I'm replacing the reel seat on one of my catfish rods and I can't figure out how to replace the butt cork after the seat is on. The blank of the rod is very large, 1 inch diameter at the end, and the cork diameter needs to be 1 1/4 inch diameter, so the cork would only be 1/8 of an inch thick which is pretty thin. I'm not sure what the best way going about doing this would be, any help is appreciated.

Wow!! that's not much to work with. If you are going to slide everything over the butt end I don't think that a cork grip reamed to fit over the larger diameter butt will work. The "ID" of the grip will be way to large at the reel seat end and will require building a shim that will follow the rods taper to fit between it and the grip. The arbor has to contact and support the whole grip as it is too thin to support itself and will be crushed while fishing. The alternative is to strip the rod and start building the grip end from the butt.
Having said that I would wrap the grip with cork tape and be done with it.

Don

Is it possible to build the grip on the blank by glueing on rings and then turning them down? Just thinking but you'd have to use some tape arbors to take out the taper between the butt and the seat, you could leave the very last one off so you'd have something to grab and then turn down a rubber ring or something after you've done the grip. It would be a challenge done this way, you'd have to be extremely careful near the reel seat but it might be doable if you have the facilites. Something to think about.

cork tape there are two different sizes clean the blank well glue the tape on trim add end caps

there are also rings that are 2"od

the cork tape is the easiest way to go

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2012 07:43PM by bill boettcher.

Max,
There are several ways to do this job.
1. Do you have a lathe?
2. Have you turned handles before/
3. Are you using a pre made handle?

If you have a lathe and are making a new rear grip, you can do the grip in a couple of different ways.
A. You can leave off the butt cork and just make up a new rear grip on a mandrel on a lathe. i.e. glue up the cork and shape the cork on the lathe, and then go ream the handle to fit the blank. But since you are going to be putting the grip on from the butt of the rod, you can simply drill the handle to the same diameter as the largest part of the blank. Then, use masking tape to build up any part of the blank that is not the same diameter as the end of the blank.
Then, go ahead and glue on the new handle.
Now, if you have a lathe, you can clamp a piece of cork in between a flat faced mandrel on the head stock and a flat faced mandrel in the rotating tail stock. Spin up the cork and use sand paper to reduce the diameter of the cork to the size of the end of the rear grip.
Then, use 5 minute epoxy to glue the butt cork in place. Be sure to wipe up any excess glue as the glue sets up so that the handle looks nice.

B. A 2nd option is to go ahead and use cork rings to build up a handle, using a piece of appropriate sized cork at the end to form your butt cap. Then, drill a hole through the end of the butt cap that is the same size as the holes in your rings, so that you can run the mandrel through the butt cap. Now, go ahead and shape up your handle - including the butt cap. Now, use a drill to drill the full length of your handle to the right size - but do NOT drill through the butt cap. i.e. stop a 1/4 inch or so from the butt cap.
Now, make or buy a matching plug that will fit into the hole that is in the end of your butt cap. Finally glue on the handle and glue in the butt cap plug at the same time. Clean up any excess glue. After the glue has dried, use a sander to sand the center butt cap plug flush with the butt cap. If you use matching cork, you will not be able to tell that you ever put a plug in the cap.

Good luck
REW

p.s.
If you have any questions on the procedure or what is needed for your lathe - if you have one to do the work, drop me an e-mail and I can send you some pictures.
hflier@comcast.net

Roger

Hi Max,
!1/2 inch cork rings are readily available and would give you more thicknees of cork if you decide to go that way.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

I'd be looking at cork tape as well. Build up the butt like a surf rod.

You didn't say how long the handle is from the butt to the reel seat or the diameter of the rod at the seat. You could look into cutting the rod in the middle of the reel seat and adding a piece of thin-wall aluminum tubing to the rod with a small shim. This would take all the taper out and leave you with a smaller "rod" to be covered with the handle. Many, many rods have been built with the blank glued halfway into the reel seat. Just remember that tubing is measured OD and not ID like pipe. This may give you a much more comfortable handle in the long run. And it would essentially leave the rod the same length it is now. Hope this helps.

Mac