Hi all,

I have just started building my second fly rod - a 6wt Sage Z-axis.
I am using a Batson half wells grip and BUL5 reel seat.

I am just wondering if you have a preference as to whether you glue the cork grip and metal hood onto the rod first and then the reel seat and wood insert, or the other way round. Is there an advantage to doing it one way or the other?

And secondly, do you glue the wood insert, reel seat and butt cap together first, to make a single unit, or do you glue them onto the rod one at a time.

Any tips appreciated.

Dale
Hobart, TASMANIA

There is more then one way to assemble them. My preference is the following steps. 1.) glue the recessed hood into the grip 2.)glue the insert into the reel seat skeleton 3.) Dry fit the parts on the blank and mark the upper end of the grip on the blank 4.) Glue the grip onto the blank using the reel seat to stop it's slide toward the butt. ( at this point the reel seat is still not glue on the blank. 5.) Aligning parts as you want them, now glue on the reel seat 6.) Seat cap goes on last.

I use Rod Bond for this building and masking tape on areas I do not want the epoxy to get on, still there will be some oozing that needs to be cleaned up with DNA.

I think you will find others using different procedures. You will eventually find the process that works and one where you are comfortable.

Thanks a lot Phil.

One other thing, do you try a have the end of the blank actually touch the inside of the butt cap. Do you think this is particularly important?

I wouldn't want it to actually touch. Close but not touching. While it's doubtful this would happen, you would not want temperature changes and the expansion differences between materials to cause anything to be pushed off or loosen.

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

Good point Tom - I had not thought of that - Thanks