I have only built rods to date with cork grips. I am making a 7 1/2 ft. 30-40 lb. bottom fishing conventional stick. The butt it pretty thick, like a 1 inch ID, and I have 3/4 in. (or maybee 11/16?) hypalon grips. I cant even get them 3/4 of the way down the blank. I havent glued them on yet, I just tried to slip them down as far as I could with a lubricant (astroglide) to see if they fit. Any suggestions on how to get them down there. I hear that this stuff is supposed to be able to stretch to double its diameter, but I am having serious trouble with it. Would boiling or microwaving the grips help?? Or reaming them out with a file like you would with cork grips?? Again, its a pretty thick butt on the rod, the reel seat is a 26. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Try using the search of this site on all dates. There is a lot on these.

Go to the FAQ's Page (Button on top of this page) and there is a detailed answer to your question. There is a ton of info to be had here if you browse around and check out the whole site

Mike

Just use the procedure listed on the FAQS page. No need for lubricants or heat. They'll go on super easy once you learn how.

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Do I need to use a 20 min epoxy to get the necessary lubrication or would u40 rod bond offer enough lubrication to slip the grip down all the way. I have read the FAQ page and searched the site about this but i cant see how I would be able to get the grip further down the rod with epoxy than I would with the water based lubricant I tried. Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it.

You wouldn't see it because you read teh instructions, but didn't believe them. WHy don't you just do what the instructions say to do? If thousands of people get teh grips to slide in place with epoxy, tehre's noreason for you to theorize why it wouldn't work.




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/2006 04:44PM by Tom Kirkman.

I have done the same rods with the same diameter issues. I was also concerned with the fact that DRY they seemed to have a long way to go. I called the distrubuter and they gave me a few options. This is the option i used. What I did was use thinned down Elmers glue and used it as the adhesive. Elmers get real slimey when cut with water. I also soaked the grips in hot, not boiling, water for 20 or 30 minutes. I coasted the rod from the point of the binding, to the butt. I also coated the inside of the grip. Then in one swift and firm movement I slid the grip into place. I first grip didn't make it all the way down because I wasn't aggressive enough and I thinned the glue too much. I removed it and cleaned it up, added a bit more Elmers to the batch, and the second time worked like a charm. You will get glue everywhere so do this outside and after you slide the grip all the way in place hose off well with water to remove any glue that is on the outside of the grip. I have done several of these this way , all on heavy saltwater gear, and never had a problem. One thing I did do after everything set up was inject a little glue into the top of the grip before I installed the trim ring. Hope this helps.

I have used finish, paste epoxy (kardol and rod bond), regular "liquid" epoxy. The epoxy works as a lubricant, unlike water If you don't want to use epoxy try alcohol which is a good lubricant for rubber.. It has been my observation that as you're pressing the grip on, once it begins to move do not stop but slide it all the way in place in one motion. On grips with small id compared to the blank I use a push board to enable me to use my entire upper body to apply the force necessary. The wooden fence out back has a convenient knot hole in it where I do this hard tp push grips using the push board.

Lou

Thanks a bunch guys. I guess I wanted to know if the rod bond would work because thats what I have, and I dont want to order, and wait for epoxy if i dont really need it.


Lou- how did you make the pushboard. Like a piece of 1 x 4 cut with a hole saw?

Thanks again for the help fellas.

You do not need a pushboard and RodBond will work. Follow the instructions and you will be successful. You can push it on with fingertip pressure.


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You will need a piece of wood of better quality than a standard pine 1x4. Something that has a grain that is not so straight from end to end or it may split on you when you put pressure in it. Try looking in Home depot or Lowes for a piece of red oak trim in their unfinished trim stock aisle. A 3" wide piece is sufficient as you will only be drilling holes to accomdate the diameter of the blank. What I also did before drilling is laminate two lengths together to virtually eliminate the possblity of an end grain end-to-end split, then rounded over all the edges (in the holes as well as along the edges so as not to scratch the blank or my hands)

Hi Jared,

One thing that was not mentioned is that you probably need to get all of the astroglide off the blank and grip. If left on it may cause the adhesive not to hold.

Hank
On The Rocks Fishing
Wells, ME.

Problem I see with Elmers glue is it needs air to dry.I`d be willing to bet if you cut that grip off later in the rods life the glue will not be dry.It needs to dry not cure like a 2 part epoxy.

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)

thanks for all the help fellas

I muscled the rear grip on
took me a half hour and i probably used an ounce of Rod bond (half of the jar)

I already have blisters but the thing is on
I think it stretched more than twice its diameter

working on the chevrons already

thanks again

Bill adn Tom are dead right. Next time do it like the instructions say and make sure you push from the upper side of the grip. This causes a ballooning effect with the bottom of the grip and the epoxy which allows the grip to slide into position. If you do it properly there should be very little if any glue spilling out. I also use some methylated spirits which I slosh around the inside of the grip. This does help considerably and evaporates off very quickly not affecting the grip in any way. Finally, when pushing the grip into position, whatever you do, when it starts getting a little tight, DON'T STOP for any reason until it's in place.

OK why not power ream the thing out and make it fit better ?

A. Not everyone has access to a power reaming machine
B. Installing the grip is so easy if done properly there is no need to ream, unless you have an inlay in there you do not want to split.

Mark - I have glue seepign out all over the place when I instal my grips. I coat almost teh entire blank with epoxy, and I haven't a a grip get stuck in quite a while. Those Menthol spirits do make things easier...however if it takes a long time to instal teh grip and the spirits evaporate, the grip may get stuck. I use them if I see the grip is going to get stuck, it's the Astroglide of grip instalation, lol.

I just try to make things easyer. There is allways a better - and cleaner way to do some thing. Nothing is written in stone. Just sounds like a " heck " of a lot of work doing it this way. And very messy.

Power reaming machine ?? A drill and reamer ! You make it sound like a 300.00 machine.

Try and ream a 1/2" ID 14" long grip with a 1" ID with a drill. I know it can be done, but I promise you it's not nearly as easy as you think - especially when the grip gets stuck on the reamer and the drill doesn't have the power to turn it anymore. Not fun, at all. It's definately easier to install teh grip pproperly from the start, its' really a simple process, adn you can use teh excess glue for the reel seat & foregrip.

A 3/4" id eva grip should be failry easy to get over a 1" od blank. Follow the instructions, use Rod Bond, and shove that thing on there. Piece of cake.

Jay