Getting started on a multi piece travel spin rod. Have a situation I have never encountered before. Built multi piece rods before no problems. Assemble until the ferrule halves are snugged together. Over any wear was not noticed or of any consequence. This rod fit is going to make a difference. The fore grip is going to land right on the female end of the ferrule. Reel seat will be on the lower section of the blank with the male portion of the ferrule. No gap is intended or desired between the fore grip and reel seat.

My concern is the ferrule might wear over time and you cannot just shove the male deeper into the female end as you have the unmovable intersection of the foregrip and reel seat. I am thinking two routes to address the possible issue of the ferrule fit getting sloppy.

First is the hard thought about it too long solution. Instead of mounting the foregrip flush with end of the female ferrule leave a small portion protruding. Then inlet the foregrip slightly to accept the reelseat OD. On the reel seat side of things leave a small portion of the blank behind the ferrule section epoxy free,a bit longer than the protrusion on the foregrip section. Any wear occurs you can seat the female section further as it cannot bottom out on epoxy. Reelseat would push into the inletting in the foregrip as far as needed. The craftsman in me says do it this way. The biggest draw back to this route is I was really leaning towards carbon fiber grip. Doing an inlet would put me into the foam core, which I don't see being very durable through repeated assembly and disassembly routines.

Now the easy way and one that would allow be to go carbon fiber. The joint between the foregrip and reelseat would be intentionally left with a gap to allow for any wear in the ferrule fit. Gap would be small figure no more than a 1/16". Still would not want the gap visible. So I am thinking get the appropriate size rubber or neoprene washer to fill the gap. Would be not very noticeable between black reelseat and carbon grip. Any minor wear could be accounted for just by a crush fit of the washer. If more extensive wear occurred just swap in a thinner washer. This seems to make the most sense.

Appreciate any thoughts.

The second avenue is easier and probably better over the long haul. You will get some wear but a 16th inch is a fair margin and 3/32nds is yet better. One thing I would advise right off the bat is if this is a painted blank, go ahead and remove the paint and/or finishing coating from the ferrule area and work up your handle with that seating of the ferrule. Much wear in the ferrule often comes from the gradual wear-away of such paint or finish. Go ahead and remove that and any subsequent wear should be very marginal, even over a very long period of time.

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Did not even think of accelerating the wear by knocking down the finish, thanks. This blank does have a rather substantial gloss coat. How fine of a finish do I need to go for when I knock the finish off. Thinking grey scotch brite pad.

I would try to get it down to the bare blank - smooth of course.

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Michael,
Apparently you and I are alike in that we can make things more difficult or involved than need-be. We are also, apparently, perfectionists and I think I understand your goal of hiding the joint of the ferrule. Allow me to offer a suggestion which I have used on loose-fitting spigot ferrules although others may disapprove, even rightfully so, but it gets the job done quickly and can be repeated again down-the-road if needed.
First off, your ferrule may never wear to the point where it becomes sloppy, but planning ahead certainly has merit. Go ahead and build the ferrule as you would ultimately prefer it to look = no visible end of the female (I would still leave .060in gap). Down-the-road, IF you encounter ferrule wear to the point it becomes sloppy, simply apply a coat, or possibly two, of PG to the male portion of the ferrule. PG is extremely thin and fairly hard (granted not as hard as the composite structure of the blank) and it takes a very small increase in the diameter of the male portion to restore the fit of the ferrule. While others may claim PG is not suitable for this type of application (and I can’t really argue with them), I have used the method a few times with excellent results. It seems to me to be the best solution (if ever needed at all) to what you are trying to accomplish.

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

Here I have spent way too long thinking this over and some one comes along and shoots that all to heck will a way too simple solution to a maybe problem. Thanks Mark. I am going to fit it with a slight gap which should more or less be hidden by the shadow line of the foregrip. You don't get a real clean gap to the seam with a carbon fiber grip anyways. Still may fit a rubber washer. Got to see what I can find at the hardware store If there is a point down the road that I need to tighten it up I will try the PG option. Or I had another idea. The amount of wear if any down the road should be minimal. I cannot think of any ferrule that I have had wear to the point of being noticeable unless you used a caliper to measure. If more than that occurs I could easily make an adjustment to the reelseat. There is a fair amount of material on the end of reelseat before the metal of the hood. In a lathe it would be very simple to sand the face on the reelseat down a fuzz. In turn more of the male end will be exposed.

Appreciate all the ideas ideas. Helped me turn my mind off a little bit and make this way easier and made me realize there are ways to deal with this issue IF it happens.

Michael,
I am more than glad to have helped and thanks for the thanks. Sometimes we can all be guilty of not being able to see the forest through the trees; I know it is certainly possible for me.

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