How do you all feel about trimming blanks, assuming it's done 'correctly' and doesn't ruin the blank? I'm getting ready to build a couple 8' 2 pc rods and the blank selection is miserable. But there are a lot of 8'6" blanks to choose from. So is lopping 3" off the tip & butt a good idea? Or will it just mess up a perfectly good action?

Cheers.

Brian,
Trimming a blank isn't a bad idea, but you're correct that it will change the action, substantially in the case of 3" off the top. I don't think I've ever trimmed more than 2" from the tip and that made the action dramatically slower. I've trimmed as much as 6" from the butt on quite a few rods. Trimming from the butt also makes the action slower, but only slightly. Trimming the butt does change the power, so keep that in mind.

Robert

It depends what you are looking for in the final product and if it can be achieved with cutting. I cut a Lamiglass for my Dad for black fish here in NJ and it has more than doubled his success landing them.

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)

It's a good idea if you know what you're trying to accomplish and a bad practice if you don't. Trimming a blank changes more than the length. It also alters the rod's characteristics in terms of power and performance. You may have a blank that's close to what you want and by trimming it a little you could turn it into one that's precisely what you're looking for. The opposite is also true; without a good grasp of how it's going to affect performance your result could be very disappointing. Trimming a fast action blank from the butt will move the flex point closer to the grip and the rod's action will be more moderate. Trimming the same blank from the tip will make it more of an extra fast blank by moving the flex point toward the tip.

Trimming any blank from the tip will make the action slower. You can't move the flex point towards the tip by trimming it.

I agree with Robert, taking from the tip makes it bend progressively more down the back, slowing the blank.

TO make Xfast you extend the butt. Cliff Hall posted a chart a long time ago explaining the effect of trimming/extending.

I don't know 2-piece rods, but I modify almost every rod I build. 3" off the tip is a LOT of material to remove, expecially on a graphite rod. Since you asked this question the asnwer is NO you should not trim the blank.

You might be better off ( unless you can CC it before doing any cutting ) getting a 7'6" and extending it. Like Billy said if you want a fast action, extend a mod-fast action. The extension will speed it up. But it is always better to put numbers on a blank before any cutting. You may not like what you wind up with.

You can also try taping some guides on and try to cast your line with one at 3" from the tip.

Bill - willierods.com

Fred;
I am a little curious about your Dad’s results, what do you attribute the results to?

A shorter rod being easier for him to handle?
Slowing the rod down maybe delaying the hook setting reaction times giving the fish more time to inhale the bait?
A more moderate action being a little more forgiving when battling the fish improving his landing ratio?
Maybe all or something else entirely?

Fred don't wisper in Steve's ear - he wants to take advantage of your experience to to win more money - ask him for a cut - he talks on the QT with Elites about the same thing! Secrets!!

I trust a good deal of scientific experimentation, expert field testing, and revision precedes bringing a blank to market, particulary an expensive blank. Because of this (perhaps unwarranted) faith in the diligence and equpment of blank manufacturers I would avoid adding or removing material from a rod bank for the purpose of changing its length, weight, or geometry and just buy a different blank. The alternative is to learn how to roll your own.

Cutting a blank is a wonderful idea, as long as A) you know exactly what you're doing, or B) you're willing, as the cost of doing an experiment, to ruin the blank. If you don't fit into either of these categories, trimming is a terrible idea.

Very interesting thread !
I can easily understand what Robert and Spencer are saying but I'm having trouble getting my hard head wrapped around what Billy said.
Help me to understand how extending a blank can make it faster. Since I know zilch about the science behind blank manufacturing, it seems to me that all you did was make the blank longer and extended the "power section". I can't see how it would make the blank faster since you never did anything to the tip. I have never seen the chart that Cliff made, Billy, or someone, can you elaborate?

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

Jay,
If the bottom half of an eight foot rod is stiff and the top half is flexible, you have a medium action rod. Now, use a four foot section (just for this example) of stiff material to extend the butt. You will have a rod that has 2/3 of its length made of stiff material and 1/3 of its length of flexible material. The action will now be faster with a steeper action angle. It will also be a twelve foot rod.

Jeff

Got it ! Thanks Jeff ! It became faster due to the change in taper or action angle over it's entire length. That was simple enough, duhh.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

Does this mean the more I straighten my rod arm when casting the faster the action of the rod becomes? Can I slow the action of my fly rod by holding a book under the elbow of my casting rod arm, as was once how flycasting was taught? I am already aware I can shorten my casts by doing so.
If this "longer=faster rule" holds true it's time to minimize compromise in rod selection by employing a telescoping butt extension (including the reel seat) which can be extended when a fast action blank is needed and compressed when a shorter and slower action rod is desired. I'm surprised rod builders haven't already perfected this apparatus

Sounds like you are over thinking this. Do a Google search on fly casting. And then go out side and PRACTICE CASTING. Get some of your friends that fly fish and ask a lot of questions. Play with there rods . Have them teach you.

Look for a Lefty Keith ( spelling ) good one to learn from !!

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2009 06:59PM by bill boettcher.

Phil,
I look at in this way. If I have a an 8 foot blank and the flex occurs within 1 foot of the tip of the blank, I would call that a fast action rod and a measurement of the action angle would verify that. Now if I take the tip section and add a grip and a reel seat to the tip section, the flexing portion is still at one foot from the tip, but now the flexing portion is closer to the center of the "rod" and we would call that a slow or moderate action.

If we were to add a two foot non-flerxing extension to the butt section of the rod, we would have a ten foot rod with the flexing occurring at one foot from the tip. Now the flex occurs very near the top of the rod tip while most of the rod does not flex. We would likely call this a fast or even an extra-fast action rod. I believe that the action of the rod is determined by where most of the flex occurs along the length of the rod. Except for the quantitative measurement of the action angle, we have very ambiguous definitions of fast, moderate, or slow action for a rod. just my $0.02.

Mike Blomme

Brian,
I trim and extend blanks all of the time.
If you can't find the blank you want in the length that you want - either extend it, or trim it as is needed.
Just be aware what the extension and or trimming will do to the rod.

One easy way to determine the effects is in the case of an extension - simply slip an extension on the inside of the butt, or on the outside of the butt - as is determined by the size of the blank being extended.

Then, simply tape guides on the blank, tape on a reel and do some test casts, and RETRIEVES. See if the blank is doing the things that you want it to do - all of this without gluing anything, or tying on any guides.

You can do the same thing with a potential blank trim, simply tape on a small guide in the location of the future tip. Again, tape on a reel, and guides for the rest of the blank, and then do test casting and retrieves.

Also, for both of these scenarios, do some fairly agressive flexing of the rod, to be sure that the overall action of the blank is what you want to have happen.

Before trimming or extending any blank - be sure that you are aware of what these changes will do for the blank. Be sure that this blank change will do what you want the blank to be- before ever cutting the blank, or gluing on a permanent extension.

Take care
Roger

Wow. I'm glad I asked. I think you all have done a great job at explaining the effect of trimming and extending on the action. [I actually have never even considered that a blank could be extended.] And though we haven't discussed it much, I can see that trimming will change the power of the rod quite a little too. I suppose trimming would increase the power, since the whippy part of the tip is now gone, leaving the stiff part of the tip section. The butt section doesn't flex a lot, so trimming that won't mess w/ the power a bunch.

Maybe the best advice was that if you're not comfortable with ruining a blank, don't mess w/ it and keep looking for one you're happy with as-is.