turning cork???

[fishermen fred]

hi all have cut out my cork rings and have them on threaded bar and am going to turn them myself should i glue them up b4 i turn them or after? what is the best way to glue them up? is 24 hr araldite good to use? and any other usefeull infromation relative to the process much appreciated

[OzRods]

Hi Fred
I use the new waterproof Selleys Aquadhere Durabond it is a polyurethane adhesive and very strong.
It is made to glue timber you can use Araldite but be careful to break the bond between the threaded rod and the cork rings or you will never get them off without ruining the cork rings and rod.
I use only 4mm threaded rod and wrap it in grease proof paper or tape it up then glue and put the rings on one by one and as it is going off I move the threaded rod along inside the cork just so it doesn't set to the rod. .
You can also coat the threads on the rod in Vaseline or something like that.
I know others just use normal Aquadhere as it is easy to break the bond between the cork and threaded rod and once you take the cork off the rod you just have to soak the rod in some water to get the rest of the glue off the threads.
When you have finished gluing up the rings you can turn the cork while it is still on the rod or fit the cork to the rod and then turn it on a rod lathe.
The only problem with using the araldite is the you cant really remove it from the threads on the threaded rod when you are finished like I said before with the plain Aquadhere you just soak the rod in water or the Aquadhere Durabond you just soak it in thinners when you are finished to get the glue off the threaded rod.
I hope this helps
Simon

[Mark Fisher]

I use a mandrel to put the rings on. Sometimes you need to bore them out a little to fit. One you have them all on the mandrel, take them all back off again. I use, Selly's Quick grip contact adhesive. I coat the face of one of the rings and place it one the mandrel. I coat both faces of the next ring and slide it onto the mandrel. When they meet, I turn them a couple of times against each other to get a 100% coverage over both faces. I continue this way until I have done enough for the length of the rear grip and the front grip. Obviously, I don'c coat the face of the final piece of cork on the rear grip nor the butt end of the fore grip. This enables you to separate them after clamping. Then I clamp the whole grip in a home made cork clamp overnight. Next day, or when I get the next chance, I turn both on my lathe until I get the diameter I'm after for the handles. The exotic burl cork is great stuff to turn but be careful with normal cork as it can turn down very quickly. Measure often so you don't go too far. I also like to coat my exotic burl cork with Tru-oil to finish it off. Depending on what I'm after, sometimes up to 10-12 coats rubbing in between with steel wool. This gives a great depth to the finished handle.

Regards
Mark

[Peter-B]

I find if you use araldite between the rings it is hard to get the finished diameter right as the araldite is much harder to turn than the cork.
I use coarse files to bring the cork down then different grades of sand paper to complete the grip.

Peter-B

[Mark Fisher]

I don't use Araldite for the same reason Peter B has stated. The Quick Grip gives a fantastic bond and if the cork is clamped properly you can't see the glue lines at all afer the handle is turned.

Mark

[fishermen fred]

thanks all for your help it is working better then the last attempt which is the most important thing tried a quick set cement that said for use on cork which is nice n sticky doesnt set hard seems to work ok cheers