Hello,
I am building a rod with a Tennessee-style handle on it.
I was wondering if anyone knew where I could get a set of polished aluminum or chrome rings for the reel.

Thanks for any help I can get.
John Scarborough

John,
Congratulations on choosing a Tennessee Handle; I have become a big fan! The versatility of positioning the reel anywhere along the length, along with the ability to use either a spinning or fly reel, is often overlooked in favor of a typical tube seat. They can also be lighter and more comfortable in-hand than tube seats.
But without TAPERED rings, any TH is doomed to failure due to the rings not securely holding the reel. I considered tape or zip-ties unacceptable. Through my research, I only found a couple TAPERED RINGS, but the taper is inadequate and only available in some sort of plastic. Hence, I made a properly tapered mandrel to produce my own woven CF / Kevlar or plain CF slip rings which afford hours of fishing without the reel loosening. If interested, contact me through my email.

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

Mark,
I will get ahold of you.
I've liked the Tennessee handle since I got one years ago.
Thank you for your time.

Struble- slip rings Tapered I D .745 to .780 , NSSR (silver polished nickle) and BNSSR (black nickle)

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

Thank you, Dennis.
I will look them up.

With all due respect to Denis, a .035in taper is insufficient for typical spinning reel feet; a simple look at the taper on the feet will reveal this. This will cause the rings to “cock” and not lay flat on the cork while only affording a small area of contact on the feet resulting in the rings slipping / reel loosening as well as digging into the cork = the bane of most THs and the reason most people do not like them. They may work, but not efficiently. It may be OK for more “flat-footed” fly reel feet. My tapered composite rings have a taper of ~.100in over ~ .75in long and can be fabricated with IDs ranging from ~.800in / .900in to ~ .900in / 1.0in.

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

Janns Netcraft has black ones, a company called Proof has an 11 inch interesting one, instead of spliting in the middle and having to ream both sides without misalignment upon mating, theirs has a tenoned ruberized cork endcap that is installed like all others after you slip on the rings.

The design of the rings for use on TN type handles depends entirely upon the material the rings are made from and the material the grip is made from. Generally the taper of the rings should not exactly match that of the reel foot taper or there will be no "wedge" effect to lock things into place.The rings should have a shallow taper than that of the reel foot. The exception would be rings that are either extremely flexible or made from a nylon type composite such as those offered by Fuji some years ago. In that case, the material allows the rings to act more as rubber bands and do not require the same wedge effect as rings made from stiffer materials.

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To each his own. I will rely on more surface / contact area to secure my rings rather than a “wedge” effect which digs into the cork and does not lay flat = less comfortable. My composite slip rings never loosen, weigh <1.5g each, are somewhat flexible and they even look nice.

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

Mark Talmo Wrote:
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> To each his own. I will rely on more surface /
> contact area to secure my rings rather than a
> “wedge” effect which digs into the cork and
> does not lay flat = less comfortable. My composite
> slip rings never loosen, weigh <1.5g each, are
> somewhat flexible and they even look nice.

I don't think you read my post very closely. You don't want the same taper on less flexible rings that you do on more flexible rings. One needs to be more shallow and the other more steep.

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Spencer, I didn't see the ones from proof.
I'm gonna have to look again.
Thank you

How much more closely am I supposed to read (into) your statement “Generally the taper of the rings should not exactly match that of the reel foot taper or there will be no "wedge" effect to lock things into place.” I found the exact opposite to be true and hence, designed and machined an 11* (included angle) Acetal male mold on which to fabricate my composite rings which do not loosen or “wedge” themselves into and damage the cork, lay flat and flush on the top of the grip while at the same time produce a virtually gap-free ramp from the grip up the reel feet on the bottom. But to each his own!
Furthermore, someone’s lack of understanding can often be attributed to not having things xplained properly in the first place; “One needs to be more shallow and the other more steep”. OK, which one is which? How much more “closely”am I expected to read that statement to understand what you meant?

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

My original post clearly stated that the best taper for the rings is dependent upon the material the rings are made from and how flexible they are. More shallow for more rigid rings and steeper for more flexible rings.


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