@LYNN thanks for sharing the checks, I'm definitely gonna CHeck them out

@JOEL, MATT, and ROBERT thanks for the pics and descriptions of what you do.

I think I might give triming the threads down too

Why can we buy just a barrel with threads, what is that for?

El
ya can biy them for split reel seats where the blank is exposed or skeleton seats where ya turn your own insert between the hoods on spinning rods

another example

So you glue a thread barrel to the blank against a seat that has no barrel...? Very interesting

Building rods in MA, Building the community around the world

no ya glue a threaded barrel up against a reel seat insert to make a reel seat lol

Matt, those are some sweet looking little deals ya got there. Definitely not something I have seen on any other rod, and I have seen thousands of rods on the decks of a lot of bass boats.

Please tell me you built those grips n such yourself? Very nice work. Now that's custom....

David. thanks appreciate the compliments

yes glued, turned, and assembled by me. its was kind of an obsession to find that perfect spinning rod grip for myself. Something with a smooth transition from the hoods with everything flushed up and the right diameter for all day comfort ripping tubes outta snags for smallies lol. Both of those are size 17 skeleton seats. Only thing with it is ya gotta design it specific to the reel foot.

Ive also made them similar with a fuji DPSM seat and an EVA overlay.

David
heres the insert ready to be installed with the channel cut for the reel foot.

Matt, once again .... beautiful work. It looks like it was cut with a laser. So you're just butting up the separate pieces of the seat, to the insert? I've used skeleton seats on all of the spinning rods I've built, but I've only used one with a cork insert between seat sections. The type insert with tenons on both ends. The others have been a tube with a sleeve over design. The Forecast skeleton seat with the woven graphite insert to be exact. One of my old factory spinning rods had a skeleton seat with a tenoned cork insert, and over time, and pressure from the reel being installed, the non thread barrel side of the seat started to loosen as a result of the cork tenon compressing, so I had shied away from them.

Anyhow ..... are you just using urethane arbors for inside the actual reel seat sections? It appears that way. I know I really enjoyed building the cork grips I've built, as they really give the rods I have them on a custom, nobody else has grips like these, look to them.

I've tossed around the idea of the dark burnt cork as the main color, and lighter burl or burnt cork as an accent color, in the past. Seeing it on a rod really shows how sweet of a color combination it is. A lot better than just seeing rings slid on a mandrel. lol

Really like the way that looks. Seems like it would feel just as good. Did you machine the cork for the reel foot?

I cut those by hand between straight razor, file, and sand paper. surprisingly not as time consuming as it sounds.

David
ive used those same batson forcast skeleton seats more often than the fuji for this setup. They have been my go to seats. I have ordered the cork inserts for them as well and ended up just cutting and using the tenons. Ive also turned my own which makes more sense and saves $. Ive used cork, and poly arbors for them and on one becuase of the larger dia. blank with the size 17 seat i ve used mesh drywall tape with success. With the mesh tape i make sure to get rod bond i. between each wrap of tape through the mesh and not rely on the adhesive. Not really a fan of tape arbors most of the time tho. so to answer tje question, all of the above lol.

I had the same issue on a rod i bought from someone years ago with a cork insert on the fixed hood side. It was uplocking and no foregrip and that fixed hood eventually broke loose from the cork tenon. With the small foregrip ive been using it seems to lock that fixed hood in and i havent experienced them coming loose after lots of use. I did have one issue with an early version i did. I used burnt burl cork instead of rubberized cork for yhe last ring towards the locking hood. Over time that ring started to crack alittle from compression. Using a 1/4" rubberized cork ring there and leaving just a hair of a gap solved that. I may use a 1/4" EVA disc on the next one for even more "give" in that spot

I love the look of the burnt burl as the main body of a grip. Its heavy tho. BUT TBH i like my spinning rods to balance better for tip up presentations and dont shy away from alittle weight from the reel seat back.

Matt, thanks for sharing your process, I really appreciate it. And I don't shy away from weight from the reel seat back, either. Weight on a fishing rod, if it has a purpose, is not a rod builders enemy.

And I am with you on the look of burnt cork and burl, as well as rubberized cork. I'll share a couple links to pictures of the cork grips I've made, and you will see what I mean about not being afraid of the weight of rear grip. LOL

[www.rodbuilding.org]

[www.rodbuilding.org]

The grip that is by itself in the picture is 9 3/4" long, and because the middle section is rubberized cork, weighs .74 oz

The picture with the two rods in it are grips that I made as well. I didn't use the full length grip pictured. That rod now has that other grip (with some additional shaping) on it. It's a flipping and pitching rod, and I like a tip light rod for that, so I added an additional 1 oz of weight inside the butt of the blank. It's built on a NFC MB 709 IM blank.

The other rod, was originally built using EVA split grips, but I got the grip building bug and figured I'd start with that rod. lol It's built on a NFC SJ 736 X ray blank purchased before they offered the mirror finish, so I sanded the entire blank myself. I just installed the grips from the butt end of that rod. It also has a 1 oz weight in the very butt of the blank. It's my football jig / tube bait rod for smallmouth. And also the rod I use when fishing Senkos for largemouth.

love those grips. looks great ....with natural cork being the way it is these days, ive basically substituted that medium brown burnt as my standard.
Ive made up a few checkerboard rings too but never used em on a grip yet. One of these days i wanna try an elliptical pattern on a full grip. Grip and handle making is by far my favorite part of rod building. thanks for sharing!!