I have an aftco unibutt and my blank. Do you just make masking tape shims and use epoxy just like you would when attaching a gimbal? Any tricks? How do you make sure it sets nice and straight?

Thanks, Scott

Scott,

You are on the right track. It's important to shim the top and the bottom to ensure straight alignment. You can use tape, but drywall mesh tape is better for a longer lasting joint. If the shim is too thick, it may give enough to wander out of alignment. I shim and epoxy with rod bond, then chuck it in the rod wrapper and spin it. If it wobbles, then adjust so that it rotates smoothly, clamp and let dry.

Also, if you are installing a removable butt, leave the tip top off until you finish the install to allow the air to escape when you epoxy.

Good luck!

Terry

Thanks Terry. What type of clamps do you use?

I'd go pretty much the same route that Terry mentioned, with the drywall tape.

Another method is to glue a scrap piece of rod blank over the butt of your current blank - making it larger than the ID of the uni butt ferrule. Then, sand the "shim" down until you have a perfect slip fit.

The gel epoxies such as RodBond or Ultimate Gel are perfect for this application. Don't use PC7 or other heavy paste type epoxies - they'll simply be pushed out of the joint.

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

Hi Scott,

Saw your question and I used to build this style of rod back in the day. Thought I'd chime in but these guys probably do a lot more of this style of rod building then I do now but here's my acient technique anyway.

I have used several different tapes, fiberglass arbors etc. and when I am not using trolling blanks where the blank butt diameter is designed to fit a partictular aluminum butt size, I used masking tape. I used a PC7 type of glue, leaving a small resevoir in the center, bottom, and the top for glue. (liquid epoxy works too but I would rather use the Rod Bond) I would make the fit snug but not tight, then I would cut a short piece of white cotton string (like they used to use for packaging) then apply glue to the inside of the ferrule and the outside of the blank. I would lay the string accross the bottom of the blank letting the ends travel up the sides of the bushing (the wet glue holds it in place) as I slide the ferrule on. This made the fit tight, allowed glue to be between the tape and ferrule wall and most importantly allows air to excape from the ferrule. This meant that the ferrule would not creap around leaving no need for clamping. For final alignment, I always put the butt in the ferrule, generally with a reel or just a reel base to allow it to be adjusted and set up straight. Every company that offers aluminum butts would always like to think their pins are in straight but in reality they vary a bit.

Best Regards,

Darrin Heim
American Tackle Company

Darrin,
Nice to see you posting> with your experience in these subjects it is helpful to everyone. I like this one>>
When do you leave for NC? We leave Thursday afternoon to arrive around midnight>> see you at setup>>

Bill Batson
CEO
Batson Enterprises

Thanks again everyone, those are great ideas.

Scott