How to Replace a Fishing Rod Tip Top?
It's almost impossible to ensure that your fishing rod's tip-top stays invulnerable throughout your entire fishing expedition. Damages will occur, accidents will happen - especially while on the water. Thus, it becomes imperative that you learn how to replace the damaged one. It is an immensely vital knowledge to have when you are on a fishing trip or participating in a fishing tournament, trying to do the best you can with your favorite fishing rod. Here, in this article, we will see how to replace a fishing rod tip-top at home or on the water.
Remove the Old Rod Tip Top
The first step to replacing your rod tip is to remove the defective one. Often, you do not lose the rod tip but frequently only lose the insert ring. However, removal is easy, and replacing the entire end is recommended.
You have two primary options that you can follow. First, you can try heating the area around the tip ring with a lighter. As soon as you hear the sound of the glue bubbling, you can pull it off with pliers or with a pair of heavy gloves. The best way, although, would be if you can hold the rod while heating and keep pulling at the same time. Doing this reduces the risk of damaging the resin bonding, crucial for the structural integrity of the rod. However, whatever you do, you should always choose safety first.
The other option is not preferred but proves helpful when you've damaged/ broken the rod's shaft or burnt it, removing the tip with heat. Take a fine-bladed saw to cut off the old end. Try to cut it off as close to the mounting tube as possible.
Identify the Tip Top
Once you have removed the old tip-top, ascertain its type. Tip-tops can be diverse and range from spinning and casting tops to fly and boat tops. You must make the right choice when choosing or ordering your replacement. Purchasing an assorted pack helps take the guesswork out of the equation. Here tip replacement kit that I bought.
Clean it Up and Take Measurements
The first thing to do to identify correctly is to clean it up and take the Measurement. Remove any old glue residue that may still be there with fine abrasive paper. If required, wipe it over with acetone.
The standard way to measure the bores of the mounting tubes is in steps of 0.1 mm, with a vernier caliper gauge or micrometer. You can also leverage number drills or wire gauges with conversion tables. However, the way to measure depends on what you have available to measure. If you have lost the entire tip-top, you can measure the ring size of the smallest guide.
Whether you find the correct tube size will depend on either the inner diameter of the tip-top tube or the outer diameter of the blank's tip. These measurements often appear obscure as they are measured through a fraction. To often add to the confusion, the fraction is in inches instead of millimeters.
The crucial thing to remember here is that when you purchase a new tip-top, it shows the numerator over 64ths of an inch. So, tube sizes that range from 3.5 to 12 range from 3.5/64ths of an inch to 12/64ths of an inch.
Install the New Tip Top
Once you have chosen the correct alternative, open your new tip top and take out the adhesive. Next, light up the flames with a lighter, take it over the end of the tip-top and whisk the flame until you see it visibly melting on edge.
Once it has started melting, smear the melted end on a surface. Allow it a couple of seconds to cool and roll it up off the surface. Continue to roll until it becomes like a cylinder that would fit inside the tube of your new tip top.
Once you've stuck it right into the tip-top, light the flame again and waft it underneath the tube of the tip-top. Ensure that you do not just keep holding the flame on the tip-top. It will result in scorch marks.
The adhesive will start to melt again, and you will have to now quickly move on to the next step, which is taking the tip-top and twisting it down onto the rod tip. Ensure the end runs into the tube of the tip-top. Any space or gap will result in another failure. The adhesive will start to cure. Twist the tip-top to align it with your running guides before it hardens. Once you have managed to achieve the correct alignment, allow the adhesive to cure for a minute or two. You are now all set to get back to fishing.
Here is a simple video on how to replace your rod tip:
