Hey guys, hoping I can get some advice. I'm working on my third build and thought I would invest in a high modulus blank and bought an MHX HM-MB782. I'm starting to think I should've done one or two more builds before investing in the more expensive blank.

I noticed my tip top was a little out-of-line so I heat it up enough to slide it off and when I slid it back on, a bunch of fiber kind of peeled off of the blank. From what I've heard so far it sounds like I overheated the tip of the blank which brings up a couple questions for me. First, is the blank salvagable or should I just pony up and buy a new blank? Second, how do you handle readjusting the tip top? I feel like it was a matter of a second or two that it took for the tip top to slide off and that was the extent of the heat it was exposed to. Is it possible to heat up the tip top too much and that have an effect on the blank?

Any suggestions would be great. My first build turned out amazing so thank you all for all the help.

It is possible to overheat the blank tip. Sometimes, however, the tiptop tube simply catches the end of the blank and peels back a fiber or two. This can happen on a "cold" blank as well.

How far did the fiber peel back? If the length of the peel is less than the length of the tiptop tube it's not likely going to cause any problem.

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cut off the damaged area and install new tip

It might be helpful if you can post a picture for people to look at. The damage could be trivial or serious enough to cut off.

Some advice for the future - if you have to do something like this again, hold the tip next to a flame, not over the flame, as you gently twist the blank in your fingers (tip held stationary with a pliers or something). Rotate the blank, not the tip... it's not intuitive, sort of like changing a light bulb by holding the bulb stationary and rotating the lamp, but in this case, it's the better way.

When you hold a hot tip with plilers and rotate the tip, it is more difficult to sense the perfect time to twist the tip and it is also more difficult to turn the pliers perfectly around the blank axis. If you get a little off axis, the tube of the hot tip can cut the blank fibers or twist the rod tip off. When you twist the blank fith your fingertips, you have much better feel of when sufficient heat has been applied and you can pull the tip away from the flame at just the right moment as you twist the blank out of the tip.

Taking into consideration everything that has been recommended, there is one more thing that I would like to add and that is using a tip top adhesive rather than using epoxy. I don't know what type of glue you used but for future reference you might try the Flex Coat method. Click on the Flex Coat link on the left and check out Roger's way of attaching a tip top. His tip top glue has a lower melting point than epoxy and makes for an easier way of removing the tip if you have to do it. This glue is very strong and I have landed fish as heavy as 35 lbs. on a popping rod without having a tip failure.

Thanks for the advice! It did peel the fibers nearly the whole length of the tiptop tube. If I cut the tip off the blank, will this harm its effectiveness?

I doubt you would notice the difference if you cut off what sounds like less than an inch of the blank.

I don't believe you have a lot to lose by just installing the tiptop and see if it works. It probably will work fine. If you haven't yet installed the guides I recommend spacing them with the possibility of losing a half inch or so of the tip if you need to reinstall the tiptop on a slightly shorter blank. If you are just starting and can choose the rotational orientation of the tiptop, put the compromised fibers on the bottom where they will be in compression and not tension when the blank is flexed. If the fibers are still intact but just separated, use some epoxy to fasten them to the rest of the tiptop. I would not use cutting off as my first move.

It is possible that even a slight shortening of the blank will affect its action. I broke a tiptop off one of mine and haven't liked it since. Imagination? Maybe, maybe not.