As the topic states, I have a 7' 3" 3wt 2 piece blank that I want to cut down to 6' 8", question is, if I cut 3" off the tip and the remainder off the butt what will happen to my 3 wt? will it stay the same as far as line weight or will it make it too stiff and will be more like a 4 weight instead? Hope this makes sence.
Thanks Rob

The power won't change but the blank will become a slower actioned blank. The tip will be stiffer initially, but the power will be the same and it will be a slower tip as two inches will take out quite a bit of tip flex. On most fly rods I've fished the last thing I'd do is cut 2 " off the tip. Are you trying to fit a shorter tube or something? If not ,take it off the butt, the power may drop a bit, it will slow less maybe and likely cast nicer with the whole tip section.

x 2
leave the tip, trim the butt.

What I then do to protect the tip when disassembled in the rod bag etc is find a piece of broken rod that will fit on the shorter but section & trim to length to match the tip or a bit longer. Put it on the butt when putting in the rod bag / tube & leave it in the rod bag / tube when the rod is assembled for use.

I would not call a shortened tip a slower action , so much as producing a shorter sharper release point in the cast, resulting in being less forgiving in casting action, power remains the same with a fish on, slightly increased relative to the flyline in casting. ( as we are talking different levels of load here )

Whereas trimming the butt maintains the casting action but slightly reduces the power of the rod with a fish on , negligible difference relative to the flyline in casting ( but very slightly reduced ). Depending on your casting preferences & preferred feel, you may or may not notice the difference in casting )

I agree with Denis completely.
The tip is the most sensitive area of the blank and modification will have very large effect.

The rod will come out to be I think a 6-7 wt if you trim the tip that much
get the blank you want at the size you want. You will like it a lot better.

Bill - willierods.com

Cutting from the tip will slow the action, so will cutting from the butt.

Cutting the tip won't change the power, but cutting the butt will change the power.

In the end, doing what you suggest will leave you with a pretty disappointing blank, in my opinion.

The Common Cents System can be used to determine exactly what effect any cutting will have on action and power, before you actually make any cuts.

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

Rob,
Your best solution to your situation is to build up the blank in the length, for which it was designed.
Then, if you want a shorter rod, buy a blank that was designed to be that length.

As the others suggest, if you trim this particular blank as much as you want, you will end up with a disappointing rod.

Take care
Roger

Thanks for all the reply's, I am convinced now that I will build this rod as it was designed and just purchace another blank for the other.
thanks again.