Oh, the lengths people go through to get their perfect rod. Some may find these pictures disturbing. Others, like myself, find great satisfaction in seeing a $500+ rod cut to pieces!
The first project was sorta tame, but morphed into more than intended. It started out as a foregrip trim on a 923S MR. I can understand why. The thing was 4" long and you couldn't put your finger on the blank without dislocating it.
After some finessing with a pair of pliers and finish work with sandpaper, it was a much more comfortable length
This rod was quite tip heavy. In order to get it concentric in the lathe, I had to remove the jerry-rigged balancing system that was installed. These weights also added unneeded length to the already excessively long rear grip.
I discussed this with the customer and he said to "do whatever I had to" I like when people tell me that!
This was what I removed.
This is what I re-installed.
I know it's more than I took out, but it had to be to achieve the same balance point with the shorter rear grip.
He also dislikes split grips and fills the gap with pipe insulation and wraps over with Rod Wrap. I installed some rod-appropriate materials to fill the gap and he can now wrap it and it won't be squishy.
One final finishing touch. A thread wrap to clean up the area where the foregrip was removed. Didn't have matching Blue Dunn NCP so I used black. Black goes with everything!
Project #2 was a repeat of one preformed on a GLX about 2 years ago.
This one started out as a 843C MBR
Someone has a date with a miter saw.
OFF WITH HIS BUTT!!
Naked and humiliated.
The OEM reelseats are ungodly uncomfortable, and it had to be removed anyway, because the seat location was changing. Over the butt reelseat replacements aren't the easiest, but it can be done. Slide on the reelseat, ream an arbor to fit a blank of similar dimensions, split the arbor, glue in place and wrap with thread to hold it.
Once the arbor is set, slide the new seat in place. This is a 17mm Fuji Comfort Touch. They were discontinued years ago, but I still have a couple stashed.
New Winn full grip in place
Butt cap installed.
Finish wrap in front of the winding check and it's better than when it came in!
