Alright, so it's been awhile since I posted here mostly because you guys/gals have helped me so much already so I was actually making progress on my first build. However, I ran into an issue and after searching the web, I cannot seem to find a solid answer.

I am building a 2wt fly rod and after assembling the grip, I noticed it was off-center a bit. I tried to find a winding check that would cover the top of the cork grip to hide this fact but really just made it worse. At this point, I am looking for suggestions on a solution. I have attached some pics at the link below. It just looks awful now and I am not sure if there is a way to remove the cork grip and reel seat altogether and start over? Even if I have to buy a new reel seat and cork grip it may be worth it as these were part of an MHX kit from Mudhole so prob not too expensive to replace. The cork grip had too large of an inside diameter out-of-the-box so I used tape bushings to secure it onto the blank but I did not notice it was off-center until it dried, LESSON LEARNED.

Any ideas/suggestions are greatly appreciate. Should I remove and replace or is there a way to fix the issue?

[imgur.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2017 12:56PM by Kelly Dow.

Kelly,
Really, no big deal.
No, it does not look awful.

Get another winding check that is a slip fit onto the rod blank. Then, do a butt wrap up to the winding check and you will be good to go.

You know that the grip is not perfectly centered on the blank, but no one else will know. The slight off center of the grip will have 0 effect on your use of the rod.

p.s.
The thing that I have done with a very bad case of off set, is to do about a 1/2 inch wrap tight to the grip. Then, use a blunt screw driver to force the thread down the gap in the grip and blank. If the void is still there, do another 1/2 inch thread wrap and force that wrap down into the void of the grip. By that time, you will likely find that the end of the grip is nicely centered on the blank.

Good luck

not a big deal for sure
But if you want it perfect you can cut the grip back 1 inch and get 2 new cork rings and ream them to fit from the top down to where the meet the grip then glue them on and let it cure and then sand them to match the grip keeping it centered on the blank add the check and your mistake disappears that is easier than re doing the entire grip and seat

The best day to be alive is always tomorrow !!
Think out side the box when all else fails !!!
Wi.

Kelly

Yep, it's off center, and nothing short of removal and replacement will make it on center.

There is, however, a possible cosmetic fix. Place whatever winding check you intend to use on the grip, just don't epoxy or glue the check in place. Then trace around the check with a pencil. Remove the check and slowly and carefully sand away the excess cork to the traced line. Again, that is slowly and carefully being certain not to sand in flat spots, and do feather or smooth the cork reduction into the remaining cork. If you can mount the rod in a lathe or other device to hold the rod and grip steady, a strip of 220 or finer grit sandpaper can be used as if you were buffing shoes. Did I mention working slowly checking your progress often?

The grip will still be off center, but the eye will not pick it up provided the transition from the forward third of the grip to the check is smooth.

Good luck.

If you have access to a lathe that is capable of spinning the blank section, you can use a round nose scraper to return the grip to concentric with the rod blank. This will require a very slight reduction in grip diameter, of course, but would be the simplest fix.

...........

I appreciate all of the responses. The winding check that you see in the pic is unfortunately already glued on so what is the best way to remove it without damaging the cork?

What glue or adhesive did you use?

Donald La Mar Wrote:
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> What glue or adhesive did you use?

Zap-A-Gap CA+. Super glue basically. It's all over the top of the cork as you can kind of see in the pic. It looks horrible to me, like I said, lesson learned but I want it to look at least decent.

It's bad for you stuff, but acetone is a solvent for CA. If you have no other need for a tin of acetone, try the wife's / significant other's finger nail polish remover, which is usually acetone.

Acetone on the skin and inhaling the fumes is a bad idea. And it's highly flammable.

If the rod is for your personal use, I'd be tempted to cal it a learning experience and a day by leaving it as is.

Cork grips are easy to remove with common tools that all of us have. Since you haven't wrapped the rod yet, why not just get another grip and replace it?

Jay McKnight Wrote:
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> Cork grips are easy to remove with common tools
> that all of us have. Since you haven't wrapped the
> rod yet, why not just get another grip and replace
> it?

I don't have an issue with changing it out but what is the procedure to remove the reel seat and cork grip?

The rod is for me personally so it's not the end of the world if it has to remain as-is but I guess I'm trying to use this as a learning experience so wanted to try and fix if I can, for future reference at the very least.

Opinion #283...

I would take that winding check off and try Roger's trick of pushing thread into the gap in an effort to force the grip over. If that didn't work, then I'd just remove it and install a new grip. You should not have to buy a new reel seat.

Regardless the outcome with the grip...I would measure & buy me a winding check that fit. Don't put the one that's on there now back on. Again, that's only my opinion.

To remove the winding check, just use a razor knife and slice it off. You can remove a touch of cork at the same time, but the cork is easy to cut.

Good luck