Monday, May 30, 2005

Dan Craft Fast Taper 3 wt...

I'd like to craft a simple cork with slide band grip for this little 8'6" three weight rod.

I've chosen a new cork called bamboo burl from Pacific Bay. I like the light color and look of this cork. Here are two pieces necessary to make the fly rod grip - A reversed half wells and a 7" rear (spinning rod) grip which I've cut down slightly.

After boring the interior diameter to fit the FT 863-4 butt section I've mounted the two pieces on a heavy fiberglass blank, first wrapped with masking tape to hold the cork tight. Very little sanding is required to bring the shape down close to the correct size.

Unfortunately, flaws appear immediately in the preformed bamboo burl cork grips.

punky spots where cork isn't...

I've pulled the two pieces off the mandrel. Here you can see the worst area is in the rear grip portion.

Fortunately, I've saved some cork dust...

Now I'll added a little glue and see if I can salvage this job.

There is no try... ONLY DO!

The offensive glued areas are noticably less so after sanding.

Ok... Let's scribe a spot where the reel will go.

Scorch Time!

Now it's time to carve that flat spot to receive the reel foot... notice how I've taped the section in preparation.

This is going to be a HIGH SPEED job...