After the epoxy has dried, time for the lathe to shape the bottom grip and the reel seat. I put about 1" of masking tape around the blank where the chuck will hold it. This keeps the chuck from crushing the blank. I then add some tape from that point to the top just to help prevent scratches while sanding the handles.
Into the lathe for sanding......
Bottom grip and reel seat complete and slip rings installed. I had to remove the rod from the lathe a few times to get everything just right for the rings. No big deal but it was a little extra time compared to a normal reel seat...
Next slide on the top grip rings and epoxy the same as the lower grip. Set in the clamp for another 6 hours or so before sanding. I like to use the 1" of upper grip per foot of rod. SO, for this 11' rod I used 11" of upper grip. The lower grip is 3 3/4". When building your own rod, you can make them as long or short as you like!
After 20 minutes of sanding and shaping on the lathe, the upper grip is finished! Again, you can shape the cork to your liking. But remember that you can't add more cork for diameter once you've sanded it. So I like to take it off the lathe and hold it in my hands until it feels just right!!
And a photo of what it looks like with my 3 7/8 Perfect attached.....I made the reel seat long enough to accommodate long feet on the old reels just in case I get another Perfect for this rod.
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