I have a rubberized butt cap with a 1/4 inch hole in the center that came with a plug. How do you guys put them on.? I know this is a stupid question but I have thought of several ways. I can use the 1/4 inch hole as a centering hole, bore and recess the inside of the cap a little to the outside size of blank, glue the cap on to the blank then put the plug in. Seems like alot of work but I guess I'm up for it. Just need some help on how to do this.
Thanks Terry

Two choices with these:

You can epoxy to the rear grip, then elarge the 1/4" hole to slide it on the rod. The rubberized butt cap can be shaped on the rod after the grip epoxy sets. If you do this, make sure that the plug you have is at least larger than the OD of your blank. If the plug is too small for the hole you've made, then you have to learn how to inlay a nickel or some other cap to cover the hole. If not, proceed to the step below.

You can also mount the ring on a 1/4" mandrel to shape it to the size of the grip. Calipers are useful here. Then just epoxy to the end of the rear grip that you have mounted flush with the end of the blank. Usually still have to do some light sanding to match up the butt with the rest of the grip.

Either way works. I typically will opt for the first step, if I don't turn my own grip.

Terry

I just started making my own grips, and I have been doing the second way that Terry mentioned. I turn the rubberized ring at the same time as the grip so that they match up and then I ream the grip but leave the rubberized ring alone and glue it it to the butt along with the small plug after the grip has been epoxied fast. Some light sanding and done. It seems to work pretty well this way.

I have used this method twice with good results. I reamed out the hole in the cap and then plugged the rubberized plug into this hole with epoxy on both pieces. When dry I just cut off the excess plug and then put this rubberized ring on the bottom of my clamp and built the rest of the handle with the cork rings. When dry I sanded the handle down and you cannot detect the plug in the end cap. Be sure and tape off the blank & reel seat before you do any sanding.

Thanks for thw help.

I do mine a little differently. I use rubberized cork with out a hole in the center, but if you have a plug I would epoxy that into the hole first and let it set up, then sand flat. I usually use a forstner bit a little larger than the blank and drill a hole in the center of the rubberized cork about a 1/4 deep. Epoxy the cork on the end of the rod and mate and epoxy to the fitted grip and clamp, after it cures you can file and sand down the rubberized cork to the same size as the grip. If you have a lathe and a chuck you can use a dowel the same size as the hole that you drilled, a bumper on the live tailstock to hold the rubberized cork on the dowel, you can turn the rubberized cork down to the size of your grip. After you turn it to size you can epoxy the grip and cap together with minimal sanding. It should look like this when done [www.rodbuilding.org] . I have a hard time explaining in written words, if you have any questions don't be afraid to e/mail me. Mark

Thanks Mark. I'll see how this turns out.