i guess this would include the nps reel seats also about having little or no cork in front how this started was i had a customer come in bass fisherman he had a kistler liked the idea of no cork in front but fishing all day with it he said was uncomfortable front of reel seat dug in i guess.....so coming to me he wondered what we could do and make a custom rod ... upon reading other posts i figured why not a graphite reel seat arbor tapered down to the blank and flush with the reel seat great transition graphite to graphite with a very light finish on it matched with a exposed reel seat sensativity should be crazy i would think.... what do guys think........ yea or nae......

Anything that proves functional and/or comfortable is a viable option. Don't lock yourself into thinking it has to look a certain way. Tradition is sometimes just a means for keeping people from finding better ways of doing things.

..................

I had a recent post about a similar situation whereas I wanted to use a Fuji NPS 16mm realseat and turn down a single ring for a foregrip. The problem is since I wanted the single ring the same diameter at the end of the reelseat, the wall thickness of that single ring was going to be just over .100 of an inch. After playing around with the reelseat on the blank, I found a rubber/plastic winding check in the perfect size for both the blank diameter and where it nestled nicely up against the front of the reelseat. When I wrap the hookkeeper in front of it, I'm hoping for a nice tapered transition where I can lay my finger on the blank. And I found the next size up winding check was a perfect match for the back end of the reelseat as a lightweight option for my split rear grip.

From a standpoint of sensitivity I think most any hard or firm material would be an improvement on cork. I've had good response by using a small tapered wooden piece in front of the seat. I would think your idea with the graphite piece should work equally as well.

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

thats what im trying to get away from Tim not that theres nothing wrong with what you did but thats basicly the same way the kistler rod was and they way he fishes it wasent working i guess... how i plan to do this is take the arbor down to fit flush with the reel seat outside diameter pre drill my inside hole to the blank then taper the graphite ring to the blank wich Mike explained in your post with epoxy will give you a ramp wich inturn so will the arbor that way he can feel the 9.9 merc on the bottom of the lake like on tv ........lol.........i thought i would chime in and see if any one else tryed this im shure im not the first to think of it............Tom i think performance first and looks second with all the new rod building components available these days thats not hard to achieve but does snot if it dont perform thats why were all around to make these rods better .........tight wraps Rob

Just did a bass jig casting rod. Client had no need of a foregrip. I made a piece to taper from the blank to larger than the reel seat, then bored the back to fit over the reel seat. As the butt cap was made of the same black nylon/plastic material, and the blank was a charcoal, and the guides were titanium, I stained the cork handle with ebony, and the finished look was BAD, as in KILLER, meaning, looked MEAN, with brown and gold trim wraps.

Tim: I sure would like to see that rod. Did you take any pictures. After staining the handle did you seal with something?

I'm currently making myself a SCV split grip with nothing in front of, or behind, the 18mm matrix reel seat. I just lay epoxy in the area(s) with the rod tilted and turning in a dryer. what you end up with is one piece of cork on the very end of the rod and the reel seat just sitting there by itself with a funnel shaped area of epoxy on each end nicely melding and flowing onto the rod.

I also shortend the threads on the reel seat making it have no threads at all showing when locked down with reel attached, everything is flush. I just make sure everything inside the reel seat is blackened out-you surely don't want a full length yellow arbor showing :)

DR

Duane,

Try wrapping up you epoxy "funnel" or marbling it. Looks cool, you might like it Or just color the epoxy

Mike

"Did you take any pictures. After staining the handle did you seal with something?"

No pictures yet. The client was using it this weekend to give me some feedback. Still have to apply the decal and perhaps adjust the balance, then I will fully document the rod and take some pictures. After staining the handle, it was sealed with Trondak Cork Seal.

Some guys over on the BFHP rod page are turning down a single ring of cork to do what you are looking for. It looks nice, somewhat of a 'throwback' to tradition, and is VERY functional.

Mike,

I like the coloring of the epoxy idea....tell me more.....

DR

I have built rods where i will contour the cork foregrip down to the blank where the index finger first nuckle (or whatever is desired) is on the blank for feel. When the fight is on u still have a foregrip to wrap the rest of your fingers around............just my 2 cents, and now im broke.....haha

Duane,
Here's what I usually do - Put my rod in the dryer (or turn by hand) and put a gob of 5 min epoxy where the blank joins the seat. Raise the tip a little to get the ramp angle that you want. The turning of the rod will give you a nice smooth ramp right to the edge of the seat. Just wrap right up the ramp and when you get to the top, just put a small dab of Super glue to hold the tag in pace and tape the end out of the way. Put finish on and when it's dry, trim off the loose end flush. Makes a nice looking transition.

You can also just add some pigment into the epoxy to get the color you want and skip the thread and jusst put a hook keeper wrap where it meets the blank, to hide the transaction. I saw Ralph Oquinn do it with Rod Bond in Charlotteusing his finger to shape it. Worked perfect for him but,. as much as I love Rod Bond, I can never get it smooth or concentric unless I use 5 min epoxy


Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Thanks Mike!

I'm going to do the wrap, I think it'll be a nice look

DR