Split Grips

[.dsaavedra.]

I split the grips on two of my rods. its pretty fun! im overall pleased with how they turned out, i just wish i sanded the blank smoother before i painted it.

[Jake P]

They look pretty good, is this your first time? I love the split grips on spinning rods, not so much on baitcast though.

[Tin]

Where did you get that idea from??? ;D

[.dsaavedra.]

jake, this is my first time. i think split grips look good on both rods, but i like baitcasters more when theyre split and have the foregrip removed...i didnt have the balls to remove the foregrip on this one though  :-/

and tin, i thought about doing this long before you told me you were doing it ;D

[Tin]

Ya ya ya sure... 8-)

[Jake P]

How long did it take you?

[vicdotcom]

I removed the forgrip on my rod. The reason is when I palm the reel I like to hold the line with my finger to feel a strike. The foregrip got in the way with that a little.

But I did run into a few things I didnt count on. Eventually fixed it but it was something I didnt think about before taking a razor to the cork lol At the very top of the forgrip is a little plastic ring that is attually glued to the rod and not the forgrip. So that had to be removed. And the top of the upper guide also didnt look right and had to be fixed from what I remember.

I also put a coat of Flexcoat on it. Its a flexible 2 part epoxy that makes it all nice and shiney.

I think it looks good though And like you said a lot of fun. how long did it take you?  Its so worth the time and effort to increase your fishing experience knowing you made that modification to the rod

Vic

[.dsaavedra.]

well mine took me longer than they should have. on the first one i did (spinning) i didnt sand down the glue on the blank well enough so after i painted it i had to sand off the paint because the paint really accentuated how rough it was under neath  :-[

so i had to re sand it and it still wasnt too smooth. i might do like Tin told me and take some carborator or brake cleaner and wipe it down w/ that because that will eat away all the glue and just leave a bare graphite underneath.

but all in all both those rods took me one day to complete.

[flechero]

You guys need to consider a few things when making these mods to rods...

sanding, scraping and cutting away cork and epoxy will scratch and scar up the blank. Although it is the thick part of the blank, you are still compromising the intergrity of the blank and asking it to fail. And for most brands, likely killing any warranty.

so i had to re sand it and it still wasnt too smooth. i might do like Tin told me and take some carborator or brake cleaner and wipe it down w/ that because that will eat away all the glue and just leave a bare graphite underneath.

He's been lucky so far... any chemical that's strong enough to eat cured epoxy can also eat what's holding your rod's graphite fibers together!

The safest way is to get through the cork and down to the epoxy and only smooth the high spots in the epoxy with a fine grit paper. Then finish it with a tinted or marbled finish to hide the old epoxy.  Or use a light leveling coat and then thread wrap a pattern or color scheme over the area to hide the uglyness underneath.  The new finish will level it all out if applied properly.

[burleytog]

A split grip on an Ugly Stik?

[.dsaavedra.]

You guys need to consider a few things when making these mods to rods...

sanding, scraping and cutting away cork and epoxy will scratch and scar up the blank. Although it is the thick part of the blank, you are still compromising the intergrity of the blank and asking it to fail. And for most brands, likely killing any warranty.

so i had to re sand it and it still wasnt too smooth. i might do like Tin told me and take some carborator or brake cleaner and wipe it down w/ that because that will eat away all the glue and just leave a bare graphite underneath.

He's been lucky so far... any chemical that's strong enough to eat cured epoxy can also eat what's holding your rod's graphite fibers together!

The safest way is to get through the cork and down to the epoxy and only smooth the high spots in the epoxy with a fine grit paper. Then finish it with a tinted or marbled finish to hide the old epoxy. Or use a light leveling coat and then thread wrap a pattern or color scheme over the area to hide the uglyness underneath. The new finish will level it all out if applied properly.

the ugly stik's warranty had probably already expired, and i found the lightning rod at one of the places i fish so that thing didnt even have a warranty. i knew it would void the warranty and i would never to this to one of my nicer rods.

i tried sanding the eopxy off and it is tough stuff! it would not come off!

i dont have any "leveling coat". what is that?

also, i dont have a rod wrapper, so doing the threads would be very difficult, and i personally think that marbling is very ugly. what could i do to hide the uneveness of the blank?

[Tin]

Ummmm.......Dave, you obviously didn't pick up the sarcasim. Bad idea, it might melt the rod.

Sorry, I'm not an expert on sarcasim.

[vicdotcom]

You guys need to consider a few things when making these mods to rods...

sanding, scraping and cutting away cork and epoxy will scratch and scar up the blank. Although it is the thick part of the blank, you are still compromising the intergrity of the blank and asking it to fail. And for most brands, likely killing any warranty.

Anyone willing to make modifcations to their rods have already thought about these factors, i would hope. Generally, people who are willing to go through the trouble of modifying their current rods have already given a good amount of thought into what would increase the enjoyment of their fishing experience and how to accomplish it. But it is also a learning process where mistakes will be made.

Is there a risk? sure there is. Is it worth taking the risk? Well that is up to the individual angler.

Personally, I wouldnt try to mod a 300$ rod or anything like that. But a spare, ugly stick, junk rods? Sure why not.

How many rodbuilders started out by tricking out their own rods, how many people gotten into rod building by thinking "gee wonder how I can get this to work better for me" then tearing apart their own equiptment.

You are 100% right about the solvents though lol But hey if he didnt post here, he might have learned the hard way.

I like what you did to the rods and you will have fun fishing them.

Vic

[Sam]

Nice job, Dave.

Keep up the good work.

[.RM.]

dsaavedra.

i tried sanding the epoxy off and it is tough stuff! it would not come off!

Nope the key to removing the epoxy is HEAT. You heat the area slightly with a hair dryer (it softens the epoxy) and then using the dull edge of a razor you carefully scrap the epoxy off. Once the old epoxy has been scraped then you can use a ultra fine sanding pad to finish up the area. You never use any solvents stronger than denatured alcohol on a rod blank.

vicdotcom,

How many rodbuilders started out by tricking out their own rods, how many people gotten into rod building by thinking "gee wonder how I can get this to work better for me" then tearing apart their own equiptment.

I didn't. I first read everything I could to actually learn the processes involved with prepping the blank then, prepping the grip, and then the guides and so on, learning the differences in actions and backbones, about spline etc.. Then I purchased a rod kit and built a rod. You don't learn that re-modifying a rod....

IMPO the re-modifying of and existing factory rack rod is nothing more than keeping idle hands busy.  

[.dsaavedra.]

dsaavedra.

i tried sanding the epoxy off and it is tough stuff! it would not come off!

Nope the key to removing the epoxy is HEAT. You heat the area slightly with a hair dryer (it softens the epoxy) and then using the dull edge of a razor you carefully scrap the epoxy off. Once the old epoxy has been scraped then you can use a ultra fine sanding pad to finish up the area. You never use any solvents stronger than denatured alcohol on a rod blank.

vicdotcom,

How many rodbuilders started out by tricking out their own rods, how many people gotten into rod building by thinking "gee wonder how I can get this to work better for me" then tearing apart their own equiptment.

I didn't. I first read everything I could to actually learn the processes involved with prepping the blank then, prepping the grip, and then the guides and so on, learning the differences in actions and backbones, about spline etc.. Then I purchased a rod kit and built a rod. You don't learn that re-modifying a rod....

IMPO the re-modifying of and existing factory rack rod is nothing more than keeping idle hands busy.

thank you so much for that information david!

i would have never thought to use heat.

so now i have another question for you, i want to clean off all my work (polyurethane, paint) and get back to the epoxy so i can use heat to get it off....how can i do this?

[Quinn]

What is the purpose/advantage to splitting the grip?

[Tin]

I think it is a personal preference thing.

[.dsaavedra.]

What is the purpose/advantage to splitting the grip?

CAUSE IT LOOKS BAD***!!!!!

lol but seriously, it reduces the weight of the rod (not by much though).

like Tin said, its mainly personal preference, there really is no benefit, but i think most people like it because it looks attractive (at least thats why i like a split grip).

however, rods without a foregrip, not only do they reduce a minute amount of weight, but they allow your fingers of your left hand to be in contact with the blank when u palm the reel, and that gives you more sensativity.

[Quinn]

Reading this thread raised my curiosity on what "Carrot Stix" are, so I see the design in purchased rods, but don't understand what it does.  I've seen similar rods with double grips on large snaging and catfish rods, but why the little knob on the end??

They do look cool though  

[Branuss04]

dsaavedra.

i tried sanding the epoxy off and it is tough stuff! it would not come off!

Nope the key to removing the epoxy is HEAT. You heat the area slightly with a hair dryer (it softens the epoxy) and then using the dull edge of a razor you carefully scrap the epoxy off. Once the old epoxy has been scraped then you can use a ultra fine sanding pad to finish up the area. You never use any solvents stronger than denatured alcohol on a rod blank.

vicdotcom,

How many rodbuilders started out by tricking out their own rods, how many people gotten into rod building by thinking "gee wonder how I can get this to work better for me" then tearing apart their own equiptment.

I didn't. I first read everything I could to actually learn the processes involved with prepping the blank then, prepping the grip, and then the guides and so on, learning the differences in actions and backbones, about spline etc.. Then I purchased a rod kit and built a rod. You don't learn that re-modifying a rod....

IMPO the re-modifying of and existing factory rack rod is nothing more than keeping idle hands busy.

reelmechanic to the rescue once again.  Thanks for that info

[.RM.]

.dsaavedra.,

so now i have another question for you, i want to clean off all my work (polyurethane, paint) and get back to the epoxy so i can use heat to get it off....how can i do this?

I have used an Acetone wash to remove some epoxies and paints on older blanks, it's NOT recommended for blanks today, the strongest I use today is denatured alcohol. You might have to live with it, or you will have to take the sanding pads in different grits to remove the work you have already done. You might also try heat on the plastic paint you used.

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!!

[.dsaavedra.]

.dsaavedra.,

so now i have another question for you, i want to clean off all my work (polyurethane, paint) and get back to the epoxy so i can use heat to get it off....how can i do this?

I have used an Acetone wash to remove some epoxies and paints on older blanks, it's NOT recommended for blanks today, the strongest I use today is denatured alcohol. You might have to live with it, or you will have to take the sanding pads in different grits to remove the work you have already done. You might also try heat on the plastic paint you used.

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!!

;D Branuss is right! reelmechanic to the rescue!

i will probably take your suggestion and live with it. its not really that bad. its probably not worth my trouble to try again from scratch, knowing me i'd mess something else up in the process :-/ :

[MyKeyBe]

Thanks for the inspiration dsaavedra!!!

Only took about 3 hours and feels great!

Thanks again.

[.dsaavedra.]

wow that looks great MyKeyBe, i like it better than mine...honest.

i really like the tapers on your grips. i couldnt really get the taper i wanted.

what did you do with the blank section between grips?

also, did you remove the foregrip too?