Posted by:
roger wilson
(---.hsd1.mn.comcast.net)
Eric,
I have built many rods using the Aero comfort seat.
A picture with some examples:
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www.rodbuilding.org]
Over the years, I have found that for most folks fishing with a typical spinning rod set up seem to prefer a grip diameter of .8-.95 inches.
I have tried many many different rear grip designs. If you look at the picture that is the 3rd grip down from the top in the picture - I have found that this shape seems to make myself as well as most of my clients the most pleased with the rod.
I use this same shape and dimensions whether I am using a full length cork grip, or a split grip. i.e. - the only thing different that I would do for a split grip would be to leave a few inches of cork out of the center rear part of the grip.
When I turn a grip for a Aero reel seat, I will generally start out with the typical 1 1/4 inch cork rings x1/2 inch and a 1/4 inch thick piece of contrasting cork from the butt cap. I ream the cork to be a near perfect fit on the blank before gluing to make the final fitting of the grip easier. Then I glue up the cork to form a solid form. Since I now have a tapered interior of the grip, I will use masking tape arbors on the threaded rod that I use for a mandrel for my lathe. Also, by predrilling the cork, - I can use the largest threaded mandrel possible which also makes it the stiffest mandrel that I can use for the particular grip.
I will start the turning, making a constant diameter grip of a bit over an inch. Then, using a caliper to measure the interior of the end of the Aero grip, I will just sand a reducing angle on the reel seat side of the grip so that the end of the grip will almost fit into the end of the reel seat. Then, I will go ahead and shape the rest of the grip, staying away from the front 1 inch of the grip to avoid reducing the diameter of the grip too much. i sand and shape the butt cap at the same time so that the butt cap is a perfect match to the rest of the grip.
Then, just before doing the final sand down of the rod, I will check and double check the reel seat end of the grip and the inside size of the reel seat and gradually reduce the end diameter of the grip so that it i about .020 inch larger than the inside end of the reel seat.
Now, I will remove the grip from the lathe and do the final reaming of the grip to get a perfect match on the rod blank at the point of installation. I double check the fit of the grip into the reel seat so that I effectively have a press fit of the grip into the reel seat, with the contour of the grip following the hump on the Aero seat so that you get a perfect palm filling hump on the overall grip and reel seat to give you excellent Day long fishing comfort.
The grip is finished. But, there is now a hole in the end of the butt cap that is effectively the same size as the butt end of the blank. I use a plug cutting bit in my drill press to drill a few plugs of matching cork to the butt cap and form a plug for the hole in the end of the grip. Then, I use my belt or disk sander to taper the plug so that the plug can be pressed into the end of the grip for a perfect fit. As the grip is glued to the blank, with the butt cap part of the grip extending out past the end of the blank, I will also glue in the butt cap plug at the same time. After the glue is dry, I then, use my disk sander and my cross lock vise to sand the plug down flush with the butt cap for a perfect grip with no extra shaping required.
This picture is my dedicated disk sander with a cross vise mounted to the sander base to secure the rods at 90 degrees to the length of the rod. This allows me to quickly complete a final sand of the butt cap plug on the end of the cork grip and not have it out of true with respect to the rest of the grip.
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www.rodbuilding.org]
