I'm planning to trim a few inches off the tip of a rather large Lamiglas graphite blank (gsb1502mh). Would a hacksaw be a reasonable tool for doing this? Is there any need to sand the tip afterward?

Thanks in advance,
Chuck

Don't use a hacksaw - you can easily splinter the blank. There is a better way.

Use some winds of tape as a straightedge and then use the corner of a fine tooth metal file to cut around the blank. This may take a few mintues but will leave you with a smooth edge and none of the fibers will be pulled or splintered out of the structure.

A 3-sided type triangular file also works well.

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Dremel with a cutting wheel, with tape like Tom suggested to minimize splintering. Mount the wheel on a table, use the max rpm's the wheel is designed to handle, and move the rod through the wheel to keep the cut very square. Like a hot knife through butter. Wear glasses always when doing this.

I'm new to this - why would you want to cut some off the tip?

Some manufacturers will not warrant a blank that has been modified in any way. Check with Lami and find out if this will affect the warranty if it is of concern to you.

A fine tooth triangular file will do a great job without splintering the blank. Score it all the way around then come back and continue to cut deeper until it is off.

Removing tip matl. will speed the rod up greatly & most likely totally change the action of the rod. If you're looking to change the action, take it slowly, an inch at a time, then check the action. When you've reached the action of your liking you can trim the butt without changing the action nearly as much. Most likely, any of this will void your warranty but it is sometimes possible to achieve some really neat rods through trimming.

Cutting from the tip will slow the rod. The action will become slower in proportion to how much you cut off. If most of the flex was in the tip to begin with, after cutting that percentage of flex will be farther back in the blank now and so will be slower.

If you decide to cut, only do a little at a time. Starting out I once decided to take off 4 inches to get what I wanted. How much difference could 4 inches make on an 8 foot rod, right? Well I pretty much ruined the blank. Now when I do something like that I will cut an inch or so and try the blank. Then another inch or so and try again. You can always cut more but you can't put it back on! Go easy and try as you go.

Mike are you sure cutting the tip will slow the rod? I thought stiffer quicker recovery equals a fast rod while a longer bend and slower recovery from the flexed position equals a slower rod. If you cut the tip the rod acts stiffer and becomes faster does it not?

No because rod action is not speed, it is where it flexes. When you cut a fast action rod you make it less fast. It becomes slower because most of the first flex now takes place further back in the rod. If you cut it from the butt it also becomes a slower.

I think speed is called damping and they're not the same thing.

Mike,

You seem to have a handle on this. I just wrote something for the next RodMaker on this topic.

Action refers to the taper relationship between the butt and tip and thus where most of the initial flex takes place. Speed is better referred to as recovery or damping. There is a lot of confusion not only among fishermen, but among rod builders on the proper use of these terms.

Cutting a blank from either the tip or the butt will make it slower.

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