Modifying the grip on a factory rod

Started by JasonGotaProblem, November 11, 2020, 06:38:56 PM

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JasonGotaProblem

This may be another of my wacky threads, but y'all are used to that by now.

I have a surf rod that i like, but I feel like I'd like it more with cork grips instead of the shrink wrap it came with. In fact I prefer cork grips above literally any other grip material, but i digress.

Also Jeri is saying the best way to install a casting trigger is to mount the reel seat upside down so the trigger can sit on the blank directly above the reel seat.

Now i imagine all this is easy enough to do starting from scratch on a new blank, but is it feasible on an existing factory rod? And if so is it feasible to reuse the factory reel seat or do I need to plan on reordering? I just don't know where to start searching for this info. So as usual here i am. Thanks in advance.
Any machine is a smoke machine if you use it wrong enough.

oc1

#1
Cork rings rely on the rod taper to to snug them into place sliding them from tip toward butt.  To slide them on from the butt toward tip they will need some thickened filler and it gets messy.  You will have to cut off the old reel seat by slicing it lengthwise with a dremel.  It's dangerous because one slip and the blank could be ruined.  You may, or may not, have the same problem installing the new reel seat from the butt end.  

It sounds like more work, but may end up being easier to strip everything off the blank and start from scratch.  Then, you have to ask yourself if it wouldn't be better to leave the old rod intact for other uses and start from scratch using a new blank.  You can't have too many fishing rods, ya' know.

-steve

thrasher

Not sure if cork could be added, I wanna say it can't be done but that could be a lie. ;D
I have changed cork to a paracord wrap covered in spar varnish or rod finish epoxy, just don't get carried away and make it slick. I'm not sure what kind of reelseat you are wanting but if you want to replace the reelseat it may be easier to us the cord grips. Strip old grips and reelseat off and buy the reelseat with an inside dia big enough to ship up over the butt. Slide reelseat up past where you have it marked for final destination, arbor it up and epoxy it. Then wrap the cord grips and seal. Just how I would do it and I know there is other ways for sure. Check out rodbuilding.org older site but a lot of talented people on it.

steelfish

do you have pics of the rod you want to modify?

a casting trigger is only used on spinning reels so, Im kind of lost when you said "to mount a reelseat upsidedown".  ???

maybe with a pic it might be easier (for me ) to undestand.


but, if you want to change the grips on a factory rod, well no many options to choose from, other than strip or take the current grip off the blank as well as the reelseat, but if you planning on doing it from the butt to the foregrip it might not be the best option specially if its your 1st time.

if your surf rod is 2pc (likely) it should be better to unistall the striper guide (normally the have only one guide on the botton section and sometimes they dont have any), strip the buttwrap or cosmetic wrap after the foregrip if any and cut off grips and reelseat and install new ones from the thinner section of the blank to the Butt as normally is.

my rainshadow surf rod doesnt have any guide on the bottom section but I do like the shirk wrap it has, I bought before I learned to build my own rods, I have plans to re-build it, but is all the way at the bottom in my to-do list.
The Baja Guy

Gfish

#4
Yup; Conventional/ baitcaster or spinning rod?
       2- peice or 1? I got a 15 footer that's 3 peice.
       Reel seats come on pre-made rods either lock-up, or lock-down.
        So, the trigger would be seperate from the seat?

All threads are good threads in a positive or negitive way. This one don't seem wacky to me, though. One way science moves forward is by disproving a "null" hypothesis, then estimating what the true thing may be.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

Swami805

I've done it several times, no big trick just a fair amount of work. If it's 2 piece beast to just strip it and rewrap the one guide or just do the handle section from the but end. You can find cork in 5" segments and avoid all the gluing and clamping rings.
Do what you can with that you have where you are

JasonGotaProblem

Clarification: spinning rod, Penn prevail 11' 2 piece.

And yes the bottom part only has 1 guide. I guess the difficulty would be matching the wrap of the other guides. But its just red thread (possibly as an accent on top of black or dark gray thread, gotta look more closely). It likely wont be that hard to match. So now i just gotta figure out the diameter. If I move forward in going with a Fuji reel seat, I've always questioned the reliability of the stock plastic seat.
Any machine is a smoke machine if you use it wrong enough.

steelfish

Quote from: Swami805 on November 11, 2020, 08:08:52 PM
I've done it several times, no big trick just a fair amount of work. If it's 2 piece beast to just strip it and rewrap the one guide or just do the handle section from the but end. You can find cork in 5" segments and avoid all the gluing and clamping rings.

how easily sounds when it comes from a professional rodsmith with lots of years of experience.




@jason, a prevail rod, then you might want to do the job yourself (as I understand its your plan), taking it to a local rod builder will cost you double than the price of the rod, by uninstalling one guide and reinstalling it, taking the grips and reelseat out and install new ones.

its not very popular to have cork grips on heavy surf rods (I might be wrong, tho), real cork grips might be toast after put them several times on rod holders, another option is to just take the shrikwrap out and install Corktape as grips, you dont need to go thrught all the hassle of the reelseat and working from the butt end, install arbors to fill the gaps, etc, etc
heck, you can even install the Cork tape over the shrinkwrap and called it a day

The Baja Guy

SoCalAngler

#8
There is also cork tape, it does not look or feel the same but it is not expensive and easy to install. Before you you start removing the guide and cutting off the reel seat you may want to look at some and see if it will work for you.

These are what is called deckhand style without a reelseat but it can be installed with one on.

wfjord

FWIW, there's also lots of helpful info at www.rodbuilding.org ---they have a long list of links for all things rod building on the left side of their page.

I'm currently working up an order from mudhole.com which, along with many of the other links, is a good source for rodbuilding materials and tools.


JasonGotaProblem

Quote from: wfjord on November 11, 2020, 09:06:08 PM
FWIW, there's also lots of helpful info at www.rodbuilding.org ---they have a long list of links for all things rod building on the left side of their page.

I'm currently working up an order from mudhole.com which, along with many of the other links, is a good source for rodbuilding materials and tools.


I've been looking around on the mudhole site. They're here in FL and i like supporting local folks. I guess for some reason I thought blanks would be cheaper than they apparently are. Not sure what my basis was, but I guess i thought it would be cheaper than buying a decent factory rod because you have to do it yourself.
Any machine is a smoke machine if you use it wrong enough.

thrasher

I may have given you the impression of cheap blanks from mudhole.com back in your thread about what to look for in a old used rod. The CRB Gator Fiberglass rods are inexpensive and what blanks I think the old red star rods were made out of. Also check out the 10' CRB Frog Gigging Stik, you may be close enough to avoid the extra handling charge on top of shipping if you wanted.

Jeri

A slightly circuitous route to the answers you are looking for follows:

In the past 15 years that we have been pretty much concentrated on surf rod building, and overall theme has been to get the weight down, whether stock/factory rods or new designs, so all the elements that go into a rod have been viewed to come up with a balance to that theme of lightness. Lighter rods feel more comfortable and require less power to make them work, and hence offer slight improvements in distance over the original. One such rod that we have done a lot of conversions on, weighted nearly over 1kg, by the time we had finished converting and rebuilding, it was down to under 800 grams, and folks couldn't believe it was the same rod blank, and the improvements to their fishing was significant.

So, with that in mind, going the route of cork handles whether sections and or tapes is basically just going to add weight, and as has already been pointed out, there is a need to remove the stripper guide to get a proper job done to 'size fit' all the cork sections, as well as potentially being expensive for good high grade cork. With the reel seat also having to be removed, then best job is going to be to have to remove the stripper guide, and fit the new one from the top, as fitting from the bottom, is an option, but the likelihood, is that you will need a much bigger reel seat to accommodate the taper in the blank section from the bottom.

So, having resigned yourself to the fact that you are going to need to remove the stripper guide, a suggestion at this point might be to potentially improve the rod's performance, by leaving the stripper guide off - try it and you can always put it back on, if performance has not improved. Now the new reel seat can be fitted properly, followed by the Canon Release. Fuji would be my firm recommendation, have been using their components for the last 14 years in our business, and never suffered a failure. As to the handle, I can only highly recommend Winn Grip wind on tapes, they are fantastic on surf rods, more tactile than shrink grip, certainly less slippery in nearly every environment (we even wade out chest deep and cast with Winn Grip rods, and no hand slippage). Slightly lighter than shrink grip and just as easy to use. We prefer to whip thread over the closure end, rather than the tape provided, as it produces a very neat job at that junction.

On the whole this is not a difficult job, just not one to be rushed - go fast, slowly!!!!.

On removing the existing reel seat, I would recommend that you avoid using a Dremel, the old fashioned way of clamping the blank gently in a vice and slowly spiral cutting down the length, through the old seat with a hacksaw is less likely to produce damage to the blank, you have an element of feel, and can avoid cutting down too deep into the blank. Usually, you see a change in colour of the saw dust from graphite grey to lighter grey, as you reach the resin glueing the reel seat, to signify when to stop cutting. Suggest that you first cut off the hoods, that makes it easier to deal with the barrel of the main reel seat.

Hope that all helps.

Jeri

A like to another forum, and removing a reel seat.

www.worldseafishing.com/threads/removing-a-reel-seat.154804/

Despite the fact that StanM suggests a dremel, slower option of a hacksaw is safer.