I'm currently building an American tackle BU-BA 30-50 as a casting rod for throwing snook jigs and other big lures. I've decided on a Forecast 14" carbon rear grip and 6" carbon foregrip. The issue I ran into is the tennon on the rear grip is 22.5mm OD so I would have had to use a size 24 reel seat which would be way to big for my application and reel choice which is an Accurate Tern 2
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I am playing around with the idea of making grips from sting ray skins. My plan is to build these on a CFX foam core. 1. Has anyone done this technique of something similar? What was your experience like? 2. Best way to lay the seam? I am thinking of cutting a small channel in the bottom side of the grip, tucking the ends in the channel with adhesive. 3. What adhesive would be the best
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I have searched numerous times in the archives here but can't find information concerning the pros and cons of using carbon grips rather than cork grips . I know it has to have been discussed but I simply can't find those discussions . If someone would suggest what search terms I should use , I would appreciate it . Thanks .
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Good afternoon all! I had someone build a rod for me with Carbon grips.3-5 years ago. CFX was the grip brand I believe. Long story short the core of the grip was coming apart almost like it’ was dissolving. Does anyone have a clue to possibly why? The builder says the maker of the grip has or had issues. Which all brings me to today. Was there a core issue or a carbon interface issue. I’m new t
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Cork or composit
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I’m looking at adding a power wrapper but am not finding too much info on the current options. I will use it for personal rods, and perhaps for friends and family. Being such, my budget is around $500. Not sure if I can get one that includes a handle / cork turner, but that would be great. Anyone what to share some resources that’ll help me make my choice? Maybe share your knowledge of the dif
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I just got my mudhole carbon fiber handle tubing in and to be honest it looks pretty terrible. It has a line spiraling up it but it also has a handful of dips in the tube. I'm building my first rod and I can't really see myself being happy with this handle. Am I able to put a coat of Finnish on it or something like that? Is the tube supposed to be like that?
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We tend to forget that rods are built to satisfy different criteria. For some, function takes precedence over the rod's other attributes. For others, form takes priority over the rod's other attributes. Those whose first priority is function will use a minimum of guide wrappings, a minimum of epoxy coats only on the guide wraps, and no paint or embellishment on the blank. Those whose priority is
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In other threads I have been mentioning and asking questions about building cork grips, and as usual, the membership of this site came through in flying colors, with many great answers, and suggestions. I just want to thank each one of you that have given suggestions and tips for making grips. I had already built one foam core carbon sleeved grip, and it was a lot of fun, so I knew building cork
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There are three kinds of CF grips that I have seen so far: 1. Tube Type: Open at one or both ends (like the NFC Soft Touch). These are hollow and/or have a foam arbor installed in a part of the tube. 2. Sausage Type: (like some NFC and CFX). These are enclosed, with material folded over both ends. 3. Tenon Type: (like some NFC and CFX). These have a tenon cut into one or both ends to fit a r
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I have a question about a G2 Carbon Handle 12" Full Length Casting Grip...this grip was chosen by a customer....I am fairly new to the rod building obsessive behavior and this is the first full length carbon handle I have installed.....am I assuming correctly this grip has arbors on both ends and only the ends need Pro Paste or should I apply Pro Paste to the blank for the full length of the
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Need some advice on a problem new to me. Glued up a rear grip and IPS seat. Everything looked good. After glue set I checked everything out. Fore grip was noticeably off when tightened. Started investigating and found a crack in the seat allowing flex when tight on the reel seat. SON of A.... Looked it over thought of a few things to try but nothing is going to make me happy other than 100 percen
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The benefits of a Tennessee handle (TH) are often overlooked if not ignored in favor of a conventional tube-type seat, be they 1-piece or split / skeleton. As with many others, I initially considered them a cheap, insecure way to mount a reel. But, contrary to the saying, ignorance is NOT bliss! Quite a few years ago, I was given a beautiful, if not historic, vintage (1950s?) Conolon Missilite“
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So - Been looking forward to trying the Kutzall Rasps that I posted a couple of weeks ago. Short review - sending them back. Stanley Sureform have them beat for rounding cork grips. You guys with conventional lathes with rests and gouges - some of us don't and need a reliable tool to round the grip. Herb CTS
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Sorry for asking this common question but who is selling good cork rings these days? I have been out of rod building for a couple of years . Thanks for your patience? Bill
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As an admitted weight weenie, I am looking for some arbors that are (as the title states): rigid, light, and thin. The outer diameter needs to be at least .55 inch or 14mm. The inner diameter, the smaller the better. Even a solid disc would be better as I can drill it myself. Some of the blanks I have is 4mm or so and no arbor I have found has a hold that small. I suppose that I can ge
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I'm going to be building a couple of spinning rods over the winter. One for a guy who is my tournament partner when I fish team tournaments, and one for myself. I'll be putting a Shimano Vanford reel on the rod I'm building for myself, and I like the idea of being able to throw some color into the reel seat with some of the Perfect Fit stuff that Fuji offers. What I am looking for is opinions
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I was in a tackle store the other day and picked up a rod with a graphite grip and it felt slippery. Are they all like that?
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What is everyone doing for cork handles…do you buy your handles already made or are you using the cork rings and shaping your own? I don’t do a lot of builds but am getting tired of suppliers not having stock available so was looking at mini lathes and cork rings. Also, for those of you doing your own handles, what grade cork are you using? This is a hobby and when I do build a rod, I am gener
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So I'm experimenting with these grips and noticed one of the sections of the CF sleeve / fabric has a blemish. It's a small hole that my OCD cannot get past. LOL. Rather than toss this section and start again, I was thinking of letting it dry, and then applying a second CF sleeve over it. Anyone do this? Will the porous material of the existing grip make the second grip look funky? I realize
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I am looking to build a wade fishing spinning rod using size 17 sk2 seat and want to use carbon fiber grips. Does anyone have experience using the raw carbon fiber grips wade fishing salt water? I’m curious how they would hold up. They seem very porous and I’m not sure how they would do in a wade fishing scenario. Thoughts?
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So I'm needing to cast some urethane arbors, cores for CF grips on Ice rods. I'm looking at pourable urethane through US Composites. My question is do I need 16 pound urethane or will 8 lb suffice. Is it a bad idea to pour urethane directly into a real seat or CF tube? I really appreciate the years of experience and knowledge on this forum. You guys really save me from a lot of mistakes.
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Hello, In a thread below Mr. Kirkman linked to his article on Grip Boring Great Looks - Less Weight, in which he discussed the process to bore holes in wood stock intended for rod grips. Perfect timing as this is just what I was about to start researching. I recovered some parota wood off the beach in Mexico after a hurricane on a recent fishing trip, and I want to build some grips out of the w
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I purchased foam cores from NFC to build my own CF grips, but the ID of the foam core is a little bit too big for the rod blanks I"m building on. Any thoughts on how I can arbor the blank without tape? I'm building a euro nymphing rod, so sensitivity is incredibly important (and one reason why I'm using CF grips!), and I fear adding tape arbors would dampen the sensitivity. Thanks!
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Hello everyone, this is my first thread so forgive me if Im asking repeated questions. I’d like to start off by saying even though I’m new to this site, I have been reeding these forums for a couple years now and there is some serious talent on here. So thank you for all the great discussions and info. Im a bass fisher and got into this custom rod stuff by accident last year after playing with a
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Although coming from the composite industry, I just recently fabricated my first foam-core, CF-skinned grip. Observations of the pre, actual, and post process has prompted me to offer my experience of the process and end results. Admittedly, they do not fall in-line with what I have learned to be the accepted properties/attributes/qualities of foam-core grips; specifically weight (objective) and
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Are there any considerations for cork vs. carbon fiber grip on a tropical saltwater 8wt. build?
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Wondering about durability of winn grips. I am not a real fan of the looks or the feel. But they would fill a need for one of my builds. First option I have not been able to get ahold of. Anyways I have had some bad experiences with rubber tool grips recoil pads of guns etc. makes me a bit leery of going rubber type grip on a fishing rod. Rod will be a limited use UL. But it may spend a fair amou
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Hej hej, After 16 hours of research mostly on this forum, I almost feel like I know you all haha. Here I present you my rod build. I hope you can help me to see if everything make sense. AIM: Mostly pike (small to medium) and large perchs Blank: REVS72MH-2SB from Rainshadow 5/8-3/4 lure weight 7.2ft 2.6oz Reel: Shimano curado K Reel seat: Fuji sk2 kskts 17 Handle: cork rings Fighting
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Years ago , I picked up some rings and sheets of 'burnt cork.' These are some kind of cork product that is dark brown in color. They are useful in adding accents to cork grips and turned out beautifully. However, the ones i got was something like 4X heavier than regular cork so I ended up using them very sparingly. I'd love to start using something like that again for accent. Does anyone ma
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