{"id":6425,"date":"2025-02-23T16:31:03","date_gmt":"2025-02-23T07:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/the-world-star.com\/?p=6425"},"modified":"2026-11-13T21:59:22","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T12:59:22","slug":"diy-fishing-rod-butt-section-with-lightweight-clay-eva","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/the-world-star.com\/en\/fisshing_siries\/handmadelure\/diy-fishing-rod-butt-section-with-lightweight-clay-eva-6425\/","title":{"rendered":"DIY Fishing Rod Butt Section with Lightweight Clay EVA!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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My SLJ (Super Light Jigging) rod has a butt joint, and if I shorten the butt section, it becomes just the right size for bass fishing.
I\u2019ve been working on this for a while, but the first guide was a bit too close and didn't look like the line would cast smoothly, so I decided to remake a second one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I'm using a carbon pipe that I originally intended for this project since it was just the right length. It has an inner diameter of 8 mm, an outer diameter of 10 mm, and a wall thickness of 1 mm (= virtually zero flex). For the reel seat, I used my usual Fuji ACS (Accuracy Casting). This time, I tried one with a 10 mm inner diameter, matching the pipe diameter perfectly. It spins if I apply a bit of force, though... I might not glue it down. If possible, I'm wondering if I can make it adjustable and secure it with screws or something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The joint section connecting to the rod had a bit of a gap and felt loose. To fill the subtle gap, I used a bamboo skewer to apply a generous layer of super glue around the inside, and once it became too tight, I lightly sanded it with a round file to adjust it to a nice, snug fit. I'll probably tweak this as I use it, balancing how easy it is to insert and remove versus staying put.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Next is determining the reel seat position. Since I cast with both hands, the butt length is crucial. It also depends on the tip's length and weight, of course.
The second one from the right is the one I'm trying to make this time.
The far right is the custom butt I've been using so far. Since the tip will be a bit longer, I want to make the butt section slightly longer than this one.
The third one from the right is a cheap Daiwa rod I bought brand new for around 1,000 yen, with a Medium power rating. Pretty standard size.
The far left is my favorite Zodias MH 5-piece travel rod, which has the longest butt section. I'll make mine slightly shorter than this one.
Also, how it feels when gripping with both hands is important. It's kind of like the grip length on a Kendo bamboo sword.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Once the position is set, I'll build the grip using lightweight clay from the 100-yen store\u2014there are various types like fluffy clay, but I'm going with this. I previously tried making a lure prototype with my kids using this material, and its main highlight is how lightweight it is, yet it becomes surprisingly strong once hardened. It's almost like EVA foam\u2014Fluffy Clay EVA! The composition seems to be lightweight resin particles bound together with an adhesive-like substance. While its strength and durability are likely inferior to real EVA, I want to test it out through actual use to see how well it holds up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What's great about this lightweight clay is that you can mold it into any shape! At the very bottom of the Accuracy Cast reel seat\u2014where the pinky finger rests\u2014I molded the clay to fit my fingers. If you don't do it carefully, wrinkles will form. After it hardened, I applied another layer of clay to clean it up, but using a mold to press it into shape would probably yield a really neat finish\u2014not that I plan to mass-produce it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I also molded the lower part to a size that fits comfortably in my hand. Since I have small hands, custom DIY might actually be better for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I built it up, but it looks a bit misshapen. It should be fine since I'll sand it down later.
The section below the reel seat is especially wrinkled because I shaped it around my fingers through trial and error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After that, I applied another layer of clay to fix the wrinkles and then removed it to sand it down, and it popped off easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I shaped it by sanding with 400-grit sandpaper. The added clay adhered well, though there are slight fault-line-like seams at the boundaries, but they aren't noticeable from a distance. When I put it back on the carbon pipe, it rotated quite a bit, so I wrapped paper tape around it twice to ensure a tight fit. In standard rod building, you apply plenty of adhesive, including between the tape wraps, to lock everything in place, but I'm experimenting to see if I can minimize glue usage so I can tweak the specs whenever I feel like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It's almost done for now, and it looks pretty good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This part still has some wrinkles, so I'll touch it up a bit more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here's the overall look. Pretty cool, right? You'd never guess it was made with clay\u2014it looks like a commercial fishing rod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here it is after cleaning it up a bit more. Is it finally done? No, the fun part is that a project like this is never truly finished.
Once the position is set, maybe I'll add some decorative thread wraps and UV resin between the clay EVA and the shaft?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My SLJ (Super Light Jigging) rod has a butt joint, and if I shorten the butt section, it becomes just the right size for bass fishing.I\u2019ve been working on this for a while, but the first guide was a bit too close and didn't look like the line would cast smoothly, so I decided to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/175.41.248.22\/?p=5309","_lightning_design_setting":{"layout":"default"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[13,477,874,891,923,930],"class_list":["post-6425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-handmadelure","tag-diy","tag-eva","tag-rod-building","tag-diy-lures","tag-grip","tag-rod-customization","en-US"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/the-world-star.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/the-world-star.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/the-world-star.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/the-world-star.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/the-world-star.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6425"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/the-world-star.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6426,"href":"https:\/\/the-world-star.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6425\/revisions\/6426"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/the-world-star.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/the-world-star.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/the-world-star.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/the-world-star.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}