (need to buy or make)

I got a pretty good size divot where my index finger touches the cork on my
fly-rod. There are a lot of divots but this one is annoying. Is there a
cork filler on the market, or can you make it yourself? Been to the hardware
store, wood filler (not sure if that will do), but no cork filler.
-tom