Butt Cap Question

[HobeyBaker]

I ordered a cork butt cap with a eva end piece. I was assuming that they would come as two separate pieces and I would glue them together. However, they came glued together. Is there a good way to get them apart so I can ream the cork part?

[timinmo]

I'm sure no one is ignoring your question but it is hard to offer suggestions without know just what you are dealing with. Could you post a picture of the butt cap? If not my best suggestion without seeing it is to cut the two apart with a razor blade, ream it and then glue it back together. You can wrap it with a piece of tape to make sure your cut is straight.

[MikeK]

I've had someone tell me they do "dead end" reaming with a tap for cutting threads put into a variable speed drill and run in reverse. Seems like you'd need the right size to stay concentric. If you could secure it in a vise you could try a forstner bit on the drill press, but would have to be careful because the center point could still go through

[HobeyBaker]

I'm sure no one is ignoring your question but it is hard to offer suggestions without know just what you are dealing with. Could you post a picture of the butt cap? If not my best suggestion without seeing it is to cut the two apart with a razor blade, ream it and then glue it back together. You can wrap it with a piece of tape to make sure your cut is straight.

I have the EVA one and it is glued to the cork. https://www.mudhole.com/Straight-Tapere ... hting-Butt

[Slazmo]

An ultra fine sand / diamond wire saw blade and a tennon saw, just cut through the Cork side of it and sand flat both edges and epoxy shut when done.

[ogrich31]

I'll just use a drill bit with the same or slightly bigger size than the butt od. The trick is to not go all the way through. I'll insert a smaller drill bit into the cork butt cap and mark where it ends. Then I'll mark that spot on the bigger drill bit. You can use tape on that spot as a stopper so you won't drill all the way. Drill, and all that's left is for you to epoxy it in.

[ogrich31]

But if I need to split them apart, I'll insert the butt into a spare blank or some kind of mandrel. Then I'll put the mandrel into my power wrapper and while it's spinning at high rpms, use a razor blade to split it. Just be careful as the razor blade will get very hot.

[timinmo]

My assumption is you don't have a power wrapper. If you have, or have access to, a drill press I would use an appropriately sized bit and running it in reverse tends to work well. Separating the two pieces would be my choice. You do not need to cut at the glue line. The cork is already glued together and you will just be adding another glue joint. Getting a straight cut on a tapered butt cap can be a challenge and that is why I suggested using tape as a cutting guide. Also I would not concern myself with reaming the cork all the way to the EVA, get close and that should be good enough.

[HobeyBaker]

Thanks for the suggestions. What is the best way to cut the cork?

[HobeyBaker]

My assumption is you don't have a power wrapper. If you have, or have access to, a drill press I would use an appropriately sized bit and running it in reverse tends to work well. Separating the two pieces would be my choice. You do not need to cut at the glue line. The cork is already glued together and you will just be adding another glue joint. Getting a straight cut on a tapered butt cap can be a challenge and that is why I suggested using tape as a cutting guide. Also I would not concern myself with reaming the cork all the way to the EVA, get close and that should be good enough.

I watched the video on YouTube with the rod builder from Lamiglass doing this. I think I'm going to try to rig up something like this with a power drill since I don't have a power wrapper. I'm thinking I can use size smaller drill bit and build it up using masking tape. I have some really sharp razor blades.