Got a rod in for a complete "overhaul"-replacing the guides, seat and grip. The rod is a 7-foot spin with no discernible specific application except pulling fish out of water. It was also "custom made" (and I use that term loosely-it wasn't purchased at a store). The first thing I noticed was that it weighed a ton, the weight being in almost the entire butt section. I removed the pitted cork grip in my usual way (teeth) and found nothing under the cork. Hmmm...
I removed the "custom" rubber butt-cap and noticed the head of a hex bolt glued inside the blank. I heated the end up and after a few minutes I extracted an 8-inch hex bolt from inside the blank. I didn't weigh it, but would be surpirised if it weighed less than 5 ounces. There was no structural reason for it to be there-I twisted the hex bolt out which would have surely exposed any blank weaknesses. I also couldn't see any reason why a rod like this would need to be balanced.
Any idea why this bolt was in there other than ignorance or as a practical joke?

i made that rod and had it sent to you just so you would post your thread.

Sounds like the builder was trying to balance it.

I don't believe in adding extra weight to a rod, but some do. A rod that is balanced is a benefit, but so is a light weight rod.... I think that just swapping one attribute for another is a fool's errand.

I've seen several customs balanced using bolts inside. I've had a couple customers request it and I referred them to JP.

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AD

It was placed in there so if you needed a nut and bolt for your boat meter you would have one::))

Good Wraps Bob

maybe he was a person who fished from a jon boat or such and had the weight in the butt end, so that when he put it down in the boat, it wouldn't fall over board,lol! thats my guess.

I didn't think it was JP's work-he always puts the hex bolts on the tip section. You should see how that slows the action on his custom "Home Depot 2-wt.."

J P I think your being picked on.......but from you first post, I think you earned it!

It was only JP's if it said "Kustim Bilt Bi"

Kevin-Wrong JP!! That would be his brother, Josh P. Timberlake.

JP (the real one) is developing his own holographic hex bolts that will "liven-up" the tip of his prototype "Small-stream," 5-foot, zero-wt., fly rod with Aftco Curved Uni-butt." Paired with a Penn International VSX50 and spooled with 6,000 yards of silk flyline, this baby is great for "finessing" a Size 26 Clouser Minnow under an overhanging "Salix Matsudana," a/k/a (Corkscrew Willow).

Wow, I'm beginning to think be an unknown is a good thing:)

David, have you considered showing the owner what you found? There is a possibility he wants the rod so balanced.

Loved the international with silk line comments. Once upon a time there was a smoking hot blonde who used an international with IFGA 4# in my waters to murder sailfish. She was quite good and no doubt has the records to prove it.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

david i have been looking for that rod and bolt. it fits the head gasket on my outboard. i made that rod as a "boatsaver model."

Lorenzo might be right in his assumption. Last year my best friend's brother brought me a surf rod to wrap the guides. He had already made the handle and it was heavy. He said that he had turned a piece of oak to fit inside of the butt. He is a pier rat and wanted a lot of weight in the handle while resting the rod on the rail. He said that the only time he would handle the rod would be while casting or fighting a fish and that the extra weight did not bother him. I later replaced a guide on another rod for him and it was built in the same manner.

Well your'e right Ellis, it was assumption, I thought of that because I have and knew a few who lost their rods over board a boat , just because, well I think, because the handle end was to light to be left alone. Never see them rods again,lol!

JP-I don't have the bolt-Knox took it and wrapped it in abalone. You can get it at the show-he'll have it for sale at his booth.

I was wondering where that bolt went. Now I know why my front wheel wobbles on my truck.

Bill - willierods.com

Hey Dave, that was my rod....but I usually put an aluminum roofing nail in the butt. Must have been out of stock!

Man you guys are hard

Paul@soonercustomrod.com

David,
Actually a few years ago, there were a lot of builders out there that attempted to balance rods by inserting weight up the inside of the blank.
But due to the shorter balance arm of the weight as it moved up the rod, everything except about the last 1/2 inch of the weight did nothing for the balance, but simply made the rod heavier.
I think that if you looat over the past, and different rods on the market you will find many mnay many rods out there with various kinds of weigh that has been inserted up into the rod blank in an attempt to balance the rods.

Fortunately, most foks either achieve balance other ways, place balancing systems at the extreme butt of the rod, or simply use a rod that is not very well balanced.

What you have is a part of history and you now have one of the earlier attempts to try to get what someone wanted - i.e. a balanced rod.

Roger

In reality it was part of a rod extension, bolt on one side an a nut on the other side , screw the 2 together and you have your extension

Good Wraps Bob