Introduction: Replacing a Rod Tip Ring

About: hgv driver but only because it pays more than I can make otherwise

If you've managed to chip the insert, or snap the tip off it is sometimes necessary to replace the tip ring on fishing rod. In this instructable I'm dealing with the type that has a tubular mount not the whipped on type. See

https://www.instructables.com/id/Replacing-a-Guide-...

for that. Whilst not covered in detail the principle is the same.

Step 1: Remove Old Tip

I'd already removed the tip ring before I thought to do an instructable on this so for illustrative and experimental purposes I remounted the old tip on a bamboo skewer.

There are two ways to go about this. First try heating gently with a lighter as soon as the glue starts to bubble ( you will hear it) pull off with pliers or wearing gloves. If you can hold the rod whilst heating and gently pulling at the same time this reduces the risk of damaging the resin bonding the actual structure of the rod. Heating worked for me with the old tip secured with hot-melt,epoxy or CA glues.

Alternatively or if you've damaged/ broken the shaft of the rod or burnt it removing the tip with heat use a fine bladed saw to cut off the old tip. Either as close to the mounting tube as you can, or with a broken/ burnt tip section where the rod becomes solid again. In the case of a broken tip this maybe at the next guide mount depending on the mount it may require you remove it (bladed tool of choice) and replace it with a tip ring, or you may get away with a close cut and a dab of epoxy to seal it.

Step 2: Clean and Measure

remove any old glue residue with fine abrasive paper, and wipe over with acetone.

As the bores of the mounting tubes are measured in 0.1mm (less than1/128") steps a vernier caliper gauge or micrometer is almost a necessity here, you might get away with using number drills, or a wire gauge and conversion tables. However if you have either of those you probably have a vernier gauge or micrometer.

I ordered a tip ring with a mounting bore 0.1mm larger than the rod diameter this proved to be a good fit.

Surprisingly to me, the dimension needed for the diameter of the guide ring was the outer diameter not as I expected the bore( the illustration on the order page wasn't overly clear and ordered one of both dimensions total of £3.30 just to be sure)

Step 3: Glue and Position

My personal preference is normally for 2 pack epoxy,as you get longer to do your positioning, but at this point I'd not tested how heat removed it or CA(which sets far too quick) so I went with hot-melt.

If you are using a dual melt gun/ glue use the hot setting and discard the first squeeze so you get a better flowing glue. Apply a small amount to the bore of the mounting tube, place it on the rod tip, position and push firmly in place. Remove expelled surplus glue, this all has to be done quite quickly, it pays to do a dry run and get the alignment as close as you can as you fit it to avoid excess adjustment.