How close to the spot you want the EVA grip to be placed do you ream? I've seen people push a grip down like 2 feet and others only have to push it down like 5 inches.

How tight should it be?

Ed,
For myself, I ream the EVA so that it simply slides onto the blank as if I were gluing a cork grip in place.
I really don't see the need or reason to stretch a grip and have it forcefully pushed down an inch or 5 feet. WHY
So, I simply ream the EVA for a nice slip fit, epoxy the outside of the blank and the inside of the EVA and install the grip as I would with any other type of grip installation.


Your grip, your choices.

No matter what type of grip is used there is no need for the grip to be stretched or subjected to any type of stress. Snug or slip fit is all that is necessary.

I fit a grip in steps, I make a pass with the reamer and slide the grip down the blank and note where it stops then I reverse the grip and slide it down the blank and note where the blank stops. Each pass and stopping point lets me know how true the taper fit is progressing.

I repeat this process until I achieve snug slip fit.

Prior to each fitting I clean out the bore of the grip to to remove any residual particles to avoid scratching the blank.

Have fun

El, I agree with the fit recommendations above, and further comment that if you "stretch" grips into place, especially cork grips, you run the risk of them failing later on if not immediately due to the residual tension stresses the materials are left with when stretched. Cork doesn't like tension stresses but is very strong in compression.

This is from the FAQs page on this site. It works.

20. How should I go about mounting EVA or Hypalon grips? Should I heat or boil the grips to make them stretch?

There is absolutely no need to boil the grips nor is there any reason to use any sort of lubricant to install them. Neither is required if you put your adhesive in the correct place. Do this -

1. Drop your grip over the rod tip and let it come to rest. Mark the spot where it stops.

2. Remove the grip and apply your epoxy mostly ABOVE this point. Trail a bit down the blank to the intended resting place, but again, most of the epoxy should be above the point where the grip stopped.

3. Bring the grip down over the blank and epoxy and twist and turn it so that the inside of the grip is fully coated with epoxy. Now grasp the top edge of the grip with your thumb and forefinger and squeeze it as if to create a seal around the blank with the top edge of the grip. Now slide it into place, holding that seal the whole time.

4. As you approach the final resting place (within maybe an inch or two) switch your hand hold from the top to the bottom edge of the grip in order to "pull" the grip into place and restore it to its original length. Pushing the grip on tends to compress it and shorten its length, this motion will restore the original length.

5. Clean up the blank with denature solvent alcohol.

That's about it. You can usually get a grip to stretch its inside diameter about twice the original size in the smaller ID's and about 1.2 to 1.5 times on the larger ones. Always opt for a grip with an ID just smaller than the OD of the blank where it will reside, if possible.

Very helpful explanations, I had heard that cork and EVA are reamed different in that cork is reamed to fit and EVA to squeeze on. The amount of squeeze was my question, but apparently very little squeeze is the answer haha - thanks yall.

I've done 18 -20 inches lots of times with zero problems, still own a Saber glass rod I did over 4 decades ago, grip still fine. If I don't have to ream, it saves time that simple. The above post from FAQs is the exact way Dale Clemens showed me how to do it.

I will add this. If you are using trim pieces that have a certain OD, that match the OD of your grip and butt cap. if you want the different surfaces to be perfectly flat with each other, then ream your EVA real close to where you want it end up.

I have done it where I needed to push the EVA down a couple of inches past tight, and it cause the OD of the grip to change, as well as the tenon for the butt cap on the grip to change. I had trim ring between the butt cap and the end of the rear grip, and a trim ring between the rear grip and the reel seat, and they weren't perfectly flat with each other.

Just something to consider.

Hi El, Mike Ballard summed it up nicely. In regards to EVA....I have twice made the mistake of getting the EVA stuck trying to get it in place. Yes it does slide when lubricated with epoxy but sometimes not as much as you'd hope. Can't remember how large the OD of the rod vs the ID of the EVA. If I don't think I can get it in place easily I'll so some reaming. Its all part of the learning process - you'll get the feel for it after a couple of tries. With cork , there is no give and have to ream to fit the blank.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/2022 09:55AM by Mark Brown.