Hey All-

I am having some trouble with fitting / finishing the ends of composite skinned grips that will butt up against / be inserted into a reel seat (typically an ECS or ACS casting seat). I have tried shaping them slightly undersized and using heat shrink tubing to finish the grips and bring them up to the right OD, but I get a real rounded shoulder and consequently a sloppy fit up into / against the outer edge of the reel seat. The heat shrink tubing molds the skin nicely over most contours, but it still significantly rounds the shoulders...you don't get a crisp 90 edge. So I have to just cut it square and butt it up against the seat rather than having the seat resting on and bonded to the grip.

I have seen several pictures from others (well, I guess those are all from Tom K. and Andy Dear now that I think about it) where the junction between reel seat and grip is level and clean...like you'd expect with cork or eva or whatever. The only thing I can figure is that folks are finishing the grips about the same OD as the reel seat back edge (or slighly oversize) and then cutting them off square to get a solid junction with no gaps. The only ones I have that have turned out the way I want them have been done that way.

Is there something I am missing or doing wrong? Anyone else having this challenge?

Any help appreciated. Great board.

Bill

I make mine just slightly oversize and have the edge rolled just a tad to finish nicely up against the seat or cap or whatever. I'm not sure you'll ever get a nice sharp 90-degree shoulder. The stuff just doesn't want to do that.

Now what you might be able to do is continue making the same grips you're making now and turn your attention to the seat itself - chamfer the end so that it's beveled enough to accept the very end of the grip, the rounded potion, and then in effect you should have a nice, sharp, well defined junction between seat and grip.

Let me know if this doesn't make sense to you and I'll try to explain it better.

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

Bill,
I noticed the same thing on the grips I just made with the shrink tubing. I solved it by filing the excess epoxy and graphite out of the area that needed to fit inside of the end of the seat. I did this on my rod lathe so it would be a sharp edge. Once you glue the two together you wont notice it.

Hi Bill, I posted earlier a couple tips that may help get a better angled edge with your carbon fiber. I think if you wrap the ends of your grips with electrical tape sticky side out you may get a sharper ninety degree bend than using shrink tube. The shrink tube may be a little to thick, therefore not able to shrink to the angle you want. With electrical tape you can strech it a little while wrapping it and get a lot tighter angles. Hope this helps, have a great day, Rich.

I am working on building the ends up with about 1/8" epoxy so that I can disk sand them. That's how we get sharp edges on surfboards. I'll let you know if it works on Sunday.

I think I have said this in 3 threads already. Just cut it with ahack saw or something that makes a nice edge then just sand it straight and smooth it will look like a machine cut it.

I think I've got a pretty good method that has been working out pretty well.

Leave enough extra sleeving (tacky with West epoxy) to tuck back inside, I've been using a spatula.

Use a piece of wooden dowel as close to your ream size as possible,. cut a pinky finger off a nitrile glove, pull tight on dowel, tape, push in to pull the sleeving tight.

After the the shrink tube part, you should be able to get some nice finished product.

I'm out of town for the IFA Redfish Tournament (7th Place wooohoo!) using foam core grips on Rainshadow RX8+'s and every pro who checked them out wants one. I'll post some pics of the rods that caugt our fish when I get back home tonite..