A little nervous about this.

I don't even think I reamed this grip in question, it was an extra I had and it seemed to fit just right. It slid down to about 6 inches above its final resting place and wouldn't go further without a good amount of force. I applied the epoxy to get it going the rest of the way, and when I had it all glued up, I noticed there was about a 1/16-1/32 inch gap on the tip end of the grip. I used a craft/popsicle stick to try and shove epoxy down into it, and then applied a big gob right above it. I tried my best to get the winding check to shove more down in there.

Obviously the whole thing isn't loose or it would've slid further down on the dry fit. It's a 20-50 pound rod with a 10 inch foregrip. It's a Rainshadow RCLB70M extra fast tip, so shouldn't flex much in the handle region. Going to be used with 30 pound line and 10 pounds of drag. Is this thing doomed for failure?

Randy,
It is a wonderful rod that will give you years of great fishing.
Enjoy it and move on.

Sounds like cork, right? I expect it will work fine. But there is one thing you can do next time to make sure the cork doesn't split from the radial force imparted by the very tight fit to the blank, and that is to keep reaming (with close to the proper taper) until it needs very little force to seat it into the right position. Some cork isn't that strong in tension and may split when forced into position. The epoxy will cut the coefficient of friction allowing it to be moved, but it will not cut the radial forces.

If it is EVA, consider that at 10" long, and it stopped 6" from it's final spot, that the upper 4" would be too loose.
You might be OK if you got some epoxy into the void.
One solution would be to use an injection needle to send some liquid epoxy into that area.
From the front gap if you can, or thru it from the outside.

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

If you seat a grip or a fore grip, ream until the piece is a slip fit in to its final place and you will never have such an issue in the future.

Good luck

Roger, and everyone, thanks for the tips. I have been doing this for a while, but still dont have enough builds under my belt to be an expert, I learn something new (too often from mistakes that worry me) on every build I do. This is EVA. Didn't consider the train of thought above by Ron. I just assumed that if it stopped short in the dry fit, it would be nice and snug once I lubed it with epoxy and drove it home.

Can someone explain how you go about using the syringe method through the grip? Do you just stick it through? Drill a pilot hole? I don't have any sharp ones, just some ones I used to use for refilling inkjet cartridges.

Live and learn. Heres hoping on Roger's first response! I painted the blank white, and got that part right. Just a 2K clear coat over white primer, wet sanded and polished, and it looks great!

*edited*

This question was answered above.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/2017 12:57PM by Randy Weakley.

You can get injection type (like doctors use) at medical supply places.
Maybe at larger pharmacys.
It will be slim enough at the tip that it should go thru the gap.
That will be the cleanest way and least noticeable.
If you are going to try to clean it for future use, I would use regular cure 2 part liquid epoxy.

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381