Someone please help.

How well aligned does the gimbal have to be to the reel seat/guides? Mine, for some reason after curing (used rod bond), is about 7.5 degrees off. This is a heavy standup rod.

If this is a big problem, how do I remove it? I searched the forum and found advices ranging from cutting off to heating using boiling water & fire (I think).

Terry

Too much heat will ruin the rod blank butt. I'd go for boiling water, or just spiral cut it off and install a new one. You'd only be talking a few dollars.

7 to 8 degrees is off by a bit. It all depends on how it lines up in your fighting belt or chair gimbal nock.

..............

Tom,

Thanks for the reply.

The whole thing just doesn't center quite right on the fighting belt. It is not all that terrible, but enough to bug me. Once I can get this thing off, either by cutting it off or by immersion in boiling water, what do I do next to put a gimbal back on?

Terry

Like Tom said, cut it off. IMHO, It's not worth the aggravation of trying to remove it.

Lou

Lou,

Thanks for the advice.

So I still don't know what to do about putting another one on.

Terry

Put the new one on the same way you did the first one but line it up and then don't touch it until the epoxy sets. You may want to cut a small groove in the bushing to let trapped air escape when you push the gimbal on. That will keep it from being pushed back by the compressed air. That may have been what caused your problem in the first place.

Jim,
Thank you. That must have been what happened. I did cut several grooves in the bushing but did notice some difficulty in getting the gimbal to stay in place because of trapped air--I guess the rod bond covered up those grooves when I rotated the gimbal to make sure I have good epoxy contact throughout. I thought I did the smart thing by applying cylindrical weights to the reel seat as the rod was drying. Everything seemed lined up at the time.

I gues I am going to have to cut deeper and larger grooves in the bushing (the rod bond mass now) when I put on the next gimbal.

Terry

I've taken alot of gimbals off standup rods with my propane torch and never damaged a blank that I could tell or had anybody complain later. usually there is quite a bit of tape between the blank and gimbal which must protect the blank. I heat the gimbal and attempt to turn it with a screwdriver frequently till it comes loose, pop it off then put a wet rag over the blank to cool things off. I've also started drilling a small hole in the end of the gimbal for air release.

I do what JIm does and drill a small hole at the bottom of the gimbel to let air out. Just wash any rod bond that may seep out. Also masking tap helps to keep it aliened.

I like to use a bungee cord hooked to the 1st rod guide, down thru the gumbal slots, and back up to the guide to hold the gumbal in place till it cures.

Thanks everyone for the information and advices. I contacted Ralph (sp) O'Quinn who stated that heating the area with boiling water or a burner. I chose the boiling water first and was successful in pulling the gimbal off without any problem.

Terry

If the Rod Bond hasn't been cured too long, boiling water is a very viable AND SAFE way of removing the part. It seems you've already found this out...great work!

If you have a substantial amount of bushing material, I don't see a problem with applying dry heat as long as you don't apply too much. The larger saltwater blanks are fairly heavy on the butt end and can take some abuse.

For the trapped air you can try deeper grooves. I have at times taken the smallest drill bit I can find (VERY VERY small) and drilled a hole in the blank just above the gimbal. This will allow all the air to pushed from within the blank and seat the gimbal w/o fear of movement. I personally do not fear this small hole in the far reaches of the butt section of such large blanks. (I almost felt funny typing that last sentance)

Jay

Thanks Jay. I used hot water instead of a flame because I have a smooth butt installed ahead of the gimbal. Drilling a hole in the blank like you suggest sounds like a good idea. I have already reinstalled the gimbal by drilling the base of the gimbal itself. I'll try your method on the next one.

Terry