I need to replace an eva fore grip. My question is, if I remove the old grip and let the reel seat and the winding check in place, clean the old epoxy off down to the blank. Could I put a single slit, length wise in the new fore grip, epoxy the blank, contact cement the joint in the grip, and feasably slip this new grip in place? Is this the proper way to go about this?

It's not necessarily the proper way to go about, but it is possible. Fitment will need to be very precise in order to obtain a decent appearance.

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Might work, but need to get a good fit to make it look good and not pieced together. If I were doing it, I would remove the old fore grip, and guides. Clean up the blank install a new fore grip and rewrap the guides back in the same place. Another option is to remove the old fore grip and not replace it, just clean up the blank do an epoxy and thread ramp and maybe a small wrap to give it a finished look.
Norm

I have replaced the front EVA by "slitting" the new grip, making sure it is very close to the size of the blank.
After cleaning off all the old residue, measure the OD.
It may be easier to use a grip with a larger ID and just build up the blank with bands of masking tape.
A little "snug" works best.

Using a liquid epoxy like Flex Coat on the blank, but contact cement on the seam.
Spread the grip apart and hold it open with a much larger OD wood dowel.
A broomstick wooden end has worked.
Put the contact cement on both sides of the seam and let it dry.
Now the trick is to keep those 2 sides apart until slid onto the blank and in place.
Then, after epoxying the blank and grip in place, bring the seam together,
and then wrap tightly with plastic electrical tape.
The tape wrap must be very tight so the grip is compressed , use at least 2 passes of the tape full length on the grip.
That is what makes the seam almost invisible.
To ease cleanup, you may want to wrap the grip with a barrier like plastic wrap or waxed paper first.
After everything sets up, remove the tape and barrier, sand at the seam (drywall sanding mesh works well).
It should all but disappear.
For appearance mount the seam towards the bottom,
but for comfort on the side away from where the palm would touch.

Hope his helps.
The times I have done this it was on Trolling style rods with larger front grips.

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

Ron, good tip!
Norm

Ron,
When working with contact cement as you suggest - wax paper is your best friend. When you have the piece spread simply insert a piece of wax paper into the slot after the contact cement has dried to the touch.
Then, slip it in place and remove the wax paper and the pieces will be well secured to each other - such is the nature of contact cement.

But, as Norm suggested. I would simply cut off the old fore grip. and then do a nice thread wrap in its place with a couple of coats of finish and enjoy the rod. The thread wrap will provide a nice surface to grasp the rod, if you have the need to hold the rod in that location.

Unless building a very heavy duty rod where it is necessary to have a fore grip, I have largely eliminated using fore grips any more. I simply put an appropriate tapered winding check against the front of the reel seat and call it a wrap, so to speak.

Be safe

Tim,
You have received quality replies from veteran builders. As Norman mentioned, the best/proper way is to remove and rewrap the guides so the new EVA can be slid into place. Obviously, that entails quite a bit of work compared to slitting the grip. Without knowing the line class of the rod and hence the forces the slit-grip will be subjected to, you may want to consider putting the slit up to put less force on the seam rather than down to hide the seam. Maybe Ron can add his thoughts.
If you are not @#$%&-bent on EVA and want to avoid removing and rewrapping the guides, consider cork tape covered with X-flocked heat shrink tubing. While it is not the lightest, it is certainly one of the most durable grips and very to clean as well.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Thanks for the replies guys, i appreciate your input. I think I am going to try the split thing with this grip. I have a deco wrap in front of the grip, so from the tip is not an option. i also have custom grips on this build and really dont want to trash the rear grip. Also has an Alps aluminum reel seat. The pattern of the grip clashes with the butt wrap in my eyes. Thus the reason for the change out. Im going going to replace that grip with a plane one color grip. I do understand everything has to be precise. I have the grip turned slightly oversize, so I have a little room for dress up sanding after the install. Hopefully I can conceal the seam fairly well, which i plan to put on the bottom. Wish me luck. Thanks again ...Tim

In many cases you don’t have to remove all the guides, just the last few on the butt section. You can usually slide the new handle over the running guides in the tip section. You can also leave any under wrap and/or trim wrap in place and just remove the thread that directly holds the guide on the blank. This helps to prevent redoing any complex guide wrap.
Norm

With a decorative butt wrap, over size the hole in the fore grip, and put a few turns of drywall tape on the blank where the grip will go to give snug fit. This would allow for the grip to pass over the butt wrap.

Just an update on the slit grip replacement. First off, I want to again say thanks to those that responded. All opinions and ideas were considered. I opted to do the split attempt so I didnt destroy the other work i did. It was tedious and nerve racking, but I must say I am very pleased with the way it turned out. The slit , which I placed down on the spinning reel side, is unoticeable. you have to really look for it. Now the test will be to see if it holds up. I would definately be confident and do this replacement again.