Hi Guys,

Just completed my first couple of rods and one has a very slight clicking noise from the fore-grip when I whip the blank in a hard casting motion. It's a Winn fore-grip and I used Roddancer Optimum 15 with no tape arbor. Not sure why I am getting the noise but my questions are....

(a) Should I have reamed the fore-grip and made a couple of shallow tape arbors?

(b) Is a tight fit with minimal epoxy better than a loose fit with more epoxy?

(c) Do I need a more flexible epoxy?

Any advice very gratefully received.

Grips should be reamed just enough to allow them to be positioned with a dry-fit just an inch ot two lower than their final position after glue-up. No arbors are necessary unless the fit is loose from too big a hole. It sounds as if you have a gap between the grip and the blank that was not filled with epoxy by repeated sliding and twisting the grip into place before curing took place. None of the epoxies are very flexible or intended to be flexible. If the grip is tight otherwise, you could just live with the noise or redo it if it bothers you too much.

Thanks for reply. Yes I think I will live with it - sometimes it doesn't make a noise at all. I just want to make sure that it doesn't happen on the next one.

Keith,
Actually, it sounds like you did a perfect job on your rod build.
I see that you are one of the few builders that built in a casting effort signal into their rods. Great build. Few builders have the talent to be able to get the click announcer set up just right as you have.

Less effort and no click. Right amount of effort - slight click. Perfect job.

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No issue.
Enjoy your great rod build and continue to build. The other responses have pointers in this area to relieve any future problem.
If I had to make a guess, I would think that perhaps there should be glue some where in the reel seat grip area where there currently is no glue. The parts should be a slip fit, but not a push on fit. If you have a push on fit with the parts, any glue that might have been on the surface would be wiped away when the parts are pushed together. You want just a thin layer of glue for the complete distance of both reel seat as well as grips -both fore and rear.

Good luck

Ha ha, thanks Roger. Onwards and upwards - can't wait to start the next one.