Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[fishman1]

Wondering how easy or hard it is to replace the existing cork handle and reel seat on my drift rod.  It is a Lamiglass GSH 126 2MH.  I want to put a trigger style reel seat on it and also lengthen the rear grip an inch or two.  I'm just not happy the the current configuration.  Can anyone recommend a place I could get this done if its possible?

Here is a pic of the rod.

Thanks

[leapin' tyee]

Brain at Westcoast tackle . Berrysbait tackle. in Vancouver.  Searun and Freds tackle in the lower mainland.

[Dave]

Be prepared for sticker shock as that will not be cheap to do 

[Sr SQ]

Be prepared for sticker shock as that will not be cheap to do 

Agreed, doing it correctly would require stripping the entire butt section and thats as much work as building a new rod.
You could "cheat" just the lower grip section for the cost of a reel seat, cork and a butt box (if yours isnt salvageable) but unless you can do it yourself and save the labour costs it will be the same +/- a few $$ than you could buy a comparable used rod in the seat configuration you want.
JMO

[fishman1]

Thanks for the input.  After considering cost etc.  I may just live with it and spend the money on a new rod.  I may build one from scratch.  One can never have too many

[Spoonman]

...at the very least you would have to get the rod stripped from the ferrule down to bottom of the reel seat and add a couple of rings to the lower and rebuild up from there......Looks like black thread so easy to match/no need to retie top section....the cork is probably the most expensive thing next to the labour maybe a $150 job(?)...blank looks similar to my Lami gc 10-6 mh cp rated 10-20.....sweet blank.....worth the money imo...plans in the back of my mind to totally re-work my factory rod......Mark Light at Valley Custom

[Dave]

Last time I spoke with Mark, about a week ago, he was concentrating on his component business and had no time to build ... check with him first though as he is a first class rod builder.

This build is at least $150 and could be done from the bottom up but most likely the handle would be considered too bulky as the upper cork would have to be reamed to the diameter of the lowest cork at the butt.  Most times these cheaper methods to solve a problem look just that way, cheap, but removing all the butt section guides, hookkeeper, and whatever else is there is often nearly impossible to hide as well ...

Save your money on this rod and have one built to your specifications. 

[fishman1]

Well I took the plunge on this rod and decided to rebuild the bottom half myself.  I am very pleased with the results.  It did take a fair amount of time and it wasn't cheap but I really enjoyed doing this and now I have a rod I love to use!  I stripped it down and only left the butt cap on the blank, added new cork, reel seat and winding check.  Sanded the cork and rewrapped the guides.  Time consuming but worth it.  Since this was my first rod building foray I also built a cork reamer that fit into my drill, a cork clamp, a couple of rod stands and a power dryer for the flex coat.  I made that out of a BBQ rotisserie.  Here is the final outcome.  Now to get it wet

[Dave]

Sweet job    Now your'e hooked ..

[canso]

Very nice, do you have pics of the tools like the power dryer and cork clamp?

[fishman1]

I'll post a few pics in morning

[fishman1]

here is the cork clamp.  I put a rod in it for reference. The reamer is there as well.



Dryer using a BBQ rotisserie motor