Feb. 8, 1908.I 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
22 1 
the cork like a wad-cutter. The result will sur¬ 
prise you—a nice smooth hole through this secm- 
iingly difficult substance to work. Do not, how¬ 
ever, try to hammer the tube through the cork. 
Drop this cork circlet over the tip of your rod 
and push it slowly down to the butt, the last 
inch of which has previously been coated with 
hot glue. Punch out another cork, slide it down, 
coat the first one with glue, press them into close 
contact. Proceed in this manner until you have 
ten corks on the rod, giving you a handgrasp 
approximately five inches long. 
Now procure a piece of white pine five inches 
long and 24 -inch in diameter. Bore a 15-32-inch 
hole through it and round off the outside until 
it will go inside the reelseat easily. This should 
be perfectly made, and it may be best to have 
it turned in a lathe. Taper one end until it will 
fit the taper of the reelseat nicely, while the other 
end should lack a quarter-inch of being as long 
as the reelseat. Slide this pine sleeve down over 
the rod (see Fig. 30), coat the rod and the upper¬ 
most cork with glue, press the pine sleeve home 
and put the rod aside for a couple of days until 
the glue dries. 
If you want the handgrasp to be shaped in a 
certain way and be nicely finished, have it turned 
in a lathe. I prefer to have mine perfectly cylin-, 
drical throughout, and press the reelseat into the 
top cork, leaving a right-angled shoulder to serve 
in lieu of a finger hook. I take a piece of sand¬ 
paper, folded round a block of wood, and turn¬ 
ing the rod rapidly, work back and forth length¬ 
wise of the grasp, gauging frequently, then using 
fine sandpaper until the grasp is cut down to 
1 1-16 inch in diameter. 
Taper the lower corks until the buttcap will 
fit snugly. Warm the buttcap, rub a little cement 
inside, push it home, and when it is cold drill 
a hole in it and into the butt of the rod, drive a 
brass pin home and file it off flush with'the sur¬ 
face of the cap. Wipe off surplus cement. 
In fitting the reelseat over the pine sleeve, place 
the hooded end down, so that in fitting the reel 
to the seat the band will pull down and in this 
way bring the reel near the hand, so that the 
index finger will grip the cork shoulder and 
render your control of the reel and rod firm. 
If the yoke of the reel fits the seat as it should, 
and the band is tight, the reel will never work 
loose, even in a long fight with a big fish. 
The three-quarter inch commercial reelseat is 
about 4(4 inches long, and for bait-rods the cor¬ 
rect way—in theory, at least—is to fit it with 
the sliding band at the bottom, so that the band 
will push forward over the reel-yoke and counter¬ 
act the tendency of the reel to work loose in 
playing a fish. Fitted with the hood on the 
upper end of the reelseat, the reel goes so far 
forward that more than an inch of the seat is 
exposed, and the right hand must grip this metal 
instead of the firmer and less slippery cork or 
cord wound grasp; hence, the shape of a well- 
formed grasp counts for less than it should. 
If the handgrasp is single, the length of the 
reelseat does not so much matter, but when the 
grasp is double I prefer to cut the reelseat down 
to a length of 324 inches, and also file the after 
end of the reel-yoke until its length is only 2(4 
inches. This brings the reel nearer the hand, 
and also places the upper grasp where the left 
hand can rest on it in spooling the line. 
Formerly I made all my bait-casting rods with 
double handgrasps, but have finally arrived at the 
conclusion that for tournament casting the upper 
grasp is a useless thing that serves only to stiffen 
the rod at that point. I always grasp the reel 
in spooling line and in playing a fish, holding the 
reel with three fingers of the left hand, while 
the index finger and the thumb spool the line. 
Making the grasp single and short adds to the 
resilience of the rod and makes it neater, and 
easier to build. I always place the hooded end 
of the seat down, and if the band is wedged 
tightly over the yoke, as it should be, there is no 
play. A great many sea and other rods are made 
with the hooded end down. 
See that the yoke of your reel is standard. 
1 prefer to set two very small brass camera 
screws, one on each side of the hood, and two 
of these instead of one pin in the buttcap. They 
are not so likely to work loose as is the case 
with pins. They should be 24 -inch long. 
Now, go over the rod with the finest sand 
paper, wet the wood to raise the grain, let it 
dry, then cut it down with a bit of well-worn 
fine sandpaper, polish diligently with shavings 
from the rod, and finally rub with silk paper 
until you secure a high gloss. Replace the agate 
top, rub the rod with coach varnish on a rag, 
and suspend it on a brad in an airy or sunny 
place free from dust until it is dry. If it is 
crooked, let it hang with a heavy reel in place. 
Tie the guides on with cord, attach a reel, and 
practice with the rod until you are satisfied— 
either that it suits you or that it needs reduc¬ 
ing a trifle in places where it seems too stiff. 
Just here it is well to quote the late Major 
Traherne who, in “The Badminton Library on 
Salmon and Trout,” said of the greenheart sal¬ 
mon rod: 
• “I am at a loss how to describe it, but its 
virtue lies in an equal distribution of strength, 
in proportion, from the butt to the point. A 
heavy butt, with no spring to it, and with a 
weak top, is of little use for casting purposes 
beyond a certain distance. The spring should 
be felt, to a certain extent, to the bottom of the 
butt when casting; and I consider a rod which 
does not possess this quality of little or no 
value.” 
This applies to all rods, whether for lure or 
fly-casting; but in finishing the bait-rod it is 
well to remember that for quick, snappy casting 
the taper from the middle to the tip-end should 
be more rapid than in a rod intended for slow, 
even casting with light lures, and for accuracy 
casting. In this the taper may be rapid for a 
short distance, then slow to the tip, giving greater 
resilience to the whole rod, but retaining strength 
near the handgrasp. 
Several trials should satisfy you with the rod. 
FIG. 32. 
Pine hand-grasp, double. 
l/i hi i/i iii 11 mi 11 mu, 
FIG. 33. 
Upper grasp ready for gluing in place. 
Formerly every manufacturer made yokes as best 
suited his fancy, but some twenty years ago the 
National Rod and Reel Association adopted three 
standards for reel-yokes. The smallest, j 4 -inch, 
was cut on the arc of a ten cent piece; for 24 
inch reelseats, a nickel; and for i-inch reelseats, 
a silver quarter. Nearly all manufacturers fol¬ 
low these gauges. 
Assemble all the parts of the reelseat and push 
it down over the pine sleeve, working it well 
into the topmost cork, to form a waterproof 
joint. If the taper fits the tapered end of the 
pine sleeve, remove the seat, coat the sleeve with 
cement or glue and push the reelseat home. A 
brass pin through the hooded end and reelseat 
will fix the metal parts of your handgrasp rigidly. 
This pin should merely enter the wood of the 
rod, but not penetrate far, or it may weaken it. 
If it is reduced in places, finish as before, with 
the final coat of varnish rubbed in. This thin 
coat serves as a protection under the silk wind¬ 
ings, which, as will be explained in the proper 
place, are put on without wax. You are now* 
ready to wind and varnish the rod. 
If you decide to wind the grasp with cord, 
procure one of the pine single grasps which cost 
about twenty cents, and trim it to fit the reel- 
seat snugly, tapering at the forward end to fit 
the metal taper. Slide it down over the rod and 
glue it in place. When dry form a shoulder 
at the bottom so the cord will end there, as 
shown in Fig. 31, ami wind with cord. The 
cord should be covered for a quarter-inch at the 
butt by the cap, and for an equal distance at 
the other end by the reelseat. The latter is put 
on in the same fashion as with a cork grasp. 
FIG. 30. 
Corks in place and sleeve ready to be glued on. 
FIG. 31. 
Cord-wound pine hand grasp. 
