I've had the same stick of tip glue for quite a while. It's getting some black to the edges of it.

On my last few tips, I've noticed that it melted on fine, intalled fine, but later I could twist the tip with a moderate amount of torque? Bad glue or bad installation process?

The way I do it is I hold a lighter to the glue until it is nearly dripping, then smear it all over the tip. Then I hold the lighter underneath the tip but not touching it just to make sure the glue stays liquid while I install the tip, then aim down the sights to twist it into perfect allignment. After it cools, I grap the excess with my fingernail and slide it down the blank to be cut away.

Unable to figure out what I was doing wrong, I just epoxied the tips on the last couple of rods I did for myself.

Any advice here?

i have been using the same method and it has worked fine for me but i would recomend also threading the tip and epoxing over that.

The problem could well be your installation method. Thanks to someone on this forum several years ago (whose identity I don't recall) I have never had another problem with a tip twisting out of position. Prep the rod tip in your normal fashion. Using a razor or some other sharp instrument shave small slices of chunks of glue from the glue stick. Push the glue pieces down into the tube of the tip top with a bodkin, toothpick or similiar tool. Pack the tube nearly full of the adhesive. Expose the tip top to the heat source until the glue melts (it will expand and begin to ooze out the the tube). Quickly push your top into position on the blank.You will have a brief period to get the tip into the right position. If you need to reposition it, you can apply just a slight bit more heat. I prefer the thermal adhesive to epoxy for a number of reasons and I've found this method serves me best. I don't know if the glue sticks have a shelf life but the several that I have must be 10 or more years old and the still work fine.

Sam

Prep the rod tip by roughing it up with a Scrotch Brite pad.

Kyle,
I use a method similar to yours with one small difference.
I heat the glue stick and with the rod tip spinning, insure that the tip of the rod is well coated with melted glue.
Then, I heat the glue stick as well as the tip and plunge the tip into the melted glue to insure that the tip has glue in the tip.
I move the heat back to the tip, melt the glue on the tip and put the tip on, rotating it as I do to insure that the entire inside of the tip is well coated with glue.

I have a craft stick handy and use it to wipe any excess softened glue off of the tip and or blank tip.

Finally I do a final tip alignment and double check to be sure that the blank and tip is free of glue, reheating any hardened glue a bit to be able to wipe it off with the craft stick.

Fingers work, but it may result in burned finger tips to wipe off any excess glue.

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Before using this method, I would try putting glue into the tip only, and then putting on the rod blank. This method resulted in a couple of tips that came loose. I also tried the method of putting glue on the blank tip only, and this also resulted in a couple of loose tips. But by insuring that the blank tip is well coated, and that there is glue on the inside of the tip before installing has resulted in a 100% good tip adhesion success rate.

Good luck
Roger

I have some tip hot melt cement that is very very old, and it still works fine. I don't think it deteriorates. If it did the tips on old rods would be coming off, and they are not. I believe the most reliable method is as Sam Stoner advocates. While I have never bothered with Scotchbriting the tip, it cannot hurt and may help.

I think when you do not put the cement down into the tube it allows the cement to be stripped off the tip by a close-fitting top. I have often wondered if it would be better to use tip-tops 1/2 64th larger than the tip, but I keep seeing exact matches advocated.

Michael,
It is interesting that you bring up the subject of using a larger tip for rods.

Once in a while, especially when working with fine tipped ice rods, I have had trouble getting tips small enough for the rod blank.

In these cases, I just extended my tip wrap that I generally put on most of my rods to the tip. In some cases, I need to use two layers of wrap to increase the tip size enough to fit the tip available for the rod.

The interesting thing is - how much better and how much easier it is to have the tip adhere well to the rod tip for those tips that have been thread wrapped to the very tip of the rod. The tip cement really grabs the thread well and makes for a fool proof tip attachment.

Take care
Roger

Flex Coat now has a product that looks like a bag of 3-inch pieces of 100# mono, except it's tip glue. Absolutely perfect. Poke, snip, melt, shove...done

Well,

For me 5min epoxy does great. It heats well when you wish to remove a top and never does one come loose.

Please spare me, I know the pros and cons,... the pros well out weigh the cons for me.

DR

I use the hot glue, and never had a problem. As others have said, I remove the rod finish where the tip will fit, using a green "scrubbie". I also rough up the inside of the TT using a small drill bit, like a mini rat-tail file.

George Forster
Fort Collins, CO

Im with you DR. Done it that way for years and never had a problem. When i have used. tip glue came off in hot weather. If you use fast cure epoxy it comes right off if replacement tip is needed with cig. lighter it actually pops off every time without burning the blank. I also agree spare me the tirade its how i have done it and it works great.

I do what Sam Stoner does, I heat the glue in the tip-top until the glue melts and the air trapped in it escapes. (Bubbles up)
I kinda think that putting glue on the rod tip; then placing the tip on could potentially 'starve' the insides of the tip-top of glue.
The action of placing a snug fitting tip-top on the melted glue rod tip would tend to push the glue down the rod and not let enough of it to enter the tip-top?
Since I can't see into it, I would rather start with glue in the tip-top.