I over reamed the forward section of my 12" cork butt grip. I tried to build up the void with a couple of revolutions of masking tape. Much the same way as I used it for arbors on reel seat. We are not talking alot of space and perhaps two or three revolutions of masking tape.

I rushed it to glue and now there is a noticable void just aft of the forward section of my rear grip in a length of about 1 to 2 inches. In other words the arbor did its job on the forward end of the handle but just aft of that I should have put some masking tape as well to match taper but did not. The real seat and fore grip are also glued into position so I can't just fill void by somehow injecting epoxy into it from the forward end.

I am trying to come up with some type of idea to fill the void I have created by rushing to glue this poorly reamed cork handle out. I do not really want to remove the handle entirely. My first thoughts is to make a small hole in void area to inject epoxy under the cork handle and to fill this void as best I can this way. Then plug the hole I made and sand cork plug smooth to make it as un-noticable as possible.

Without tearing apart the handle set-up (which has been firmly rod bonded now) does anyone have any ideas how to firm up this space under the cork handle I have been talking about.

Thanks

Steve Lynas



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2012 07:35AM by Steve Lynas.

Thread makes a better shim that tape, and can be layered to created a non-tapered area. Keep this in mind for the next time.

Your plan will be about as good as any. Epoxy doesn't move through a syringe as easily as you might hope. Something like a mono-jet syringe will be better, although it will require a larger hole in the grip.

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

Steve,
Unfortunately a mistake in your rod build.
Bite the bullet and correct the mistake.
Cut the grip off, clean up the butt section of the rod and redo it.
If you already have the reel seat in place, just use masking tape to build up the rod blank so that it is all the same diameter as the butt of the rod. Leave about 1/16th inch gap between the rows of masking tape to allow the glue to get all of the way to the blank and secure it.
Then, ream the new grip to the same size as the butt of the rod. Check that you have a nice dry fit on the blank and built up arbor. Finally apply a good coating of epoxy to both the inside of the grip as well as on the blank itself to insure that you have a good solid foundation for your grip. Slip the grip in place and clean up any excess material. Make sure that you keep tension on the grip while the glue is setting up to avoid any sort of gap between the end of the grip and the reel seat.

You will be well pleased with the result.

Finish the rod and enjoy it or deliver it to your client if it is a client rod.

Good luck
Roger



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2012 02:43PM by roger wilson.

I would try the repair before cutting the grip off. I think your idea is worth a try. If it doesn`t work do it Rogers way. You gain valuable experience no matter what.

Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

I use West System epoxy for all of my work and it is much less viscous than most - therefore it is easily injected. They sell syringes for that application.

I developed a system using sharpened thin-walled brass tubes that you can get in a hobby store. They come in all diameters.
If you inject, you will need two holes. An entry point and a exit point for the trapped aiChallengenge is to find spots for both holes that are connected by the void to achieve what you want.

The brass tube will cut a plug from the cork that you will extract from the tube and use later to seal the hole. The fix is hardly noticeable. But you have to use a small tube - 1/8" is good.

But - after buying injectable epoxy, tube, syringe - you might as well do the whole thing over. IMO - always the best option.
Herb

I agree with both Bill and Herb.
You can always fix up a mistake using after the fact repair techniques.

But after doing this a time or two years ago when I first started, I came to the conclusion, that for a new build, I wanted the build to be 100% correct without a repair band aid done on the job.

But, certainly, do use the fix as you see fit.

Good luck
Roger

As mentioned, go for the repair first, but make sure it's quality and will not fail. If you have any doubt, your conscience will thank you for doing it right.