I just received all my "stuff" from Mud Hole needed to build my St. Croix 3 piece blank [2S70MF-3] into what I hope will be an all-around good light "in-shore" surf rod for perch, etc.. My question: I bought EVA fore and rear grips that are a) a little too thick around for my hand, and b) a little too long (both.) I intend to gussie-up the rod a little with 1/4 inch round plastic sky blue inserts at the butt just ahead of my spiffy chrome Struble butt-button on the rear grip and just behind the winding check on the fore grip. I also want to cut-down (if possible) the overall length of each grip by about an inch. How is this done? What tools should I use, grade and type of sanding paper, etc.?

I don't have a lathe, though I could rig up a powered hand drill or even a drill press to use as an ersatz lathe. I am opened to any suggestions that are relatively easy to follow and will produce good results. Thanks.

Patrick,
EVA shapes very well on a makeshift lathe. To re-shape the grip use 80 or 100 grit and finish up with 220. I generally don't go any higher than 150 or 220 with foam because I don't like the way it looks when it's polished. I prefer more of a natural velvety feel that 150 or 220 gives gives. To cut it, you can use a lot of different things, I tend to use a piece of size D thread....or a bastard file turned on it's side.

Andy Dear
Lamar Manf.

All EVA, Hypolon, or Cork grips, I shape on a belt sander, its just the way I learned as I never had access to a lathe when I started. I just press the grip onto the blank ( pressed, not epoxied) and when shaping, spin the blank in my hands while apply pressure to the beltsander. Its my way of roughing things into shape, then I hand sand....Its how I had to learn (compromise, adapt, overcome). I hate to admit it, but I even shaped a grip yesterday using this method.

Depending on your enthusiasm in rodbuilding...look into a turning lathe, or rodbuilders lathe. I'm just posting an option.

To cut the foam shorter, I 'd wrap a "straight edge"of masking tape around the foam, then use a sharp single edge razor blade to cut it, by rolling the grip on a table, while gently controlling the blade, digging in a bit deeper each pass trying to make a clean cut.

Latheless tips

I had my first experience with EVA a couple of weeks ago. Needed to turn the buttgrip (10 inches long) down so it would fit into the reel seat, and don't (yet) have a lathe. So, I chucked a 1/2" piece of steel into a drill. The steel only protruded about 4 inches from the drill, though, and the end of the EVA (that I needed to turn down) was wobbling a lot. I tried to hold it with my hand, but it got hot. So, I had the bright idea of putting on a cotton glove that I use when handling cork, and held the EVA steady with that. The turning-down went great, but when I removed my gloved hand from the EVA, I was shocked to see the grip had gotten a lot thinner where I was holding it. Then, I looked at the glove - it was black! The glove actually sanded down the EVA.
But, on the positive side, I learned how to cut EVA - just held a thread against it while turning.
I guess these are the best ways to learn things, and the EVA was only a couple of dollars. Now, I have an extra 8" butt grip for something

When I didnt have a lathe I used a piece of all thread rod from Lowes shimmed with masking tape to snug the fit.Chucked in the hand drill.You can clamp the drill in a vise if you have one putting a rag or something soft so you dont damage the drill.This will free up your other hand to cut the eva using a length of size D thread.The thread method to me makes the straightest cleanest cut required when gluing to trim rings or a different color material.Yuo can also go pretty thin with the rings.

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)