Elbow grease

[clemsy]

Hi guys,

I recently noticed on one of my rods whenever I would cast or make hops on lures, the rod would make a sort of tapping sound at the joint where it joins (a 2 piece rod).

On a closer inspection I noticed that the top half of the rod is the hollow part and the bottom half is inserted into the top half, and it seems like the two parts don't join perfectly so whenever any eratic movements would occur, it would cause the tapping sound.

So I'm wandering if I could DIY and maybe make the bottom half a little thicker so it would sit perfectly when joined?

I hope this makes sense, if not I can try to explain further.

Thanks!

[Fisherman36]

Yeah, it makes sense I think... you want to make the bottom section thicker so it sits snugger (tighter) into the top section. So you need some sort of sleeve or something to go around the bottom section if I am correct?

I am surprised there is that much play if that is what you are after.

[clemsy]

Yes that's exactly what I'm after, I'm surprised too.

[Fisherman36]

hmm.. never tried to do this. Guess it depends on a couple of things.

1. Do you need it to be a 2 piece? If not you could always just araldite the 2 sections together.

2. The size of the gap. How thin does the sleeve need to be? Depending on the size, you could do something with a small piece of rubber wrapped around the bottom section with glue to hold it in place. Something like a strip of rubber from a bike inner tube, but it maybe too thick. You could also make a sleeve by cutting a piece of aluminium from a coke can. That would be pretty thin, it's easy to cut, and then wrap it around and secure it with glue.

Edited August 31, 2011 by insomniac92

[abecedarian]

No need for a sleeve or anything like that. The butt section has a taper on it that gets thicker as you get closer to the handle. So if you get very fine sand paper (about 1000 grit) and a sanding block and sand down the top of the butt section a couple of millimeters (effectively shortening the butt section a tiny bit) then the tip will slide down a little further and tighten the join. Take it slow with regular checking of the fit so you don't take off any more than necessary.

Edited August 31, 2011 by abecedarian

[clemsy]

Thanks for all the tips guys, I will definitely give that a try.