I'm finally working on putting together a couple rods for a trip to Alaska and have a question- what's the preferred way to build up an arbor for the butt caps? I got these fancy caps from batson and the ID is just shy of 20mm. I suppose I should've ordered some 20mm graphite arbors but I only have the for my 16mm reel seats. My first thought is to make arbors from the 6-lb polyurethane foam I'm using for cf grips - is that a bad idea? If I use the foam should I seal it with thread epoxy or something before using propaste to attach the cap?
Would drywall tape be a suitable alternative?
The blanks I'm putting these caps on have butt diameters of roughly 15&11mm to give you an idea what I'm working with.
Thanks!
Grant

Grant,
A simple thing to do, is to use a cork ring for a butt cap.

Bolt it to a 1/4 inch piece of threaded rod and chuck it into a drill or lathe. Sand or turn the ring down to the id size of the butt cap. Then, ream out the inside of the cork ring to be the same size as the od of the end of the rod blank.

Glue it to the rod blank and the butt cap to the cork ring.

Good luck

You can make arbors with urethane foam and do not need to seal them. Just use adhesive for a straight bond to the cap. Yes, the pre-sized brick foam #20 arbors are an easy fit.

Nothing wrong with cork or drywall tape, either.

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

Thanks guys! I don't have cork rings so I'll go with the foam core I have. I debated firing up my metal lathe and turning a piece of aluminum but the foam is a little easier to deal with :-)

If you drink wine, you can always use real cork wine corks, they work well for arbors. Most are very close to 20mm, and can be bored and turned to size. Not only do they work, but they offer a way to recycle something that usually gets trashed.
Norm

I'm not sure I'd trust some of the wine corks I've seen. Some are pretty poor quality. I'll stick with foam cores when I need a core.

Gotta drink the good stuff!
Norm

I actually have a drawer full of corks in our little wine rack /sideboard. My wife will think I've overindulged when I sort through them with the calipers though!