[northforkcomposites.com]


[northforkcomposites.com]

If I were to use the two above links as a rear grip and a foregrip on a build with a Fuji standard reel seat, would the seat sit nice between the two with no visible gaps? I wasn’t sure how grips without tenons would do with those standard reel seats.

Fuji makes lots of standard reel seats, which one we talking about? Casting, spinning?

I've use backwards mounted fore grips for the rear grips on several of the spinning rods I've built with split rear grips but I always use one of these, [getbitoutdoors.com] between the reel seat, and the rear grip. It works out extremely well.

I've also built a couple of my early spinning rods with a small fore grip and used one of the trim rings between the fore grip and reel seat It worked nicely, but I don't use fore grips anymore on any of the rods I build. They're bass rods, and I just personally don't see a need, and prefer the look without one.

To avoid gaps between the trim ring and the grips, or I imagine the reel seat itself if you go without the trim rings, you will probably find that you have to sand the end of the grip where it's going to butt up against something. It's easy to do. I just lay a piece of sandpaper flat on a table or a block of wood, and move the grip over it, doing my best to keep the grip at a 90 angle to the sandpaper. I start with 120 and work my way higher as I go. You want to watch you don't sand through the carbon sleeve, but with the CFX and Alps/ Forecast grips I have used, I didn't have to take a lot off to get it flat, so never had a problem.

I don't know which seat you're going to use or which way you'll be mounting it, but I have used the same reel seat on all of my spinning rods. One of these, [getbitoutdoors.com] with either the cork or woven graphite insert available for it. I've never used the newer foam core carbon fiber insert I see they have available, so I don't know how that would work.

I mount my spinning reel seats down locking, and trim the thread tube down. Here is a link to a picture of one of my spinning rods, so you can see what it looks like with the trim ring n such. There is no tenon on the front of the rear grip, I sand it the same as if it were a backwards mounted fore grip, so ......

[www.rodbuilding.org]

I also put a link to one of my spinning rods with little fore grip I made like the one you mentioned. It shows the trim rings on both ends of the seat. But I ended up not liking it so I went with the same set up that is pictured in the other photo link I provided.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

I’m no expert but I also lightly sand grips to get them square using the same method David described. I use a small 3” plastic level and/or a combination square to gauge my progress. I cut off excess threads on the reel seats so I’ll square this up too. You’ll always have a visible connection point but by squaring the components you’ll eliminate large gaps.

Al,

The way I do it is a little fiddley and involved, however, it is a very adaptable technique to a variety of situations. I personally don't like the look of a CF grip butting directly to the reel seat. Besides, what if things are a hair off? It bugs me. So, I wanted to do it in a way that allowed for some 'imperfection' and looked professional at the same time. I wanted a seamless transition from the rigid CF grip and the rigid reel seat.

I use a cork ring, cut thin with a cork cutting jig (1/8th in.), between the reel seat and rear grip. Even if there is a tenon on the grip, I like the thin cork ring. (Cut the cork ring ID to fit over the tenon - it ends up looking like a large washer with a big hole in the middle. You can also purchase thin cork rings pre-made, however, they are 1/4-inch thick. Would still work great!) There is enough overlap between the ring, grip and reel seat so don't worry too much about a perfect, concentric fit.

The cork ring compresses a little and shapes itself into any small gaps on the rough end of a CF grip. Paste epoxy the grip, cork ring, and reel seat together under some tension to compress the cork ring a bit. Like David suggests, sanding the end of the grip to make it more square and flat is helpful. If the sanding is a hair off of square, the cork ring will allow for it. A lathe is your friend here, but not necessary.

Double wrap a piece of blue painters tape along the edge of the ring. Trim off most of the excess cork with a razorblade. Sand with 400 grit paper until it scuffs the tape. Treat ring with cork sealer and narrow brush. Wipe off any sealer that gets on the reel seat or grip with a damp paper towel (The cork sealer I use is made by U-40 and is water based.)

I do the same thing between the butt cap and grip so it looks balanced.

It takes more messing with than a simple trim ring, however, I like the unique look, it is custom made, and it solves an issue for me.

Like David, I do not put a foregrip on my builds very often. If I wanted or needed one, I would. Like David, I mount my spinning reel seat down locking (Fuji DPSM) and trim the threads flush with the locking nut when the reel is mounted tight. To remove the reel, the nut needs to be able to move over the end of the reel seat - so no fore grip. A trim ring of the right size to fit the reel seat tube will finish and cover the end; and also allow the locking nut to slide over it.

And if you notice in David's picture, he has his hook keep placed a little distance from the end of the reel seat - 1.) It allows some raw blank space to put a finger on the rod for feeling those subtle takes, and 2.) Leaves room to unscrew the locking nut forward. David Baylor is a pro!

Les, first off you are far too kind with your words. With that said, you're right about the why's as to the placement of the hook keeper. The EVA nub at the end of the thread tube is sized to allow the nut to pass snugly over it so the seat will open wide enough to allow reel removal and installation. I've considered cutting the thread barrel shorter like you described you do, but snugness of the EVA nub to seat nut can make getting the nut started back on the threads. Although, I may go your route if I ever build another spinning rod. I don't change out reels on my spinning rods, so once it's on the rod, that's where it stays.

And your cork ring idea sounds interesting. Definitely a custom look. May have to play around with that as well.

David,

All compliments to you are well deserved. Your long history of fishing and rod building are plainly evident in your builds. Neat. Efficient. Sleek, and Humble. Nothing is where it does not need to be, and all aspects are there for a purpose. That's how I want to build my rods. Your pictures are worth a thousand words.

I completely understand and appreciate your point about getting the locking nut started once the nut is backed off the end of the threaded tube. Leaving a couple mm's of extra room is another pro tip! (I extrapolate from your words that dry-fitting, testing, and boldly making mistakes are the way to learn.)

I've not used an EVA trim ring before (other than between split grips on an NFC Soft Touch). I have used rubberized cork, acrylic, wood, store-bought plastic and adonized aluminum, and deer, caribou, and moose antler (all turned on a lathe to fit the reel seat tube and not impede the locking nut). All these materials are rigid more or less. Not everyone has a lathe.

Have you ever made an epoxy ramp as the trim ring for the 'fore grip' at the end of the reel seat? This is an idea that has been around for awhile. On my latest builds, I have used thread epoxy to run up slightly on my CF split grips and foregone trim rings. Looks fine to me from the looks aspect. (I never notice while fishing.)

On a recent spinning rod salvage build, I tried a paste epoxy 'trim ring' at the end of a down-locking reel seat (Fuji DPSM). I mixed a couple drops of black, Testor's paint with paste epoxy (U-40, 15-minute Rod Bond) and covered the end of the tube of the reel seat so the foam arbor was not visible.

I applied this mix to the end of the reel seat with a dental spatula (my finger would have worked as well). I let it dry until semi-tacky; about 30-40 minutes. My goal was to form the mix into a final shape without removing it from where I wanted it to be.(DON"T use your bare finger if you have Amine Sensitivity. Be safe).

I used a paper towel soaked in alcohol to square up and clean the applied epoxy before it finally set up. Because the epoxy was semi-set, I could clean up the smears and fine residue on the blank and threads without removing any of the epoxy mix from where I wanted it to be.

The result with this experiment is more Spartan than some would like, I'm sure. The edge of the reel seat-to-blank transition is a bit sharp and not rounded. My bite-feeling finger spans over this transition anyway. It looks fine to me and meets my goals: 1.) Protect my reel seat from water and crud infiltration,; 2.) Close off the end of the reel seat without impeding the locking nut; and 3.) Rod Bond is flexible when cured and will not make a 'shearing' point on the rod like more rigid materials. (Not that I tie into fish on a regular basis that bend my rods down to the reel seat! I hope I have my reel's drag set right before that happens!!!)

BTW, that Tube Jig you have in the photo...what kind is it, and do you dip-dye the tips of the tail?

Les

Well Les, you are still too kind, but thank you. I gotta say, I'm jealous of some of the materials you've used in your builds. A winding check made of antler is about as custom as custom can get, Definitely some sweet stuff right there. I belong to another site that has a rod building forum in it, and one of the members used some wild looking acrylic material to make grips and inserts with. You guys with lathes have a whole other world open to you when it comes to materials you can work with. Definitely envious there.

As far as have I ever made an epoxy ramp to close off the end of a thread tube goes, no I haven't. I've seen several examples of where it's been done, and some of they look really sweet. And even though it opens up some aesthetic possibilities, It's probably not something I'll venture to try. At least not anytime soon.

As to the tube jig in the picture, that's a little bait that I make. It's half Yum Crawbug, and half tube bait. If you aren't familiar with the Yum Crawbug, it's a craw looking tube bait, but the tube section isn't long enough to fish with a standard size tube jig. So I cut the tail off a crawbug, and the tentacles off a 3.5" tube bait, and used Mend It to glue them together. Then I made a 2 piece injection mold using Durham's Water Putty. Durham's is more or less real hard plaster. I make it in a 3.25" (the size in the picture) and a beefier 4.25" size. I can adjust the thickness of the closed end of the tube by using different length insert shafts. A longer shaft and thinner wall end for use with tube jigs, and a shorter shaft to give a thicker end when using it for pitching or flipping. I also use different hardness soft plastics depending upon use. Medium soft for use with a tube jig, and medium hard for flipping or pitching.

I started making it about 3 years ago with the thinking that it would be a killer smallmouth bait, but ...... I have only caught 3 smallmouth using it. LOL Largemouth absolutely love it though. The largemouth loving it is actually the reason I started to make it in different head thicknesses. I needed a thicker head to stand up to the types of hooks I use for flipping and pitching.

And yes, most times I dip dye the tips of the claws. Either orange or chartreuse.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/2023 05:10PM by David Baylor.

Thanks, David!

Custom rods, custom baits...you da man!

I, too, like a 'hardhead' tube for weedless rigging. I shove a piece of a plastic stick bait up into the tube and secure it with a piece of #20 mono through the side of the bait. With a lighter, burn the ends of the mono into a little ball so it won't come out easily.

For an internally weighted tube, I put in a piece of stick bait, followed by a small egg sinker, followed by another piece of stick bait. Secure with mono and lighter. Always playing around, you know.

Your molding technique sounds very custom and clever!

You open for an email discussion? I'd like to send you a couple photos of rods using my cork ring technique, and also talk fishin'! My email is open.

I gotta get some Mend It. Does it repair the nose of a soft bait enough to re-use - like a Salty Super Fluke? Would it glue-in my stick bait pieces? Where do you buy it?


Back to the OP..........

Al,

I have used those exact grips!

NFC's CF grips are rock solid and don't fray apart if you cut, sand, or file them - the epoxy resin has permeated all the tiny carbon filaments so it cuts, sands, and files a lot like wood. The foam cores are excellent and free of voids - light, rigid, and dense. (I have not modified any of the Soft Touch grips, so I don't know from experience if cutting them will fray the edges of the Soft Touch finish.)

I modified the length of those pictured grips for a recent spinning split build; I cut them shorter on one end. That left me with an open end of exposed arbor that I used my cork ring technique to cover up. I like the thin cork ring (1/8th) for mating pieces that are very close in diameter.

However, I've used a whole cork ring (1/2 inch) to make the transition from the rear grip to the reel seat if the diameters of the grip and reel seat are significantly different. The longer the ramp, the more gradual the transition.

I've also used a longer cork piece to extend a one-piece, Soft Touch grip to achieve the rear grip length I wanted. (That cork piece was decorative and laminated with different colors of cork. Total length about 1.5 inches.) When I add cork to one end, I also add it to the butt cap end in a proportion/ratio that looks balanced to me. There is a point where too wide of a cork transition piece begins to look out of sorts to my eye.

The closed ends of the grips face each other in the split section. I sand the closed ends just enough to remove any little burrs. Add trim rings here if you want to. I put decorative thread on either side of the rod decal in this location. The decorative thread starts at the ends of the grips. The entire spit section gets a couple coats of thread epoxy. I don't use trim rings in this area and run my thread epoxy onto the ends of the CF just a little.

If you want to make a custom length grip with a tenon, and you have a lathe, you can cut or file off the thin carbon skin - and make a tenon with the exposed foam arbor with a parting tool or file. Calipers are a necessity for matching and fitting parts. Lay it all out before hand and give it all a good thinking over before making any changes to the original parts.

I love the feel of CF grips. Some don't like the texture. If so, consider giving the raw fiber a few coats of spray Spar Varnish BEFORE putting them on the rod; PermaGloss is also excellent for coating CF grips. Keep adding thin coats until the grips have the feel or look you want. I've done this before and it works great - and is easy to do. Matte, Satin, and Gloss finishes are all available in spray or non-spray. I like the control of the spray, but a foam brush application with the non-spray spar varnishes or PermaGloss also works very well.

CF grips pose a different set of challenges versus other grip materials. However, I have found I can extend the flexibility of CF grips in my own builds by using cork in strategic places.

Your grips look like they have a 26 mm OD, the OD of the collars on the 18 mm the reel seats on a pipe reel seat are in the 25 mm range, using a reel seat that size looks like it would give you a nice transition from reel seat to grip, both in looks and comfort. Casting reel seats to 20 mm have a rear OD in the 27 mm range, how it will look is easy to see, all the older carbon tube grips of the last near 20 years on salmon/steelhead and other rods were built on .980 " ID, 26 mm OD tube and you can see the little "Bump" transition in the pics.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2023 01:09PM by Spencer Phipps.

Les, I'd welcome an e mail discussion. But .... lol I just want to let you know, and Lynn would attest to this, lol I don't check my e mail daily.. Sometimes I check it a couple times a week, sometimes more, some times less. So you send me an e mail when I'm not expecting one, it may be a couple days or so before I get back to you.

But yeah. I would love to see those pictures you spoke of, and I always love talking fishing.

I'll send you an e mail with my name in the subject matter. And don't laugh, it will be coming from an AOL account. LOL Look forward to the discussion.

And as far as the Mend It ..... I get it from that online tackle giant .... TW. or several other places. I'm not sure how well it would work on a Salty Super Fluke. It works on OG Senkos, but not as well as it does on baits that aren't salt impregnated. It's not a super glue type glue in that it instantly bonds. It's a slower process where you have to hold the pieces together for a bit before they bond. From what I understand it's kind of a melting / gluing combo kind of thing. It works pretty good though. Not the kind of glue you'd use to secure a bait on a jig though. That's a super glue kind of thing.

Anyhow ..... I'll drop you an e mail.