Cork rod handle maintenance, repair and modification

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Sinsemilla
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Cork rod handle maintenance, repair and modification

Post by Sinsemilla » Tue Aug 13, 2019 2:39 pm

Gents,

I've been busy over the past couple of weeks (While the weather has been terrible..) servicing all my reels and repairing and modifying all my cork fishing rods.

After servicing a few of my reels (Daiwa Caldia 2500 magseal, Daiwa Sol 2500 non magseal, Daiwa Ballistic 4000 non magseal, 3 Abu ambassadeurs being a 5500 a 6500 c3 and a 6500 sports rocket, Daiwa 2000 Heartland non magseal) I thought i might as well give a few of my rods a freshen up.

One of my rods, being the Nitro viper has seen better days.. The end of the rod was all chewed out from being put on the ground so it needed a new end which i was going to replace with an EVA rod end so it would last a bit longer and also on my Nitro baby viper, I wanted to shorten the butt end because I've always felt it was too long. Also i wanted to fill, sand a re seal the grips on both of these and fill, sand and re seal my dads Gloomis fly rod.

I'm going to go through the process of what i did so if anyone on here wants to give it a go they know where to start.

First off i bought a few things off www.therodworks.com.au They have pretty much everything you need when it comes to rod repairs.
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Alps-Small-Coloured-Cork-Eva-Butt-Caps8.jpg
evabuttend.jpg
Once i received the stuff i ordered off therodworks.com.au i went to Bunnings and got a small fine bristle brush and some fine to really fine sand paper.

I started off by giving all the cork handles a really good clean with soap, warm water and the scourer side of a standard dish washing sponge.

Once they dried i proceeded to measure the overall length of both rod ends i was repairing (Firstly so i can make the Nitro Viper the same length it was, and secondly, So i know how much shorter to make the Nitro Baby Viper)

After i figured out how much i wanted to cut off the Baby Viper and how much i'd need to cut off the Viper to make it the same length with the new EVA butt end i very carefully marked where i needed to cut with a pencil and carefully cut through the cork going around slowly until i got close to the blank. Once i was close to the blank, i got a pair of pliers and carefully pinched at the cork until i broke it all away and exposed the blank.

Once i exposed the blank i gave it a fine sand just to clean off the old resin that was used to fix the cork.

I cut the blank of the Baby Viper with a Dremel and a fine blade to the desired length.

After i was happy with both rods i gave them another clean, taped them up with some blue painters tape and mixed up some of the 2 part ultimate epoxy, put it on both sides (on the blank and on the inside of the butt ends) and slowly pushed them together.
I cleaned off the excess epoxy with wet wipes and left it over night to set.

The next day i used the Roddancer Pit Paste to fill in all the cracks and holes in all the rods cork making sure there was enough on there to sand and left it for about an hour before i started sanding. I started off with a course sand paper and worked my way down to a really fine grit. Just make sure you don't go too hard with your sanding because the Pit Paste along with the cork is very easy to sand.

I gave the handles another clean and left them for the next day which is when i gave them a nice light coat of the U-40 Cork Seal. You only need to give it a light coat until it soaks into the cork and then brush any excess off.

After leaving it for the next day they came up perfect and were ready to use! I couldn't be happier with the way they came out.
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fly rod before
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Fly rod after
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Baby Viper with shortened butt end
A perfect little side project while the weather is crappy and the fishing is slow. I hope this helps anyone who needs it.

Cheers, Anth
Last edited by Sinsemilla on Tue Aug 13, 2019 5:45 pm, edited 3 times in total.

GusG
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Re: Cork rod handle maintenance and modification

Post by GusG » Tue Aug 13, 2019 3:14 pm

Nice work, sweet!

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meppstas
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Re: Cork rod handle maintenance, repair and modification

Post by meppstas » Tue Aug 13, 2019 5:14 pm

Very nice job.. great info too.. :thumbsup:

cheers
Adrian
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Truedogz
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Re: Cork rod handle maintenance, repair and modification

Post by Truedogz » Tue Aug 13, 2019 5:46 pm

Sinsemilla wrote:
Tue Aug 13, 2019 2:39 pm
i bought a few things off www.therodworks.com.au They have pretty much everything you need when it comes to rod repairs
I'll second those comments Anthony. I love the Veritas rod I use for chasing cod - except for the foam grip. About a month ago I replaced the foam with the same cork grip and butt button you have used and it feels great.

The U-40 cork sealer is an excellent preserver of cork grips. I use it on my old split cane rods and it looks a treat.

Best Wishes

Truedogz

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Sinsemilla
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Re: Cork rod handle maintenance and modification

Post by Sinsemilla » Tue Aug 13, 2019 5:49 pm

GusG wrote:
Tue Aug 13, 2019 3:14 pm
Nice work, sweet!
meppstas wrote:
Tue Aug 13, 2019 5:14 pm
Very nice job.. great info too.. :thumbsup:

cheers
Adrian
Cheers fellas.

I'm spewing a bit that i didn't get the before, during and after shots of the actual repairs and shortening of the rods.. I always forget to take photos when I'm doing something like this.

Anth

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Sinsemilla
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Re: Cork rod handle maintenance, repair and modification

Post by Sinsemilla » Tue Aug 13, 2019 5:53 pm

Truedogz wrote:
Tue Aug 13, 2019 5:46 pm
Sinsemilla wrote:
Tue Aug 13, 2019 2:39 pm
i bought a few things off www.therodworks.com.au They have pretty much everything you need when it comes to rod repairs
I'll second those comments Anthony. I love the Veritas rod I use for chasing cod - except for the foam grip. About a month ago I replaced the foam with the same cork grip and butt button you have used and it feels great.

The U-40 cork sealer is an excellent preserver of cork grips. I use it on my old split cane rods and it looks a treat.

Best Wishes

Truedogz
Thanks Will,

Were you happy with the way yours came out? Whats your reasons for liking cork over EVA?

I have been contemplating doing this for a long time but haven't had the balls to cut into $300 rods.. I'm glad i did though because i saved myself a bit of coin and had a lot of fun doing it.

Anth

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Re: Cork rod handle maintenance, repair and modification

Post by Texas » Tue Aug 13, 2019 5:57 pm

Good job Anth,
When you service your reels what oil & grease do you use ????
Last time I greased mine I used automotive axle grease, maybe a bit of overkill, but it worked
Recently I brought 10 rods with seven reels, all old & some needing repair
Need to teach myself to repair the rods though
Cheers Gra

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Re: Cork rod handle maintenance, repair and modification

Post by rb85 » Tue Aug 13, 2019 5:59 pm

Love your work Anth
Am building a few rods at the moment which are slow going with work getting in the way.

Is there any reason you went the Epoxy from the rodworks instead of 24hour araldyte it may be something you can source a little cheaper.
I have found the rodworks fantastic in helping me select the right components. Might have to do a post on my next build.

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Re: Cork rod handle maintenance, repair and modification

Post by Texas » Tue Aug 13, 2019 6:02 pm

rb85 wrote:
Tue Aug 13, 2019 5:59 pm
Love your work Anth
Am building a few rods at the moment which are slow going with work getting in the way.

Is there any reason you went the Epoxy from the rodworks instead of 24hour araldyte it may be something you can source a little cheaper.
I have found the rodworks fantastic in helping me select the right components. Might have to do a post on my next build.
Please do mate
Cheers Gra

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Sinsemilla
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Re: Cork rod handle maintenance, repair and modification

Post by Sinsemilla » Tue Aug 13, 2019 6:16 pm

Texas wrote:
Tue Aug 13, 2019 5:57 pm
Good job Anth,
When you service your reels what oil & grease do you use ????
Last time I greased mine I used automotive axle grease, maybe a bit of overkill, but it worked
Recently I brought 10 rods with seven reels, all old & some needing repair
Need to teach myself to repair the rods though
Cheers Gra
Cheers Gra,

I use a few different products.

Daiwa reel grease on older reels gears and bush’s because it's a bit thicker which you can get from BCF or Anaconda.
daiwa_reel_greaser.jpg

Daiwa reel oil on things like shafts and bearings to keep them moving smoothly and freely which you can also get from BCF and Anaconda.
daiwareeloil.jpg
daiwareeloil.jpg (9.19 KiB) Viewed 3064 times

Inox reel grease on gears and bush’s on newer reels because it's a touch thinner than the daiwa grease which i get off ebay.
Inox reel grease.jpg
Inox reel grease.jpg (16.38 KiB) Viewed 3064 times

Cal's drag grease because it's the perfect viscosity for drags. It makes your drag a lot smother than normal grease. I get this from https://ausfishingtackle.com.au/en/
cal_t1oz.jpg

I also buy carbon sheets in the thicknesses i need from https://ausfishingtackle.com.au/en/ and cut them myself for my drags.

Anth

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