I recently read an article featuring a custom rod , built by John Nutter.
John wrapped and finished lead tape between the last guide and tip,
.to slow the action.Has anyone used a special wrap to speed the action of a finished rod?

Tony,

Adding weight doesn't 'change the action' of the rod. It just changes how quickly it 'loads' and 'unloads'.

You can't make a rod 'faster' by doing anything with thread.

The action of a rod blank is determined by the material used (stiffness to weight ratios) and the 'taper' of the mandrel.

There are folks here with a better scientific understanding of all this, but from what I've been able to figure out, all that this extra weight does is make the rod heavier, and that's a bad thing most times. I can't think of any good this would do. Guy should have bought a rod that fits what he wants to throw in the first place.

Good Luck!

Buddy

The extra weight makes the rod respond less quickly to imparted energy. It also increases the amount of time that it takes the rod to return to straight (damp). It does not and will not change the action in any way. It does make the rod less efficient.

If that's what you're after, then go right ahead and emulate this technique. But if what you really want is a rod that reacts and responds more slowy, you might be better off just choosing a blank made from a lower modulus graphite fiber, or even fiberglass.

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Just curious, wouldn't throwing a heavier line serve the same purpose as adding weight to the rod tip?

Regards,
Mark

This article was in the Feb.2003 In-fisherman mag .Give it a look and then maybe lend more comments to this issue.
my real goal is to stiffen a finished rod I wasn't sure if someone had any ideas on how best to do this.thanhs for the help.

That's going to be almost impossible to do. Anything you add to that rod, no matter how stiff the addition may be, will have the effect of softening the rod. Case in point would be adding a lot of very stiff, braced, double footed guides. While they might stiffen short sections between the feet, overall they'll have the effect of making the rod softer and less responsive.

About the only method I'm aware of that might do what you want, would be to blow some sort of foam up into the blank, but that opens up a new set of problems all its own.

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The advantage of graphite over other materials is it's high modulus of elasticity and it's light weight. We can over simplify just a little and call the modulus of elasticity stiffness. Now we can put stiffness over weight and call it efficiency. To me this is the whole point with graphite. The higher the modulus of elasticity the better, the higher the efficiency the better. And the closer you get to the tip of the rod the more important they become or the more the affect low modulus or low efficiency is felt, or the more detrimental weight becomes.

Maybe I do not understand but it seems to me that adding weight, particularly toward the tip of a rod, is trying to turn a silk purse into a sow's ear.

I think you understand very well. At least it sounds to me like you do. I always try to opt for the blank that will do what I want, rather than having to modify it in some manner. I know that's not always possible, but we have such a huge selection of blanks and materials to choose from today that it's less necessary than in the past.

It's sort of like having a car that has a higher horsepower to weight ration than you'd like - it accelerates too fast, corners too well, stops too quickly. So you pack the trunk and back seats with sand bags. The car retains the same power as before, but now it's carrying more weight so it accelerates less quickly, corners less precisely and takes longer to stop once started. You bought too much to start with.

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By the way, John Nutter's a good guy and good rod builder. So let's all agree we're not attacking his methods or ideas. Just a difference of opinion on how we might choose to achieve the same thing.

I'm sure John has his reasons for doing it his way and hope the exposure in the magazine is good for everyone who build's custom rods.

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John,
We apologize for ganging up on you. Just tell us, under your breath, to kiss your butt wrap.

Tony,

I'm not sure if your original question has been directly addressed.

If you want to speed the action of your blank you can extend it from the butt. I do this quite often. (This will make the blank feel a little stiffer while retaining the tip for casting the same weights.)

If to want to stiffen the rod you can also trim the blank from the tip. This however will make the action slower. Be careful how much you trim the tip, because just a little can can change the blank quite a lot.

By judicious trimming and extending you can change a blank significantly. For example if you had a "medium" or "medium/heavy" 6 ft blank and trimmed about 2 inches from the tip and extended the butt by 8 inches you would end up with 6 ft 6in "heavy" blank.

If you do this I suggest extending first and then trim just a little. If the blank is still not stiff enough trim some more from the tip.

(Remember blanks always feel a little softer after you add the weight of the guides.)

Hope this helps.