I would like to add weight to the rear grip of a fresh water spinning rod I'm building, to balance it. I'm thinking of putting some stainless steel washers/slugs inside the butt plug, and expoxying them in. I imagine I could go to a longer butt grip, and achieve the balance, but I like the length of the grip I'm using. Does this sound like a good approach, or are there other methods I should consider? Thanks.

barry i used pac-bat butt caps before with pennies stuffed in em cause the customer was the same way short grip in the back and he was picky try that he never complained good luck

Myself, I have taken lead weights and epoxied them into the end of the blank.

Barry, I had a similar situation with a light baitcasting rod. I mixed up some epoxy, added about an ounce of lead shot and shoved it inside the butt end of the blank. I taped it off and tapped the butt end on the ground several times to help it settle. It worked great..
Tom

I use the Pac Bay removable fighting butt hardware and build the butt on that, to look right on the particuler rod. Then, you can simply unscrew the butt and add washers. I like this way because the weight is not fixed and you can adjust as you see necessary.

Mark Janeck
Custom Rods, Campbellville, Ontario

When chaning a reel or lure the balace is effected. If I were you I would go with Marks idea

I have used the same Pac Bay butts as Mark described , and have also used the Fuji caps with the weight system in it . The only problem is the Fuji is only adjusable to 3/8ths of an oz. . JD

Got Fish ?

I balance all my rods by inserting a lead "mushroom" iinto the butt end of the rod.

I make my own lead jigs so have access to a lead melter. I make a mold for the "mushrooms" by clamping two pieces of scrap hardwood together then drilling a hole about 3" deep using a drill that is slightly smaller than the ID of the butt end of the blank. Then I counterbore a larger hole in the top of the mold, concentric with the earlier drilled hole, to form the "head" of the mushroom. Typically, this counterbored hole is 3/4" dia and about 1/2" deep. I vary the depth of the counterbore to obtain different weights.

With the pieces still clamped together, I pour hot lead in the mold to form the mushroom. The hot lead chars the wood after a few pours but I only need a few mushrooms at a time anyway.

Once the lead cools and the casting is removed, I simply bend the stem of the mushroom slightly so that it fits snugly into the butt of the blank, then place the butt cap on the end of the handle in the normal way. I don't glue the mushroom or the cap in case I change to a different reel with a different weight.

Works great.

Skip

I built an SC III Avid 3S66MLF. The client wanted the tip to point up about 40 drees when it was at rest in his hand. I slipped a steel drill bit which fit with just enough clearance for Rod Bond which secured it solidly. As soon as he picked up the finished rod the first thing he noted was its great balance. Even though this is a permanent solution he plans to always use the same class of reel on this rod. Any reel weight differences will be slight and have little to no effect on the balance. I do the same for my own rods.

Wow! What a bunch of creative ideas. That's why I posted the question - it's great to have the input of so many experienced rod builders. Since this rod will be used with a specific reel that I'll have in possession to test out on the rod, I'm going to use one of the permanent methods. The rear grip is from Cabelas, with composite cork butt cap, so I'll probably do the lead shot and epoxy method, or the drill bit method. All ideas were much appreciated. Thanks for your help, guys.

Recently I've switched to using heavy black rubber butt caps from Home Depot. On my 7' Loomis Mag Bass blanks, the rubber cap alone balances things nicely. Could add a small trolling sinker inside the end of the blank too, if more weight is needed.

Really like the mushroom lead idea, Skip!

TH

I pour a custom lead weight and epoxy it into the butt of the blank. I start by finding a scrap of old blank that fits into the butt of the blank perfectly. I then use this scrap to find another scrap the exact same size and taper as the blank and use this as the mold for the weight. I've found that 2 1/2 inches of lead usually is perfect for most rods. The larger diameter of the blank, the more counter balance weight is needed but the 2 1/2 length still works most of the time. To get the length correct, I use a piece of wooden dowell and tape the end to fit into the piece of scrap mold (like a plunger in a syringe). I pour the lead into the mold, then cool the whole thing under a cold water tap. After cooling, the weight is easily removed from the mold by pushing the wooden dowel plunger. What you end up with is a perfectly fitted, tapered weight that slides into the butt of the blank. Of course, this should be the last step of the construction process after everthing is done and the reel is on the rod. In the past three years, I've only had to "adjust" the weight one time that I can remember. It's pretty hard to add weight but a few seconds with the drill can remove weight if needed. Put the butt cap on and you're done. Don't forget to wear a respirator during the lead melting and pouring process. The fumes are toxic!