i've built a couple dozen rods and i've had this problem twice now and need some good advice. i'am using 10" pre glued and formed handles and after i let them setup i find a spot thats not bonded and have to cut it back off. its usely at the other end where i started pushing from. any help would be a blessing.

thank's,
rick

The bane of pre-formed grips. Reaming them accurately all along the grip. Do you have a lathe ? Or a drill and steadies? A stand for a drill and steadies are shown in one of Dale Clemens' earlier books. A good read, and not too spendy.
Put the un-reamed, "as supplied" bore on a mandrel, and using a very sharp knife, cut the grip into 3 pieces, on a **cork glue line**. With a very sharp knife, the cut will be so smooth, that as you ream the itty-bitty sections, and slide them on, they will marry up so precisely, no-one will ever know you cut the sections!!!
If a bit of resin bleeds up thru a cut, a paper towel dipped in toluene, acetone, etc, will remove it, and you won't need to even think about sanding. If you do decide to sand, you can start right off with 400 grit after you remove the resin as above.
If you find this method to be counter-productive, see how the life-force and coin stack up against a store-bought tapered reamer system, or your own design reamer system. I think you'll find "sectioning" your grip is not a bad idea. You'll have real good control oof the taper over the shorrter sections, and can ream nice and snug to act as a self-clamp for the re-glue.
Works for me...... your mileage may vary.




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/2006 02:06AM by Ken Driedger.

Hi Rick,

What type of adhesive are you using? Are you using a tapered reamer to size the ID of the handle to fit your blank. Are you preping your blank before applying adhesive (see Surface Preperation by Ralph O'Quinn in Library section)? If your handle's ID is larger than the blanks OD are you shimming the blank to make a nice tight fit between handle and grip?

Hank
On The Rocks Fishing
Wells, ME.

Rick,

Assuming that you are reaming the internal bore to match the taper of your rod blank it seems to me that the fit which may be a tad tight is cleaning off your epoxy. So here's what I do. I epoxy the blank the length of the handle plus 5 inches above it. I smear some epoxy inside the bore using a piece of old skinny blank. I then put the handle onto the blank and move it down using a spirling twist to ensure that the epoxy gets all over the joint. You clean off the excess with your std solvents of choice.

Warning. Be carefull as if you apply too much epoxy you will get what I think is called hydraulicking. Where the pressure of too much epoxy between the bore and the blank could cause a thin walled blank to fracture. You have to go slow. Push down slow and then release. The grip will usually come back up a bit. If you need too much force to get the grip down take off some epoxy.

This is not a quick job it needs care and attention. It is messy to. Sorts the men from the boys does good gluing LOL.

Mike O.

I find it is easier and cleaner to put the seat on. Spin and cast rods first. measuring where the butt handle will fit. Then I ream the handle to fit the blank from the butt and the front. Shim the fore area with 1/4" tape to center and snug it up. Not much tap goes on or is needed. Also I bevel the for of the handle so it does not push the glue away from the inside of the handle, tends to go inside it. When ready and fits well, then I put rod bond on, slid the handle with a twisting motion. Slid it off and check the bond to make sure there is enough rod bond on and it is or seems to be touching the inside of the handle. if good, twist on, clean - which is very little, clamp if need be, usually no clamp needed.

Fly handles I make them fit snug, not tight. Tape the blank above where the grip will go. making sure the grip fits over the tap. Apply bond to the blank area where it goes. Slid on with a twisting motion, - now I can slide it back off and get the rod bond all over the " tap " not the blank.
Put it place when good, pull the tap off, glue comes with it. Wash.

Appearently your not geting the exact blank taper reamed forming the I.D. of the pre-made cork grip. What usually happens, as others have mentioned, is the that somewhere in the middle of the grip it narrows and as you twist the grip on over the epoxied blank it screets the epoxy down towards the reel seat leaving little on the winding check half of the grip. A perfectly tapered to match reaming of the grip is always best especially in combination with a prepared water-break free surface Barring that, I would never cut off a grip. I repair plenty that come loose from a less than acceptable glue-ups.
Preferably imediately after the initial grip glue up, when the original epoxy is still soft and you know there are upper grip voids, I break out a 18g syringe with a 1-1/2" needle. I had to buy them special and in bulk to get the right Gauge as the 22 g you might be able to get at your local pharmacy are too narrow to easily push epoxy through, but it can be done. I load it up with 90 min epoxy and go in from the winding check down as far as the 1-1/2" the needle allows, and then filler up until it squirts out the check side. I apply side pressure over the upper part of the grip from 360 degrees to work the epoxy around. I then find a pit farther down the cork approx 1" from the check end of the grip and incert the syringe needle down towards the reel seat at a 45 degree angle, being cognisent of the needle tip opening and positiong it to one side so not to obsure it. Feel for the blank and when you hit it load it up with epoxy, (When finished apply side pressure working the glue about), You can tell if the glue is flowing or if you hit hard epoxy obcuring the neeedle opening, also how much you have added, and can keep moving down the grip finding pits in 1" intervals and incerting at a 45 degree angle. Have a clean up rag ready because the expoy does not need air to cure but it does expand and will force itself back out the entry pit or others that go through to the grip surface.

If you are reaming with a to small a reamer and ream along the side of the handle to enlarge you may be getting an uneven hole ?? Like said, one side larger then the other and smaller in the middle ? Instead of a straight and even cut tapered hole.

I do it similar to what Mike said, with an addition. After taping up the front of the cork to mask it off, I use a small piece of EVA grip with an ID smaller than the blank to push the cork down while twisting. The EVA works as a squeegee, forcing as much epoxy as possible to stay in the front of the cork. Remove large amounts of squeeze out as needed until the grip is in position. As long as I have a fair amount of squeeze out between the EVA and cork, I'm happy. If I don't, I pull the grip up, add more epoxy to the blank and repeat. When done, slice off the chunk of EVA, remove tape from cork and clean up.

Excellent idea Mick!

Jeff

hey guy's,
thank's abunch, i think most of my problem is my reaming as i don't have any tapered reamers. where do you find these.
thank's again,
rick

Rick

You can buy them from many of the sponsors on the left, or make your own from sections of old blank. do a search you will find loads of stuff. Go to Flex-coat they will tell you how to make them.

Cheers

Mike O.

Hi,

One thing I didn't see much written about is where to put the epoxy on the blank. I put it well above where the grip will end up, usually above where the grip first starts to grab. This way I am using the rod blank to thoroughly coat the inside of the grip, before I even begin to slide it down into place. whether I'm using rod bond, 5 minute or rod builder's 30 min epoxy, its all the same. Slide your grip up and down the rod, twisting it as you go, and moving your hand up and down the grip, if its a long rear grip. As you slide the grip down the blank you will leave some epoxy behind. If all the epoxy is being wiped off the blank, then your epoxy isn't all the way through the cork. Once I've shoved enough epoxy into the grip, I slide it all the way down into place, then get busy on the blank with denatured alcohol. When I've done a good job filling the cork with epoxy some will ooze out of the voids in the cork as it expands. (I always ream my grips with a tapered reamer and fit them snugly on the blank.) Good Luck!

Steve

Rick
If you make reamers you should make them out of the sand paper strips glues to a scrap blank. The grit i keep hearing of particles falling off and being left in the handle and when it is slid down the blank they scratch the blank
Mud Hole carries the strips by a roll and you can make many reamers. IMHO

thank's abunch guys!!! this forum is the best thing i've ever found on the internet. what magazine or reading materal do most of you read i'am always looking for better way to improve my rods and where to buy my stuff . me being new to this hobby i don't know all the good places to look.

thank's again,
rick

Hi Rick!
Subscribe to RodMaker Magazine!! the best $ you can ever spend bar none!
Get Tom Kirkman's book and there are some DVD's out as well.
Links are on the left of the page.

Also, read the FAQ and Library sections of this forum several times.

Email me anytime! Just click on my name at the top of my posts

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..