To fix a balance problem on my tip heavy Dan Craft FT 10' 8wt, I stripped off the 7" full wells grip that was on it, and am ready to install a 7 1/2" full wells plus a separate recessed hood ring I got from REC. The extra 1" of grip moves the balance point exactly where I want it.

I have my Struble saltwater reel seat attached and was planning on sliding the recessed hood ring down onto the seat and then slide the grip down the blank against the ring. The grip has a 5/16" bore and the bottom fits snugly on the blank at the hood ring. I've added some layers of masking tape on the blank at the upper end of the grip to keep it concentric. I was going to put clear tape on the blank at the glue joint to keep it from sticking and use Titebond III. After it dries, hopefully I can slide it off and onto a dowel and turn down the hooded ring on my drill press.

My logic for doing it this way is it's the only way I can think of to keep the bore of the grip concentric with the bore of the hooded ring and reel seat. Is this a good way or is there a better/easier process than what I've described? I figured I could probably hillbilly up some type of clamping mechanism to keep pressure on the glue joint until it dries. Thanks.

Hey Hillbilly, there is a lathe and a glueing clamp over here, sounds like you could use it. John