What is the best way to add weight to the butt section to ballance a rod to the reel that is going to be used?

You can use sinkers to balance it, figure out how much weight you need then epoxy them in the butt so they dont slide up and down the blank. There are some companies that make a butt cap that comes with disc. Add how ever many it takes to get the balance you want then epoxy the disc in the butt cap then install the butt cap.
HAGO!
Joe

Myself I have just epoxied in lead weights into the rod blank. I have found lead weights that are round in the cross section and are different lengths for the weight needed. I finish up the rod except the butt capp and then work out how much weight I want to add. Then epoxy the weights in and finish with the butt cap. Another way would be to get the balance kits that Bass Pro or Cabelea's has, but then you need to come up with a threaded fitting to put into the rod to accept the balance kit.

Best way is to build the rod balanced to begin with - something difficult to do with long surf rods or short butt Bass rods. You'd be surprised how much adding an inch ot teh butt goes to balancing the rod. On teh longer surf rods, Mike Joyce used Andy's cork in a split grip config (a method notirious for leaving teh rod really tip heavy), and the additional weight of Andy's cork made teh rod balance perfectly.

If it's a spinning rod, the use of a modified Skamania type handle setup will allow the reel to become an assisting force to balance the rod with no additional weight. Have made a few deepwater dropshot rods this way, we were able to balance them in the presentation position most comfortable to the angler also.

RodMaker Magazine - Volume 6 #6, has three separate articles on the various ways to determine the balance point, how to balance, what to use, etc. It's a pretty comprehensive set of articles on all aspects of rod balancing.

........

Dan,
I agree with Billy V. whole hartedly! Do yourself a favor and plan the build as best you can with the balance in mind.
I built a M/L spinning rod for my brother in-law and about 1/2 way through he told me that it was very important to
him that the rod balance perfectly with the reel he had and that he wanted a longer handle as well. The mistake
I made was not to plan well in the beginning. I was able to mount the reel seat a bit more forward and give him
a bit longer handle as he wanted but then I had a very hard time balancing it. I had to put so much weight in the
but that it effectively doubled the entire rod weight! it was a very light rod to start with and my brother in-law was not
bothered by the added weight as long as it balanced correctly so I got lucky. The rod really bothered me though and
I will not make the same mistake twice!

I could have used lighter guides (wire or titanium) and also instead of moving the reelseat forward I should have just
extended the butt a bit to get the length I was after.

I'll know better next time for sure!

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

This is so easy. I buy from Merrick Tackle. They have a whole set-up a threaded sleeve to epoxy in to the butt, you have a choice of colors, end disc with threaded stud to add different thickness discs of different weights. you can then talior the balance to your liking.

Dave von Doehren
PRRODS......If man built it , man can fix it.and if man built it man can break it !

Thanks for the options. I think I will plan out the best can and if it's no totaly ballanced will have to add weight to the butt. This will be on 3 new bass rods I am starting. The only prblem is that with a 7' rod I am afraid the butt section will be to long for my likeing.

With the information in the Rodmaker articles you might be able to get the balance point you want without adding any weight. Some great ideas in there!

Keep the weight down on the tip as much as you can. Go light as possible with the guides and keep your wraps short and finish thin. This will help more than you might think.

Dan,

Maybe it can help you a bit... I prefer not adding weight to the butt to obtain better balancing, to keep a rod as light as possible. So, I always am very careful on choosing rear grip length. And on my experince 7' rod requires around 8" rear grip to be well-balanced. It may vary a little depending on reel seat' size, blank taper and/or power, but, on the general, it works for any freshwater 7-footer (I don't build sea rods and don't know if it applies to heavier ones)

If 8 inch grip is not too lengthy to your taste, you can follow my way :)


Pavel,
Moscow, RU

Dan Sutton Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What is the best way to add weight to the butt
> section to ballance a rod to the reel that is
> going to be used?


As far as weight materials, if you can find solid (lead) wire solder, it works quite well. Flattens into a "tape" nicely with a few hammer taps and can be wrapped around the butt section. There also exists lead strips availible at aquarium shops for holding down plants in a fishtank, they'll work too.

I have used a bronze end cap on many rods. If you have access to a small lathe you can turn one up. Epoxied a short dowel into the blank and used a bronze phillips head screw to finish. Don't make the screw hole too small or you risk splitting the blank. If you change reels the bronze can be replaced or recycled. Bronze is just a tad lighter than lead.

Dan - before you build the rods, mock everythign up on the blank. This may require you to have a preformed butt grip with a large OD just so you can get it on there to see where the balance point on the rod is based on the components & reel that you use. Use tape to hold things in place. Find the balance point, then adjust butt grip length, see how that affects it. Then go back to your original set up, add some weight and see how much you need to add to get it balanced right. It will take you some time, but in the long run you'll learn a lot for yourself. It's gonna take a couple of mistakes at first anyway, I've got a few rods which are unbalanced, and relatively unusable...lesson learned.

PS - I thought your name was Don Sutton, and was going to ask for an autograph, lol.

I like that idea, Billy. Probably not a bad idea to take it out for a fishin' excursion or two, the tape will hold and one can adjust to find the optimal set-up for real use. Everything can be done to finish with the exception of the butt, not much of a gap to have loading rings on from the back for the last few inches. Nifty check or wrap will hide any gap if one exists on a split-T

I've made a few "useless mistakes" myself over the years, wished I would have done a taped run on a butt and waited on the glue. Seemingly proper balance in the living room and proper balance on the water can be two different things. I like 'em just a tad tip heavy, hand just my side of the fulcrum.

I won't build a rod that is not balanced. I feel that a well balanced rod is one of the most important elements of a great rod.

I also build the rod to the specifications wanted by the customer. If the customer wants a short back grip, they get a short back grip.
If they want a long back grip, they get a long back grip.

I have built enough rods, so know where the balance point has to fall for various type rods. i.e. whether it is casting, spinning or fly rod.

I use lead tape - typically 1/2 or 3/4 inch width.
I start with the bare blank, spine it, blance it - to know where the raw balance point is - mark the location of the reel seat - (per the customers request) - and then typically add 4 inches forward for the balance point on a spinning rod.

I use the marked balance point - and place the blank on a stand for balance testing. - I then mark the point where the rod really balances. From the two marks, I can see how much the balance will need to be shifted back toward the butt of the rod.

I then wrap lead tape around the butt section of the rod. I will wrap it no thicker than a diameter that is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the end cap of the rod.
If I need to put on two widths of tape to get the blank to balance - I continue with the wrapping. For some very long rods, and clients wanting very short back grips, I might need to have three widths of lead tape in the butt section.

The advantage of wrapping the lead tape on the outer diameter of the blank, is that it is generally simple to get the rod to balance by putting on more than 1/2 inch width of tape on the back butt section. i.e. I can use the least weight possible to balance the rod - since the weight has the longest lever arm - by being on the very back of the butt section.

I then drill my cork rings - large enough to accomodate the lead tape. I know that almost all of the cork will be milled away during the handle prep for the butt cap. However, if it is a bit more or less than one ring - it doesn't matter because the handle will have been glued up prior to my putting the glued up handle and blank in the lathe.

I do NOT make my handles seprate and then glue them on the blank. I feel that you can get a better fit of cork / handle to the blank, by gluing up all of the rings and blank at the same time and then spinning the complete handle / blank assembly on the lathe.

This is a very simple system - the rod is perfectly blanced, there is no outward indication of any weight, and the added weight is the absolute minimum weight required to balance the rod - as specified by the client.

REW