Hi

I have a rubberized cork ring that I want to use as a butt cap.  Problem is that it needs a hole in it.  I thought I could use a 1/2" drill bit and drill a hole in it but it just destroyed the ring.  It didn't cut a hole like I thought.  

Any suggestions to to this by hand?

First off you need to find the center of the ring, then you need a clamp to hold it flat in, then you need a 1/2" Forstner bit, that is the only way you will get a flat bottom hole drilled.

Drill no more than half the thickness of the ring. Oh did I mention this works best on a high speed drill press.

I'm sure flechero or Alpster   will chime in with a better solution, so hang on....

Thanks

Nice Pic by the way.  Yeah, I don't have access to a drill press and don't want to buy one for this sole purpose.   Do you think that making the hole is necessary or can I achieve a good bond without drilling the hole.  It'll just be epoxied to the last ring in the handle.  

Any how, I'm hangin....  8-)

Your info is confusing... if you are considering not drilling the butt cap ring, then you must have glued the grip flush with the end of the blank- if this is the case, just epoxy it in place and hand finish it once cured.  If the blank is sticking out of the back of the grip a little, you'll either have to relieve the ring or trim the blank... no other way arounfd it.

If neither of these sounds right, I misunderstood your situation...

One note to file away in your memory about cork and drill bits of any kind.  High speed, slow feed always cuts better.

Yes these are exactly my options.  I did not put the grip together yet.  I was wondering if

"you must have glued the grip flush with the end of the blank- if this is the case, just epoxy it in place and hand finish it once cured."

this scenerio would be ok.  I am afraid it will break off if not attached to the blank.

 If not, I would have to drill a hole.  Is is possible for me to get a Fortner drill bit and use a hand drill?

I wish I had the proper tools.

Thanks guys.  Luckily I bought two rings because I knew I was gonna mess up the first!

I am afraid it will break off if not attached to the blank.

There is that possibility depending on what the grip material is (regular cork would be easier than burl). I kind of doubt it would happen you would have to grip it awful tight and twist to break it off. One other thing to think about is that you should be clamping the rubberized cork ring to the grip no matter what style grip you have, just to keep from having any glue rings showing.

If not, I would have to drill a hole.  Is possible for me to get a Fortner drill bit and use a hand drill?

Yes it can be done, but like I said you will need a clamp to hold it (you do not want to use and possibly lose the ends of your fingers). Then you must keep the drill a vertical as possible. Make sure you only drill about half way into the thickness of the ring. The problem will be making sure you have the right size forstner bit, buying them in singles is not cheap. You will have to mic the end of the blank.

I wish I had the proper tools.

I don't think any of us had all the right tools in the beginning. But if your going to be a dedicated rod builder you will need them at one time or another.

I have been drilling burl and rubberized cork with no problem with a drill press.  I doubt if you can do it well without one.  But there are other uses for the drill press, and it doesn't have to be expensive.

If you drill out your rings to 5/16 inch, and mount the glued stack on a 5/16 threaded rod, with the upper end in the chuck of the drill press, and the lower end into the 5/16 bore of a small ball bearing mounted in piece of wood which is clamped to the work surface of the drill press, you have a great light duty lathe for turning cork.  Either with a file or sandpaper as the tools.  I use a file, then 60 sand paper, then 100 sand paper, then 200 sand paper.  I use burl cork and the handles come out just what I want for diameter, shape, length.

And drilling holes in the cork is very easy, safe, and accurate.  Using a high speed on the drill press with a sharp drill bit you can hold the rings by hand and drill quite slowly down through them.  I've not ever felt I was putting my fingers at risk.  It is very stable.  But I don't drill rapidly!

I don't use rubberized cork on the butt of my handles.  Go to the auto parts store and buy some rubberized cork gasket material.  It comes in a roll, inexpensive.  Comes in 1/16 and 1/8 inch thickness.  I let the last cork ring stick out past the blank just a hair.  Cut a circle of the cork gasket material little bigger than cork ring.  Use contact cement on both last cork on handle and gasket material.  When contact cement dry, place together, instant stick.  Cut off excess gasket material with knife or scissors, then sand to finish.  Makes good looking job, and lighter than a 1/2 inch rubberized cork ring.

Rip

I cheat a little. I buy rubberized rings that have a matching plug to fill the 1/4" hole. I glue up the rings and turn them down to the right shape and just insert the plug with a little glue. After drying, a quick touch up with some 400 sandpaper and it looks great. This almost eliminates hand work and lets me shape the butt end of the grip on the lathe.

Ronnie