Cutting Cork Handle

[nottskev]

I want to take a few inches off the butt of a rod with an over-long handle. It's no problem to cut a section out and spigot the end piece back on. but when I've done this before, I've ended up with a rather ugly join as the faces are not perfectly flat, probably because I'm not doing a good job of hacksawing through the combination of soft cork and hard blank. So I'm restraining my urge to saw and asking, can anyone suggest a good way to go about it?

 

[Peter Jacobs]

If it is only the problem of an overly long handle then could you not take a few inches off of the other end by just removing the corks for a few inches?

In that way the length of the rod is not affected nor would be the action; not that a couple of inches would drastically alter it . . . . . . but better safe than sorry?

 

[trotter2]

Just cut the butt section and put the end cap back on.?

 

[Mark Wintle]

As a compulsive hacker of rod handles all I do is drill a big cork to the diameter of the underlying blank, clean back the cork off the end of the shortened handle and Araldite the cork on, and when set shape the cork.

 

[chrissh]

i had a handle shorten by Open Water Angling Centre, cost £9.50

Open Water Angling Centre
50 Mansfield Rd
Clipstone
Mansfield NG21 9EQ
tel: 01623 627422

 

[tigger]

I'm no rod mechanic but if it's a expensive rod or one that I like there's no way i'd start hacking pieces off the end. I'd remove the whole cork handle and reel seat and replace it with a shorter one....or should I say i'd get an experienced rod builder to do it as it wouldn't be an expensive job. I remember a m8 of mine had a new handle fitted to an old drennan im8 super feeder rod, he had a screw down fuji reel seat and cork all the way down the rest of the handle at a cost of 25 notes all in. Same chap fitted me a matching fuji guide on a greys beach caster for a fiver, it ain't worth faffin about for that kind'a coin.

 

[Ray Roberts]

I'm no rod mechanic but if it's a expensive rod or one that I like there's no way i'd start hacking pieces off the end. I'd remove the whole cork handle and reel seat and replace it with a shorter one....or should I say i'd get an experienced rod builder to do it as it wouldn't be an expensive job. I remember a m8 of mine had a new handle fitted to an old drennan im8 super feeder rod, he had a screw down fuji reel seat and cork all the way down the rest of the handle at a cost of 25 notes all in. Same chap fitted me a matching fuji guide on a greys beach caster for a fiver, it ain't worth faffin about for that kind'a coin.

My opinion too, by the time you buy the bits: corks, thread, glue or varnish you could have had someone do it for you.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[nottskev]

Thanks for all the suggestions. But my question was about the best way to get a clean straight cut so the cut ends butt together perfectly when rejoined. I'd already decided the answer was to cut out a section of a few inches and replace the flared corks at the end, as I said in my post. I've done plenty of similar mods, at little or no expense, with acceptable results but I wondered if anyone out there had perfected the op. Cheers.

 

[Philip]

Not sure I can really help you to get a clean straight edge other than say take your time & do it more carefully !

...however...why dont you just get a new butt cap that fits OVER, rather than flush to the old cork handle ? ..That way you dont have to worry about the join as the cap will cover it.

 

[nottskev]

Thanks, Phillip, I'll try being more careful. It's got a rather nice flared section at the end, which I'd like to keep; that's why I've stopped before just hacking the end off and capping it. I'll borrow one of those Razor modelling saws off a friend - very fine teeth and thin blade - and see if this roughs up the face of the cork less so it butts together more invisibly than my usual jobs.

---------- Post added at 05:46 ---------- Previous post was at 05:45 ----------

Sorry for giving your name 2 L's.

 

[iain t]

Like you said you need a very fine toothed blade. If you have an electric jigsaw, you can buy a pack especially for soft wood and cork