I have purchased size 7 ring tip tops from two different manufacturers and the inside dimensions are visibly different. One is an SIC insert, and the other is another material of simialar hardness.

I'll leave manufacturers out of the discussion for now, but am interested in knowing whether others have noticed this.

The problem is that I like the frame material on the one that has the smaller inside dimension but moved to the cheaper model because I want the larger opening to allow knots to pass.

Jeff Shafer

Yes, I've noticed this on some fly size ceramics in 6s. I think the size refers to the outside of the ring, which of course is sort of irrelevent for line/knot passage concerns. I got burnt one time because my loop connections passed through one companies' 6s and I figured it wouldn't be a problem accross the board. Only....it was a problem. Live and learn.

Jeff,

Like Steve said, the size is the outside of the ceramic ring not the inside. SiC typically requires less material than hard ring so you have a bitter opening. Fuji concept guides have thinner rings (thus bigger opening) than Fuji non concept guides because of the different frame style.

Thanks,
Rick

I thought I read somewhere that the size is actually the size of the opening in the frame ( ID of the frame ring opening ).

Roger,

Yes, the ID of the metal frame, but the ID of the metal frame and the OD of the ceramic ring are essentially the same.

Thanks,
Rick

Thanks Guys,
I spent some more time going through OEM catalogs, and found that some list the ID of the various rings. So I added a tab to my rodbuilding spreadsheet to list various manufacturers' specifications and catalog house availability and prices. Should make ongoing selection easier.

Jeff Shafer

That could be a big help in building rods that'll get used in applications with leaders, etc. Could you possibly e-mail your findings to me?

Thanks for the info. I'll follow your lead and look up more. I build mostly spin and casting rods, as most of my friends and associates aren't part of the fluff-chucking brigade.