Hello,

Quick question for maybe some more experienced builders than I.

I am building a few fly rods, the question is - If I am buying a cork handle that has a recessed inlet to allow an uplocking reel seat - Do I need to make sure the size matches up exactly with the reel seat or can it afford to be off by a MM one way or the other?

Thanks,
Chris

For example: I have a cork handle picked out that has an inlet bore of 21mm and I have a reelseat wih a recessed inlet 22mm. Would these be able to be worked together?

If the grip inlet bore is larger than the seat hood OD then yes, provided it is only a slight difference and could be shimmed with thread or tape, etc. If the opposite is true and the seat hood OD is larger than the cork inlet ID, you may not have enough cork to work with to allow you enlarge it enough to accept the seat hood.

........

Chris,
Why not just buy the seat and grip from same manufacturer - like REC Components - who provides porting to match their seats??

Or - better yet - turn your own grips so you can make porting to match any seat you wish.
Herb

If the cork inlet is a mm too large there will likely be enough overlap room on the real seat's rim to fit. If the cork inlet is a mm or two too narrow, just take a little sandpaper and carefully enlarge the opening. If the cork inlet is just a hair too wide and the reel seat rim does not fit but is close, you could cut a piece of paper or masking tape and wrap the inside of the wall of the inlet enough to catch the reel seat rim and the epoxy would hold it all in place.