I'm building my first off shore rod. The mudhole kit came with a slick butt handle and the hard plastic handle is wider than the blank. I assume I would build up an arbor with tape to center it as I would with a reel seat on a bass rod and then full coverage of epoxy, right?. Would the same be true for the Gimbal? Is that right and any other tips are welcome.

Thanks
Drew

I would tend to shy away from tape unless the mismatch is very slight. A few wraps of tape at most. Beyond that, drywall tape with gel epoxy or some type of cork or brick foam arbors. Same for the gimbal.

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to do it so it is rock solid you need to take your time and use the drywall screen tape make a partial arbor and gel epoxy the heck out of it press it in to the cavities and let it cure and then go back build the final arbor and gel epoxy it heavily and again press it in to the cavities place your handle let it cure and do the same process for the gimbal and it will be as strong a bond you can get

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



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2017 10:59PM by Matthew Paul.

Tack the leading edge of drywall tape to the blank using super glue. This will hold the dry wall tape in place so when you apply the epoxy the tape will stay in place and not slide around. Wrap the tape on the blank to the thickness you need, then unwrap it and then start applying the epoxy as you tightly rewrap the tape. This make sure all of the holes in the tape are completely filled. Slip on the handle/gimbal and are you good to go. This gives a rock solid arbor that will not fail.
Norm

Matthew Paul I LIKE that system! Thank You

Easier to keep half the Thickness tight, than the whole thing



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/2017 01:29AM by Barry Thomas Sr.

This is great advice. Thanks to everyone, I appreciate the input.

I second use of the drywall tape, but have a couple variations on the theme based on lessons learned from bitter first hand experience:

1) On the reel seat, I first measure out the tape until it fits nice and snug. Then remove the tape and place it on standby. I then scuff up the blank where the tape is to go on and apply epoxy to the tape every two or three layers as I wind it back on. That way the epoxy permeates through the cloth to create a link between inner surface of reelseat and the blank itself. On an average offshore rod with, say a size 24 reelseat, you'll notice that if you simply apply the drywall tape up to the correct diameter of the reel seat it is entirely possible that you can see no part of the blank underneath. I would not assume that the epoxy you coat on the top will make it down more than a few layers into the cloth. Certainly not far enough to reach the blank itself. Offshore fishing generates tremendous pressures, especially when you are fishing, say a heavy-ish reel loaded with 130- 200 lb braid, pulling 45 lbs of drag. It is foreseeable that the lack of epoxy all the way through the tape arbor will cause the arbor to separate and cause the seat to spin. When it comes to epoxy, I actually use Marine Tex on my rods designed for 80 lb line and up.

2) on the Gimbal, I have had more than one gimbal twist off on an offshore rod, using a drywall tape arbor and rod builder's grade epoxy. I suspect its because the gimbal is at one end of the fulcrum that it takes such stress. For Gimbals on offshore rods I only use the marine tex. .



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2017 06:13PM by Philip Engle.

Update: I finished the process and it worked well. I think that the epoxy application added to the girth, because the handle fit on the first dry-fit around just the drywall tape, but not after I had rewrapped with epoxy every few layers. It was easy enough to unwind a bit so it fits well now, no big deal.
Thanks again everyone.