First attempt at Rattan Grip

[Zeddediah]

I am in the process of building a bamboo rod (Garrison 212e) and want to put a rattan grip on it. My plan is to turn balsa into the shape and then wrap it with rattan. I have never wrapped with rattan so thought practicing on a nasty piece of cork on a rebuilt old 5 wt would be a good investment. I learned a lot but was hoping some here would see the picts and give some feed back on what they notice I could have done different better. Things I noticed:
-start the wrap more carefully to ensure that first wrap is perfectly flush with the front of the grip.
-make sure I have all the stuff on hand, though this applies generally
-when wrapping, be careful to lay the rattan next to each other as a slight overlap will cause problems when wrapping the thread later, and to big a gap will swallow the thread.
-I have a couple other rods the cork has failed, so make sure the cork is shaped properly, though in this case the cork was so damaged I would have had to remove it and replace the grip.
there were other issues...
Thanks for any advice!

[Gnome]

I would avoid the balsa wood due to its lack of structural stablity, over time I believe it will collapse on you from the pressure applied with the rattan and then griping the rod. Why not use the tried and true method of pine as your undergrip?

[Zeddediah]

I would avoid the balsa wood due to its lack of strutural stablity, over time I believe it will collapse on you from the pressure applied with the rattan and then griping the rod. Why not use the tried and true method of pine as your undergrip?

Having seen your work, I will do that. Pine is cheaper anyway. One question, cork has a density of ~15 lb/cu ft, pine has a density of ~25 to 30, almost double. Do you know of alternatives to pine that would be lighter and still function well? Thanks for the feed back.

[aged_sage]

What about white pine? It is not as dense as the yellow pines, is readily available, and is reasonably priced.

[Zeddediah]

White pine is good, not heavier enough than spanish cedar to make a difference. I do have access (free and unlimited) to scrap squares of poplar and basswood. Would that work?

[Gnome]

Zeddidiah,

The basswood or Poplar will work, another would be composite/burled cork or Black Limba(a lightweight african wood). You do want a material that is not too soft like the balsa wood. You do want a material that is reasonably stable yet light weight. I prefer wood over the burled cork as it transmits feel better, I.E. it is not dampened by the 13 sided cellular structure of cork.

Looking forward to seeing pictures of your first rattan grip.

Jeff

[Zeddediah]

I appreciate the feedback. The above grip was my first rattan wrapped. What kind of thread do you folks use? The thread I used was a bit to fuzzy.

[oddsnrods]

I like..Cork base, domed rattan with enamel intact, wood glue with epoxy at start/ splices, avoid heat/scorching, nylon thread, three coats of brushed satin poly. varnish tinted (to darken) with brown artists oil paint, closing off both ends..

[Zeddediah]

Nice! I notice your coloring is more even, if I needed an even color, is this a function of the rattan? Do you prepare the rattan in any way? The lady I got these from told me to soak them first so they would shrink tight on the grip (she has been reupholstering for 25 years). I didn't do this and had no issues with cracking. Thank you for your time.

[oddsnrods]

I wind rattan on dry,no issues with cracking or opening up. This was a test.

[CDCdun]

I think your first attempt turned out great. Rattan grips have certainly grown on me. I must say, I prefer the satin finish over the shiny finish. Looking forward to seeing the next attempt.

Jake

[Oneighty]

I like..Cork base, domed rattan with enamel intact, wood glue with epoxy at start/ splices, avoid heat/scorching, nylon thread, three coats of brushed satin poly. varnish tinted (to darken) with brown artists oil paint, closing off both ends..

I can see you have done it before. Nice, very nice.
The more I see this on the grip the more I like it. Is that 4mm wide? I read to soak it in water and wound around some like the grip in diameter, just so it was not so springy, is that good advice or not worth the effort.



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[oddsnrods]

I use Lee Valley rattan, out of 120' only about 20' is usable. It is 2.5mm wide. I would have thought that glue of any type would not adhere to a wet surface. Even if it is springy, it is wound on under slight tension gluing the rattan as you go a few inches at a time. Then clip on a weight to hold it in place so that it stars to set, then continue.

[Zeddediah]

As a carpenter, sometimes glues such as titebond are diluted so the glue would eventually set like normal. Wow, 20' of 120'. I have to admit I do wish I had used satin spar on the grip.

[oddsnrods]

Poly varnish worked better than spar I remember, as it did not chip away so easily when cured.

[Broken Rod]

One question, cork has a density of ~15 lb/cu ft, pine has a density of ~25 to 30, almost double. Do you know of alternatives to pine that would be lighter and still function well? Thanks for the feed back.

In the old days, white pine was standard. However, I think cedar has a lower specific density. By the mid 1890s, Thomas & Payne began using cedar for reel seat barrels for cutting down weight. They also used a thin German silver cap and ring that weighed one half of what a Resource Engineering seat weighs today. At that time, Thomas & Payne were producing a 1 5/8 ounce rod (exhibited in Madison Square Garden in 1896). Here's another thought-- Rattan wrapped over cork will deaden transmission through the line from the fish to your hand, and that's why wood was used as an underlayment. the additional weight of wood, compared to the deadening effect of cork, can be negated by choosing a lighter-weight reel seat.

[oddsnrods]

Personally I am not sure that rattan around cork deadens transmission through from fish to hand anymore than cork alone. After all, the rattaned cork (unlike wood) continues to flex along with the rod when playing a fish.
Alan Medved has an article in the Planing Form book, page 195, where he goes through his procedure for making rattan handles over cork, he chooses to use Tit Bond glue, must be a typo there Ron..

[Lee Koch]

If you're going to have a typo, might as well make it a good one!

[Broken Rod]

Personally I am not sure that rattan around cork deadens transmission through from fish to hand anymore than cork alone. After all, the rattaned cork (unlike wood) continues to flex along with the rod when playing a fish.

That's not what I said.
I don't think rattan around cork deadens transmission. I think cork doesn't transmit the feel of a fish's strike as well as wood does, regardless if the cork is wrapped with rattan or not. And I don't think there can be a whole lot of flex within 5 or 6" of cork on the butt end of any rod stronger than angel hair. Cooked pasta flexes, but the flex within the last few inches of a bamboo rod is minimal. If wood under rattan was a rodmaking sin, I rather doubt Murphy, Wheeler, Leonard, and whomever else, would have gotten the accolades they did.

[Oneighty]

I use Lee Valley rattan, out of 120' only about 20' is usable. It is 2.5mm wide. I would have thought that glue of any type would not adhere to a wet surface. Even if it is springy, it is wound on under slight tension gluing the rattan as you go a few inches at a time. Then clip on a weight to hold it in place so that it stars to set, then continue.

Sorry, I should have been clearer in my wording. I meant that it is soaked coiled up in an approximate grip diameter, and dried so that it is tighter coiled than when you buy it, you then apply it as stated. I go to Lee Valley every once in a while and read their catalogue often. I see the rattan advertised, they have some great gear in that store.