I'm building a lightweight fly rod for myself and I just noticed that the pre-formed half-wells grip I'm using was is bored at .35" to accept the butt of the blank, however, the butt section of the blank where it the grip will sit is .25" dia. (this is delicate 3WT). Should I shim the blank to fit snug with some masking tape? My concern is that there may be the potential for some of the glue to not make good contact along the entire length of cork which may cause a little 'squeek' during use. If shimming is OK, is masking tape the best bet? Maybe narrow strips along the length of the blank spaced apart in such a way as to leave narrow, alternating strips of blank exposed to accept extra epoxy? Is 1/10" to much to shim? Am I too cautious? I always shim the reel seat with fiberglass drywall tape and have never had a problem. Better to just start with new cork?

Jim;

I would suggest staying with drywall fiberglass tape or rapping some thread on the blank you will get much better results, better long term durability and not have the squeak you are concerned about.

Since you asked for an opinion;
I think masking tape is the worst stuff you could use, and it is hard to comprehend builders claiming to make top grade sensitive rods using it, or suggesting to others to use it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/2010 09:14AM by Steve Gardner.

You are better off with a new grip that fits well. Less rod bond and less weight

If you do shim, I take 1/4" tape and make arbors around the blank one in the middle and at both ends of the grip -- After Prepping the blank.--- This way the grip is glued to the blank and not just to the tape.

Bill - willierods.com

Jim,
No big deal.
Just use 1/4 inch masking tape to shim as necessary. Leave 1/8th - 3/16th gaps between the rows of tape. The gap between the rows of tape will hold the epoxy and give you an excellent bond between the reel seat, handle and blank.

Glue it up and move on. It will be fine. The very slight weight build up that you get is certainly not wortht he cost of replacing the handle. In addition, if there is a slight weight build up, it will simply help balance the overall rod and reel setup.

Take care
Roger

I personally would not want to shim a grip on a 3 wt. I actually build my light grips directly on the blank and sand to shape in the lathe. These light rods bend quit a bit under the grip when loaded and I like that feeling. I hate to do anything to stifen the grip section. If you do shim it, how about cork tape? and sand it until the grip fits over it.

Amazing how opinions and techniques differ. Anyway, the solution I went with was to use fiberglass dry wall tape, which is 90% 'air', and bound a tapered strip along the blank with thread. I added two slight, narrow arbors of masking tape at the front and the back. Yes, this requires a little more glue to fill the fiberglass 'netting' but I'm not building a Stradivarius here. We'll see how she performs. Thanks for the responses.

Sounds like you have found a workable solution especially if you used Rod Bond as you will retain most of the flexibility beneath the grip.

The issue of "sensitivity" is a "non sequitur" for a fly rod, as one does not feel for the bite!