Rod tube handle - DIY

[DerekD]

Hi All,

I've been using Seahorse PVC rod tubes for years. With their oval shape I find they are pretty compact. Problem is that the handles are starting to play up on me. I also have a few PVC rod tubes that I have made up from Bunnings plastic components for some of my more expensive rods. I even stuck polyethelene foam in the caps to protect the rod ends from bumps. What I didn't do was make a strap or handle for these. I'm looking for ideas to make handles or straps for all my cases.

Firstly, the before and after of the Seahorse rod tube handle. While probably easy to make, the ring part which circles the case is pretty thin and breaks after a while.

Depending on the balance of the rod in the case I could slide the yellow handle along the tube till I reached a point where it was easy to carry. I could also grab three or so of these handles in one hand. I've got some ideas for replacement ones but I'm sure someone has come up with an excellent idea already and has a patent pending.

My criteria for the handles.

Relatively inexpensive (Seahorse rod tubes used to cost me about $28, the home made Bunnings ones cost less than $15).

Does not put a catch point on the interior of the rod tube - was considering rivets but they could catch on the guides or scratch up the rods.

Does not leave a sharp point to catch on the outside - was considering hose worm clamps but the screw mechanism has a sharp point.

Ideally can slide it along to suit the balance of the outfit.

Went to Bunnings today and found a $6.60 25mm x 4m tie down strap which is stitched. This is the material I'm thinking of using. Not quite as meaty as old handle but it is an option. Sufficient length that I could probably do all my rod cases. I could also run this strap through another material like a neoprene tube to give me that meaty feel I'd like.

The two ideas I've had are:

1: Cut to length (say 300mm) and heat/melt the ends to prevent unravelling. Double 25mm of the end over to double the thickness and duct tape to rod tube.

2: Cut to length. Find some thick elastic (not pure rubber as it degrades) bands slightly smaller than the tube circumference and then stitch the ends of the strap into loops over the rubber. Essentially copying the old yellow handled design.

What have other Fishraiders done?

Regards,

Derek

Edited November 4, 2019 by DerekD

[Berleyguts]

I used to just keep it simple, using rope. Start with a timber hitch then take the running end to the length you want and finish off with a clove hitch. 😉 You could slide a section of hose or neoprene over the rope before you do the clove hitch if you like. You could also start with a rolling hitch instead of a timber hitch if you prefer.

If straps are more your thing, you could just get strap material to suit and make two straps to go around the tube, pretty tight and stitch a loop in each end with a D ring in each loop. Then stick the handle section in between the two D rings, or you can use carabiner clips if you like. Just a thought.

[savit]

Why not try thick bunnings bungee cord! You can cut it , tighten on tube, make a small handle, and move it along the tube when required. 2 minutes job.

  I would add Kmart large carabiners ($2 for the pair?)  to keep the tubes together when necessary.

[Berleyguts]

1 minute ago, savit said:

Why not try thick bunnings bungee cord! You can cut it , tighten on tube, make a small handle, and move it along the tube when required. 2 minutes job.

  I would add Kmart large carabiners ($2 for the pair?)  to keep the tubes together when necessary.

Yep, that’s similar to what I used to do with rope... but the bungee cord might be easier on the fingers.

[DerekD]

1 minute ago, savit said:

Why not try thick bunnings bungee cord! You can cut it , tighten on tube, make a small handle, and move it along the tube when required. 2 minutes job.

  I would add Kmart large carabiners ($2 for the pair?)  to keep the tubes together when necessary.

Hadn't thought of that Savit - can see where it is going. Simple too. Further research on Bunnings.

[DerekD]

2 minutes ago, Berleyguts said:

I used to just keep it simple, using rope. Start with a timber hitch then take the running end to the length you want and finish off with a clove hitch. 😉 You could slide a section of hose or neoprene over the rope before you do the clove hitch if you like. You could also start with a rolling hitch instead of a timber hitch if you prefer.

If straps are more your thing, you could just get strap material to suit and make two straps to go around the tube, pretty tight and stitch a loop in each end with a D ring in each loop. Then stick the handle section in between the two D rings, or you can use carabiner clips if you like. Just a thought.

Hi Berleyguts - will have to get some of my old knot books out to see if I can find one that is pleasing to the eye and simple too. During online research I found someone that had done it with woven parachute cord.

These are the sort of ideas I'm looking for - thank you.

[frankS]

Derek. why not just use velchro?

Frank

[DerekD]

3 minutes ago, frankS said:

Derek. why not just use velchro?

Frank

Genius! Hadn't thought of that - do you mean in lieu of the rubber loops I was talking about and then still stitch the strap part or do you have something even more clever in mind? Even just the loop part solves a lot of my issues.

Edited November 4, 2019 by DerekD

[savit]

9 minutes ago, DerekD said:

Hadn't thought of that Savit - can see where it is going. Simple too. Further research on Bunnings.

Grunt Shock cord 8mmx5meter - $10

[DerekD]

6 minutes ago, savit said:

Grunt Shock cord 8mmx5meter - $10

Thank you! I will also be researching some neoprene tube to slip over this. It is a very workable solution and meets my other criteria.

Would you tie it or stitch and whip it?

Just realised that even cable ties could work for the binding.

[savit]

50 minutes ago, DerekD said:

Thank you! I will also be researching some neoprene tube to slip over this. It is a very workable solution and meets my other criteria.

Would you tie it or stitch and whip it?

Just realised that even cable ties could work for the binding.

A piece of old garden hose ( special from around the house ) over the cord  will do the job as a thicker handle. 

I would not use bunnings neoprene tubes as a handle -  they are very soft and will be cut quickly on the edges.

I would just tighten the stretch cord around the tube instead of ties. If you do want ties - K mart has them muuuch cheaper than bunnings.

[xerotao]

Depends how creative you are. You could always make a handle or grip out of para cord

[DerekD]

50 minutes ago, savit said:

I would not use bunnings neoprene tubes as a handle -  they are very soft and will be cut quickly on the edges.

Dang.... and I'd just found it on the Bunnings site. The 9mm ID by 25mm OD looked like a viable option.

Back to the old drawing board.

I have some whipping twine and needles from when I was making up some safety ropes for my game gear. This is one. I'll create the loop in a similar way. It comes up neatly.

Will do a test run with that same method and the 8mm shock cord you suggested. If I'm going to do it I may as well put in that little bit of extra effort for a nice finish as I'll be using it for a long time.

I love these little projects from time to time. I'll have about 7 of these handles to make up once I find a method I'm happy with.

Edited November 4, 2019 by DerekD

[wazatherfisherman]

28 minutes ago, DerekD said:

Dang.... and I'd just found it on the Bunnings site. The 9mm ID by 25mm OD looked like a viable option.

Back to the old drawing board.

I have some whipping twine and needles from when I was making up some safety ropes for my game gear. Will do a test run with that and the 8mm shock cord you suggested.

I love these little projects from time to time. I'll have about 7 of these handles to make up once I find a method I'm happy with.

G'day mate - why not just make 1 handle on a bar/dowel/piece of old blank with 2 droppers off it that are adjustable in length to cater for say  1-4 of the tubes? Or just an occy strap or 2 to attach to the bar and around the tubes.

Reverse Garbage (142 Addison Rd Marrickville) and The Bower (same complex) usually have a good variety of useful things for making stuff cheaply (they normally charge less than 10 bucks for a bag of whatever you can find there.) They also have really large neoprene type mats of varying thickness/hardness for same price useful for cushioning/padding

Never know what will turn up there- they get items from many government depts, councils etc- always interesting stuff there every week

Edited November 4, 2019 by wazatherfisherman

[rickmarlin62]

I made sliding handle for a tube ages ago from stainless wire crimped and clear water hose slipped over it     make the loops loose enough to slide along tube to balance when loaded with rods

[DerekD]

Hi @savit,

Just a follow up regarding the handles for the rod cases. I took your advice and found the 8mm diameter Bunnings shock cord ($10). Then I found some hose with an ID of 10mm (2m = $11).

The first attempt was with lashing twine. While I think in the long term it would have been effective it was a pain to get the needle and thread through the rubber. I gave up after 5 passes and some whipping.

This is take two which I have been testing for several weeks.

There have been some learnings. The hose makes a pretty comfortable grip. Since it comes coiled it has a natural curve when it goes on the case. The cable ties have worked pretty well so far with no obvious signs of slippage. The downside is that there are some sharp points where I have trimmed the cable ties back. I'm thinking of filing them back a little further to take away the edge and then put a dollop of melt glue or silicone to give them a smooth profile.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

Derek

Edited December 2, 2019 by DerekD

[xerotao]

Use a razor blade to trim back the cable ties

[DerekD]

9 minutes ago, xerotao said:

Use a razor blade to trim back the cable ties

An excellent idea. Thank you.

[wazatherfisherman]

Melt them and "burr" them flat (or aim them the other way) you could also use silicone tape and then heat shrink tube over the top to hide the ends- look like "a bought one" more so

[savit]

4 hours ago, DerekD said:

Hi @savit,

Just a follow up regarding the handles for the rod cases. I took your advice and found the 8mm diameter Bunnings shock cord ($10). Then I found some hose with an ID of 10mm (2m = $11).

The first attempt was with lashing twine. While I think in the long term it would have been effective it was a pain to get the needle and thread through the rubber. I gave up after 5 passes and some whipping.

This is take two which I have been testing for several weeks.

There have been some learnings. The hose makes a pretty comfortable grip. Since it comes coiled it has a natural curve when it goes on the case. The cable ties have worked pretty well so far with no obvious signs of slippage. The downside is that there are some sharp points where I have trimmed the cable ties back. I'm thinking of filing them back a little further to take away the edge and then put a dollop of melt glue or silicone to give them a smooth profile.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

Derek

Hi @DerekD. Glad it worked. The result looks very nice. Thanks for the photo.

In regards to sharp points - I would melt/soft  them and then press them down ( probably with a flat head screwdriver heated  over a gas stove) - instead of filing. And probably would also quickly 'check' the ends of a shock cord with a lighter.

[big Neil]

Many ideas tossed around here DerekD. Great thing about this site is how helpful and creative (too) the members are. Having seen how much attention you put into the care of your fishing gear, I'm sure that this will be a work in progress for you. Good luck with the Summer Kingfish assault and keep us posted with your results. Hope to catch up again with you and some of the other Sydney Raiders, in due course. Always a great experience. Cheers for now, bn