Hey Guys,
I have been planning on building my own rods for quite some time, i have been picking up bits and pieces as i go over the last 12 months, unfortunately buying without knowledge and perhaps making some mistakes.
I have still not built a rod and am in the process of setting up my work shop and of course studying like mad.
I have a Fugi Gold Cermet TIFGT tip and on the packet it says it's a size 7/2.0.
I was planning on sticking this top on a G Loomis S 782 IMX, however on various sites including G Loomis, the quoted tip diameter of the Blank is 4.0.
When i place the tip top on the blank it is extremely loose, is this tip still useable?
I want to do a top notch job on every rod i do, so, i would rather get the right tip for the blank if the case may be that i am way out of the ball park.
Could someone please explain to me exactly what system those measurments are in?
May i add that i have recently found your website and it's been like winning the Knowledge Lottery, it is such a great resource and every one on it is extremely helpfull, patient and understanding.
Thanks
Geoff Roberts

Welcome to the community of rodbuilders. One valuable lesson that I learned early on was that each rod I build is better than the last. No matter how hard you try your first few attempts may end up a little short of your expectations. You freely admitted that you have not done your first one as yet. I would strongly advise you to a less costly blank and some components for a "test" rod for your first "perfect" rod. You will be surprised at the number of challenges that you will face when you do the work for real. Part of the fun of rodbuilding is overcoming problems in search of the perfect rod.

Tip tops dimensions are in millimeters. If I read your post correctly you are two full sizes off which may be too much. Part of my learning curve was tip top related. I now have several drawers full of "wrong" size tops that I ordered before I got a tip gauge and learned that most suppliers will gladly match tops to blanks when ordered.

I hope your first one turns out to be perfect - I am now working on rod number 314 and I have not built one yet that did not have some small flaw. Thank goodness that I am the only one that knows where these glitches are!!

Gon Fishn

If it fits loose, it is probably a 7/5.0 ?? Are you reading the numbers right?

Geoff - I think the problem with the tip-top being over-sized is the use among different references of different UNITS for the internal diameter (ID) of the tip-top tube.
FUJI uses millimeters (MM) for the tube ID on their website.
American catalogs all use the __ 64ths of an inch unit, unless otherwise noted.

So, your Fuji Gold Cermet TIFGT tip, on the packet it says: size 7/2.0.
That means a 7MM RING SIZE, with a 2.0MM TUBE ID.

To convert MM to __64ths of an Inch:
2.0MM / (25.4000 MM / INCH) x 64ths = 5.04 ==> 5.0 / 64ths .

The Catalog reports the TIP SIZE of this G Loomis S 782 IMX Blank,
as having a diameter of "4.0". These UNITS are 4.0 / 64ths.

So, the tip you have is a 5.0 / 64ths, and your rod tip is ~ 4.0 / 64ths.

The rod blank's rod tip can vary slightly anyway from the Catalog value.
The tube diameter on a tip-top usually varies considerably less, unless of course the poor guy picking your order in the warehouse got one size confused with the other 10,000 guide sizes that he has to handle daily.

Geoff, you said, "When I place the tip top on the blank it is extremely loose." We have, I think, properly identified the problem as a disparity in ID units because of the Metric v. English system for length. Fine.

We put the tip-top on the rod blank, and Viola!, you sure don't need me to tell you, "It's really loose." You ask, "Is this tip still useable?"

"Most likely" is my answer. My real question is, Is the tip truly a 2.0MM tube ID, or is this tip completely in the wrong bag? Measure it yourself.
Is the tube ID truly ~ 2.0MM or ~ 5.0 / 64ths as labeled?
If not, then what size is it?
Also, measure the rod's OD (Outside Diameter) near the tip, ~ 1 cm from the end. What size is it? You don't need a micrometer here, "close enough", to the nearest 0.5MM or 1.0 / 64th, will do.

Because, you need room in there for the glue; hot-melt or epoxy.
If the mis-match on this blank is more than, say 1.0 / 64th, you may feel more comfortable ordering a size that is within 0.5 / 64ths.

Be forewarned that the next tube size may not be EXACTLY 0.5 / 64ths lower than what you have, which is why I am not telling you to order a tube size that is EXACTLY the same as your ROD BLANK.
Because it may turn out to be too SNUG !! For that, there is no cure.
[I do NOT recommend "sanding downing the tip" to fit a snug tip-top.
You can weaken the blank there, and if it breaks, you can trim off
from the end. But that is just damage-control from there on out.]

But for a slightly oversized TUBE ID, we have a facil remedy.
Use a small diameter guide thread to build up the tip diameter under the tube. Just wrap it uniformly along the length of the blank under the tube, and then ~ 2.0MM extra to make a miniature tapered hosel (a ramp, flush up to, or even onto the the top of, the tube) on the final product.

You do NOT need to use color preserver or thread finish under there.
Your GLUE will seal those threads just fine.

Just be careful not to set the threads on fire if you use a cigarette lighter to melt your glue. In fact, the more I think about it, don't put a flame anywhere near the rod tip. Melt the glue on the stick, and rub it onto the rod tip. Or use a low-temp glue gun. Make sure to get some melted glue INSIDE the tube before you slide the tip in.

And above all, make sure the tip-top is in a straight line with your reel seat and the rest of your guides as the glue cures.

Best Wishes. You'll do fine, but you do gotta do it. -Cliff Hall-

P.S. - Given that the price of that tip-top is probably $20+, if not $30 w/S&H, either return it for a closer size, start a collection for future stock, or learn the virtues of underwrapping the tip & overwrapping the tube early in the game. The cost of S&H usually is greater than the price of the tip. But I didn't realize how pricey the CerMets were until I opened a Catalog to see what the maximum tube size in that TIFGT series is (7.0 / 64ths, it seems). -Cliff Hall- Gainesville, FL.

Sorry in my first post I did not clarify the Fuji web site thing about mm and 64ths- Kudos to Cliff on a fine detailed post!!!

Apology For Brainlock! No wonder I got a drawer full of the wrong thangs!

Weather Bad Again - Not Gon Fishn

Another tip to get the exact size of the tube you have now . get a drill index that is graduated in 64ths , find the drill shaft that fits into the tip snugly and wa-la , you know what size tupe you DO have . The top of the blank can be measured realativly close with a 2$ drill guage . They are plastic cards with 64 holes in them , available at most hardware stors or the local home store . When you know what you have then you can make a better educated choice as to what path you will take . ALL of the above info is also very good so , I think that you will have no worries now . No matter what you do , after a few rods you will start developing a wide variety of "extra" guides and tops............not to mention grips, seats, blanks, thread, glue , epoxy........... John

Cliff-
Thanks for taking me back to school; I was totally unaware that the tube sizes were stated in anything except sixty-fourths. But the day that I stop learning...

Putter

Thanks a heap guys,
Thats precisely the information a beginner like me needed, I think i will be starting a collection of parts cheers Cliff.
I think my next purchase will be a set of calipers and a drill guage, your right about the "overcoming problems, being fun" I havn't even built my first rod and i am allready making mistakes!!!!! I am certainly not daunted though.
I think i may do as you recommended, Bill, and save that blank and those guides for a future build. The list of the types of rods i want are endless so i spose it can wait.
Thanks once again for all you help fella's
Regards Geoff Roberts