Has anyone ever used rubber grommets as winding checks? I use very small ones to tie my own punch skirts, and figured I might try them as a winding check. My local Ace Hardware has a pile of sizes and I'm thinking that heating the grommet up with a heat gun will make it more soft to stretch and slide right down the guide.

I've used them over the years with good results. Never had to heat them, however.

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If I were to use them I would find the sizes that don't need to be stretched and I would totally encapsulate them in epoxy. Looks better and I think it would protect from ozone cracking. I do that for the black flexible checks, and I have never found one looking bad after many years of service.

There is a difference in the winding checks that come with handle kits that I have noticed over time.

Some companies will send you the "plastic rubber" type of winding check and some companies will send you real rubber winding checks. They both work, and you just have to size them to the rod you're building and I have a box that has 6 different size ID's separated from all the winding checks that come with all the handles I purchase.

The real rubber ones are my definite "go to" when it comes to putting one on a rod because they are molded a little bit better than the plastic type. By the looks of it, each real rubber winding check is molded "one at a time" as to where the plastic ones are molded together with a few and this is evident by where the plastic winding check was "pulled off" from where they were connected to the others. They were kind of molded like plastic parts in a model you made when you were a kid and had to break each part off before you put the model together. There is always just a LITTLE "void" in the plastic winding checks that shows you where it was pulled off.

Mind you, this little "void" isn't an issue if you're building a black fishing rod, but if you're building a White or light colored rod, and you're as SUPER anal as I am, its a problem that I can see plain as day. My girlfriend says "You can't really see it and no one know" and my answer is always, "I'LL Know!"

As far as stretching them, there IS a better option, and don't be grossed out by this! When I am building a rod, and one winding check is too large and one is just a little tight, I will "lick" the area of the rod from where it the check starts getting too tight, and my saliva allows the winding check to slide right into place! I'll never force the check onto the rod to a point where it looks like it may split over time but if I'm 6 inches or so where I want the winding check to end up, a little spit takes care of the issue! Let it dry and go on with your business.

By the way, Mudhole has some EXCELLENT "Silicone Rubber" winding checks that come in a few ID sizes that work perfectly as well and I use them a lot.They take finish perfectly as well. [www.mudhole.com]

Tony Boschi
Banana River Rods
Merritt Island, Florida
321~525~1063

* Rapid Prototyping Services
* Custom Beach Rods
* Custom Inshore Rods

[bananariverrods.com]

I have used rubber faucet washers and can be drilled out to fit the blank. The washers come domed or flat and are sold individually from Ace hardware or True value.

One time I used a very thin "O" ring on a ultra light.

Have fun.

Be careful with o-rings, some deteriorate even without exposure to sunlight.

flocked grips don,t need winding checks and even look better without them..

I've used O-rings as winding checks with positive results. I had a box of 382 in multiple sizes that I bought at Harbor Freight for $7.99.