I am in the midst of building my first split handle casting rod.
I am ready to ream the cork that will butt up to the reel seat.

My question is this:

should I sand the cork down to fit inside the reel seat....????
or
just butt the handle up to the reel seat......

and then epoxy in place. Make sense...???

I'm thinking that I should sand the reel seat down a bit to fit inside the reel seat....seems to me it would be better and offer a more solid construction this way.

I was just curious on what you more experienced builders do.

thanks in advance.....

pete

I recess the grip to fit inside the seat. be sure and make the recess just shigh of the seat depth to insure you get a tight fit. I use tape to keep things straight.

Regards......Doug@
TCRds

I second Dougs advice. I think one great advantage in building ones own grips and seats is that it allows the opportunity to integrate fitting components in this manner.

Stan Grace
Helena, MT
"Our best is none too good"

I agree with the above. I too recess my handle on a split grip rod. The standard length for bass rods seems to be 2.5" Personally that is too short for me. I glue up seven rings and then recess about 1/8" from the first ring to fit into the end of the reelseat, this gives me a grip of about 3 1/8" which is sufficient. For the rear portion I just do 2.5 or 3" since I only hold that section during a two handed cast.

Scott Sheets

What advantage is there for the recess? I have done two so far. Both were done as mentioned, 2.5 at the reel seat and 2.5 at the butt end but no recess. Both are solid and look great. I used rod bond for the glueing.

Don,
I too have done one without the recessed portion and it is working fine, I guess I just like the added sense of security I have when it is recessed. I am sure someone more knowledgeable will have a better answer, but for me I just think it allows me to line things up better and get better fit and finish.

Don for me, it's a line up thing.

Regards......Doug@
TCRds

Alignment as well as support!

Stan Grace
Helena, MT
"Our best is none too good"

The beauty of rod building; build em the way you want to!

Putter
Williston, ND

I've done it both ways, and both ways seem rock solid after quite a bit of use. I've been fitting my cork inside my reel seat more recently, because I've started using split ECSM seats, and consequently, there's not much surface on the trigger piece to adhere to the blank. A tight cork tenon adheres the cork to the trigger piece, essentially making it all one piece, and therefore, more stable (I hope).