I have always built my surf rods with cork wrap grips. I would like to repair one rod where the grips are looking kind of dried out- by covering it with black shrink wrap. I have never used shrink wrap before.I understand that the grip will shrink to about half its diameter. My qusetion is: How much longer than the actual grip length being covered should I cut the wrap before sliding it into position?. After heating I want it to end up tight to the reel seat..I would appreciate other builders' advise.

Odd thing - the shrink wrap doesn't give up length by more than a tiny amount. All the loss occurs in the diameter. I doubt it shrinks in length more than perhaps 3% of the total.

...........

I have never use shrink wrap on a rod , but as I see it , it is a lot better to have extra , an yes it will shrink some in the length , but not much . the shrink of 2 :to 1 , is for the cross section , not length ,

William Sidney
AK

Cut a small section ( one inch or so) of the shrink wrap and test it on the area you want to cover. It will remove easily after testing. If it shrinks tight, you are good to go. I would cut to length (as noted, I have not found shrink wrap to shorten) coat the area with a thin coat of epoxy, slide on the shrink wrap, heat and you should have a nice finished product. One thing to consider is you may get the contour of the underlying cork wrap once the wrap shrinks.

I’ve covered a bunch of of rods in the x-flock shrink - I cut target length and it’s not shrunk enough over length to notice - just make sure when you are heating it to do so from one end, turning the rod so it shrinks evenly and then work your way down the rod

Barry,
Tom’s estimate of approximately 3% shrinkage in length is probably fairly accurate in general; but take into account that the more loose-fitting a sleeve is (having to shrink more) the more pronounced the shrinkage in length will be as well. I incorporate X-Flock shrink tubing on most of my saltwater builds; if I cannot install the reel seat over the end of the shrink, I cut a champher/recess on the end of the grip to allow the X-Flock to shrink below the seat and grip surfaces and face the void (less than .25in wide) with epoxy, usually just thread finish and usually with pigment. It seals the joint and looks very nice. Simply butting (or attempting to butt) the shrink tubing to the seat will not seal it and water allowed to get in can cause all kinds of nasties. Something to at least consider.

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

keep in mind that it will follow the contour of whatever it is covering.
That said, you can shape the original grip to something you like better.
I did a wide "X" wind of cord on a rear grip, and sanded "flats" on 2 sides of a front grip for another .

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

You can also find out what kind of shrink you have, and find out if it is "Directional" or "Non directional".

Where I work, we shrink cable assemblies and it will shrink in diameter 50% or more (2" diameter shrinks to 1" inch diameter), but since its "directional", the length of the tube will only shrink .005 to .02 in length meaning, a 12" piece of shrink will only shrink to 11.995" to 11.880" in length.

McMaster Carr has about every diameter and color you can imagine and MOST of their shrink is "directional" like I mention above. I have used it on everything from fishing rod handles to landing nets.

[www.mcmaster.com]

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

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

[bananariverrods.com]

Adding to Tony’s suggestion of shrink tubing from McMaster-Carr, they also have clear shrink tubing. I have used it in lieu of a butt cap to protect the end of the grip yet allow the hardwood, birch bark, cork or whatever to be seen. I also used it to protect the 16in hickory handle of a rebuilt, split cane offshore trolling rod.

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

Thank you all for your your responses. Since it is new to me and I can just cut the wrap off - I'll do a couple of "practce shrinks" to get comfortable with it and ihen go for the final "shrink".
I appreciate your input and help..

Thank you all for your your responses. Since it is new to me and I can just cut the wrap off - I'll do a couple of "practce shrinks" to get comfortable with it and ihen go for the final "shrink".
I appreciate your input and help..

Great info here, again I was looking for answers to similar questions & found all this! The amount of knowledge here is humbling.