I have an old rod that the butt hypalon rotted off and I got a piece from Mudhole. Can I push/pull the new one on without stripping the rod. What do I use to slide it up? Thanks.

ream it to fit over the butt of the rod Make several arbors out of 1/4" tape Make sure you place the tape so you turn the handle OVER THE TAPE END it it turns against the end of the tape the tape will roll up and you will have a @#$%& of a time getting it off
Do the last one first - Put a piece of tape on the seat to show the direction you turn the handle on
1 1/2 - 2 " in between them They are just to keep it centered on the blank

Bill - willierods.com

Use a taut piece of kevlar fishing line between your hands to shave off as much of what's left there now as you can. The blank need not be perfectly clean of the old stuff, but you want it as clean and even as is reasonably possible.

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

Thanks Bill but the butt is larger than the hole in the hypalon. I can get it started but it's really tight.

Like I said it can be reamed out Or measure the butt and get one the correct size
You could also try to sand down the butt to fit the handle ??

Bill - willierods.com

I never thought about sanding the butt but there's about 1/4" of glass that I can remove. Will the epoxy grease the butt enough to slide it on or do I need space for the glue? Thanks for the help.

Edge shaving gel is a good lube

Alex,
As Bill has said, ream the hole in the hypalon larger so that you don't have to stretch it to get it to fit over the grip. Use arbors, so that the full length of the rod blank is the same diameter. Then, epoxy it up, and slip the grip in place.

Be safe

Closure. Using shaving gel I forced the hypalon over the butt after trying to ream it and sanding the glass. It's very tight and not too much larger than the original hypalon. After clamping the fore end in a vice I have to use two hands and all my strength to turn it so I think it'll hold tight. It's a Sabre rod I bought in the '70s. Thanks for your help but I couldn't ream it.