I once posted a question inquiring as to what would be a suitable material to use as a filler for repairing the pits in cork rod handles. I was told to use a common wood filler material and repair the rod handle just as i would reapair a dent or a gouge in a piece of wood furniture. Some said such a filler would only be a temporary fix and in due time the handle would expand and contract and the filler material would most likely come loose and fall out.
I went to the hard ware store and found several wood filler products where i chose a product called "DAP Brand Plastic Wood Cellulose Fibre Filler Interior/Exterior". It is not a very wet product as it comes out of the tube...it is a lot dryer than most wood fillers i have used for furniture repair. The color of the product is labeled "Natural" and it was an excellent color match with the rest of the rod handle.
This product seemed to work best by squeezing a small amount from the tube and onto my index finger and then using finger pressure to push the filler into the holes. With the excess filler material mounded up and above the hole i used my index finger to firmly tap the filler into place. The only way i could get it to stay in the holes was to tap it into place with a firm tapping of finger pressure. I then set the rod in front of a fan and allowed it to air dry. Within five hours it was dry enough to sand the excess filler down flat with the handle using a 120 grit sand paper followed up with a finishing of 180 grit sand paper.
The rod has been wet numerous times since i filled the handle and has yet to show signs of the DAP filler material falling out. On a scale of 1 to 10 as a suitable product to use for cork rod handle repair ill confidently rate it at a number 10.
