View Full Version : Removing expoxied tip top?
JohnnyP
03-05-2008, 08:38 AM
Long story short my rod got bumped and the tip top dried off center of the reel seat...how do I remove the it now that the epoxy has dried/hardened? Can I use heat and warm up the epoxy back to liquid state and adjust the tip top into alignment?
Grady252
03-05-2008, 08:43 AM
Long story short my rod got bumped and the tip top dried off center of the reel seat...how do I remove the it now that the epoxy has dried/hardened? Can I use heat and warm up the epoxy back to liquid state and adjust the tip top into alignment?
Yep..... if it is a slight adjustment you can heat it up and twist it a tiny bit.... if it is major then I would heat it up, remove it and then put it back on....
StickFish
03-05-2008, 09:45 AM
That is the problem with using epoxy to put your tip tops on. Heat should do it. It it was an old rod, you need to be real careful as the heat is almost enough to destroy the tip of the blank.
Chrome Bumper
03-05-2008, 11:05 AM
It might just be put on with hot glue gun type glue if you are lucky.
2slow
03-06-2008, 01:55 PM
Be VERY careful. Graphite doesnt like heat very much!!
phamf
03-06-2008, 05:02 PM
I read somewhere during the manufacturing process, graphite rods have to be heated up in a kiln in order to cure. Directly on fire for a long period of time would cause it to become too brittle.
E. Harry
03-06-2008, 07:49 PM
Johnny P
Yes, you can remove a tip top that has been put on with epoxy by heating it but it requires some care so as not to damage the blank. While ferrule cement or hot mealt glue can just be heated and the tip top can be easily moved but if it was put on with epoxy it requires a higher temperature and it can not just be heated and rotated. The properties of the epoxy are distroyed if enough heat is applied to permit it to be rotated.
I have done this numerous times and would recommend that you pull on the tip top and while pulling quickly apply heat. The heat will conduct through the metal tip top very rapidly and the epoxy will break down and the tip will come off. However you do not want to apply the heat long enough that it conducts through the tip top and epoxy and into the rod. The epoxy in the rod that bonds the layers of material (load bearing fibers and the scrim) together will also break down with heat. The trick is to pull on the tip top and apply the heat quickly and get the tip top off quickly before the heat has a chance to conduct into the rod.
In the future I would agree with the others above that recommended ferrule cement or hot melt glue, actually they are the same thing. When selecting the hot melt glue use one that has a darker color as they have a higher melting temperature. If I remember correctly the ones that are amber colored melt at about 180 degrees F while the ones that are clear or white melt at about 120 degrees F.