Hi All,

I am rebuilding an old Shimano Compre casting rod and I have no idea what tip top size to order. I don't have one of the tip top gauges yet. It's going to be in my next Mudhole order. Anyway way of measuring it? I have callipers.

Oh and the rod is about 10 yrs old.

Thanks

Clean off the excess glue on the tip Then measure about 1/4 - 3/8" from the end The tubes are meassured in MM

Bill - willierods.com

Chris,

Your calipers will work just fine. The tube sizes are in 64th's of an inch, i.e. a 4.5 tube is 4.5/64" or 0.0703". Take your measurement about 1/2" down from the tip, and order the tube size closest, but slightly larger. It doesn't hurt to order tip tops with tubes a half 64th larger and smaller, to handle variances in the tube size.

Note: Always check the description, most tubes are measured in 64th's of an inch and rings measured in mm, but some manufacturers do list tube size in mm.

Joe



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2013 09:21AM by Joe Vanfossen.

Thanks guys! Appreciate the feed back!

Chris

Also get the PacBay guage I liked that one better then the Fuji one

A lot easier to measure tips with

Bill - willierods.com

The measurements are in 64's of an inch, not mm's. Your micrometer shout be able to do both. Therefore, a #5 tip top is 5/64 inches.

Steve Hartzell
Lake Conroe - Willis, Texas

So i guess that is why when ya look at top sizes you get

6 ( 4 ) 1.6 MM tube

Bill - willierods.com

A drill index from the hardware store, read the drill (tip top) in 64's of an inch

Insert Ring/Loop Sizing
Tip-Top Sizing

The first measurement in a Tip-Top is the Inside Diameter (I.D.) of the ring (eyelet) in Millimeters. Generally, the I.D. of the ring will match the smallest guide on the rod. Standard sizes are 6, 8 and 10mm for conventional rods, while heavier saltwater rods may go as high as a 16mm ring.

Tube Sizing
Part Number Legend

The second measurement in a Tip-Top is the Inside Diameter (I.D.) of the tube, measured in 1/64ths of an inch. Tube sizes generally range from 3.5 to 12, but they go all the way up to 32 (.500") in Big Game roller tops. The tube size should correspond to the tip size given by the manufacturer of your blank.

I just use a plastic tip top measuring guide
So I don't go though all this stuff LOL

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2013 05:13PM by bill boettcher.

Like john Locke said, a drill guide is your very best bet and you can find it in most any home depot or hardware store. Drills are sized in 64th. A size 8 tip is 8/64 ( drill size is 1/16 )( 8/64 = 1/16) and a size 9 tip is 9/64 etc. I prefer the drill guide over the tip guages as you can slide it down the tip to where you think the tip will reside.

Here Make life easy

[www.mudhole.com]

Bill - willierods.com

Like Bill, I also prefer the plastic tip measurement gauge over a drill sizer because the tip gauge has two functions. The holes allow you to slide a blank tip into them to find the size of tip, just like the drill sizer, but the the raised portions allow you to size loose rod tip guides to determine what tube size they are; you can't really do this with a drill index or drill sizer. This comes in handy when you build enough rods that you stock tips. Invariably, you pull a couple tips out of inventory, set them down, and forget what size each is. The tip measuring gauge tells me what size tube the tip is so I can get it back into the correct storage bin.