First thing I had to do was to make sure the reel seat fit the rod. When I ordered it, I asked that it be specially bored to .438" so it would fit. Next thing was to fit the cork grip. It was too long so I had to shorten it by about 1" and sand it flush. Once I acquired the desired length, I bored it out with a rat tail file to a snug fit on the rod blank. Then I assembled the reel seat, cork grip and rod blank using a 50 minuted two part epoxy from Lowe's Hardware. Next thing was to fit the winding check in front of the cork grip. With all that in place it was time to attach the guides and tip top. I decided on chestnut colored nylon wrapping thread with black tipping. The spacing for the guides was determined by a chart made available by Al Campbell from Fly Anglers Online. A website dedicated to fly fishing. With all the guides and tip top in place,I applied a double coat of Gudebrod Rod Varnish to the wraps and let it dry in the rod turner. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Last but not least was a label made for me by Eppie Lew. (Handcrafted By Lotech Joe)She works at the same label shop where I work. I think it looks great.
