Greetings,

There's various posts about taking factory grips off and redoing it.

My question is this:

There are some factory rods that I think I may like. Given that I'm very short of time to build, I simply wanted to take the factory grip off and put on my grip.

Here's the challenge: I want to install a split grip with a butt and a short cork tennessee grip of between 4 and 5 inches.

1. What's the best way to take the factory grip with fuji reel etc off and leaving the blanks completely clean for the above?

2. Is this even possible?

3. Since the guides are already on and this is a 1 piece rod, I assume that I'd have to ream the hole large enough to fit the butt through the cork, and then fill in between? I really did not want to do that. Instead, I was thinking of possibly reaming a cork just right, then slicing it in half and then glue it together.

Of course, taking the old grip off may take so much time that I might as well build a rod but I really don't have the time. If I had the budget for a custom builder, I'd do that but budget was one primary reason I got into building int he first place.

Anyways, any thoughts would be welcome.

THANKS!
Mo

Mo,
Could you split the existing grip as you want and then clean up the bare blank area? Could you use part of the existing grip as a part of the split grip?

MO - FIRST CONSIDER if you can use boiled water to crack the glue in the handle and cause all the reel seat joint to fail and just slip off. If that works, that will be fast and sweet. Just avoid letting the rod's butt sit in tha bottom of the pot on the burner. It gets MUCH hotter than 212 degrees Farhenheit where the pot touches the burner.

If the boiled water baptism doesn't loose the reel seat from the rod blank, then - Saw off, or chew off the old cork (with pliers), enough so you can see both ends of the reel seat. Then you can see how much difference there is between (the reel seat's ID) and (the rod blank's OD). If you have a Dremel type cutter, you can cut along the long axis and split open the seat. Othwerwise, Razor-Saw off the reel seat, in a spiral fashion, WITHOUT hitting the rod blank. Whatever minimizes the labor of your saw cuts.

When you are peeling it back with pliers, or prying open the gap with a screwdriver, make sure you do NOT let the metal plier or screwdriver use the rod blank as a fulcrum. You could easily crush the blank at that contact point. And when you are peeling / cracking the reel seat off the rod blank, watch to see that the GLUE is failing, and NOT ripping the OUTER JACKET off the rod blank. That would be BAD news. Force an ADHESION failure between (the glue and the rod blank) or the (the glue and the reel seat). NOT an internal failure in the rod blank. ...

The Fuji graphite reels seats will cut easily enough. If you use a short handled, thin bladed, compact back-saw like the XACTO Razor saw, you can lay the blade FLAT on the rod blank with teeth just off the rod blank, and facing the reel seat and the rod tip. Then it's like you are cutting a chord thru the perimeter of the reel seat and opening a huge gap in the wall of the cylinder. If you can get that going, that will be a quick sawing route to hacking off the old seat. ... Scrape the blank clean so you can mount new grips & reel seat from the butt end.

Think about just making a thin shim from a thread or twine cross wrap or a spaced spiral wrap. You can build a bit of a reverse ramp if needed at the tip end of each component. ... Otherwise, a banana-split of the cork grip may work. But the precison on this may be less predictable / reliable than using a thread wrap for a shim. ... Careful dry fitting is the only way to do this and be happy. Proceed with caution, and you'll be fine. Good Luck, Mo. ... A Dios, ... -Cliff Hall+++



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2006 08:31AM by Cliff Hall.

THANKS for the help. You guys are great.

If I may ask, how much time does this process generally take? 30 minutes? Hour?

Mo

Here's a step by step how to with pictures:

[www.georgescustomrods.com]

AC
FishinFreaks
Rogers, MN

Murphy's Law may be operating here, Mo. So time factor depends on Murhphy's Law, and if the boiling works, or if you have to saw it off, and how big the ID-OD gap is between your old set-up, and the ID-OD thread shimming is for your new set-up. Use a thick epoxy on the new job. ...

If things go fantastically, it will take half an hour. (Not too likely. ... You gotta re-build the handle, remember) ... If things get complicated, well, it could take half a day, ... Either way, you gotta do it so, just get busy. You can interrupt the process at numerous stages along the way, so it does not have to be finished in 30 minutes, anyhow. ... Take your time and do it right, Mo. ... Good Luck, Mo, ... -Cliff Hall+++



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2006 02:47PM by Cliff Hall.

Cut the blank and reel seat into about in the center of the seat. You must not like the back end so throw it in the trash. Split of the seat end to the front off. Make an extenion piece for the rear grip - install fiberglass blank pin on the inside of both pieces - place seat with arbors - mix up builders elixir Rod Bond and align. If you have all the pieces laying around in the shop the total fix can be done in less than 1 hour. Courtesy Jesse B.!

Fsh No Mo!