Newbie question: I have a few 7' blanks and would like to make a 6'6" rod for my granddaughter -can I just cut off one of the 7'ers from the butt or should I just order the 6'6"? Don't want to assume cutting it off won't affect the rod.

Dan,

How old is your granddaughter? My youngest daughter is five and I built her a 7' rod and she handles it fine. If you build it light (graphite blank, minima guides, Tennessee handle for example), it should be no problem for her.

Whichever way you decide to go, good luck.

If you but it, I'd probably do it from the butt. Either way the action will become slower, but taking the length off the butt will preserve most of the current casting quality of the rod.

...............

Dan

No problem shortening the blank by cutting it off the butt. If you want a stiffer blank cut it from the tip end. If you like the present stiffness cut it off the butt. I always cut some of the tip back on all my blanks. First to clean up the manufacturers end termination. Second to size it for the closest fit to the guide tip. This gives me satisfaction that the tip is structurally sound and the tip a snug fit.

Rod builders are always experimenting with blank alteration the end result is experience. Can't get wet if you don't jump in the water.

To answer your question I would have no problem making the blank shorter by cuttining off the butt end, I am sure the action will change somewhat, but not enough to cause you to seek therapy.

Good Luck

John

Thanks to all for the replies!

Dan,
On about 95% of my blanks that I trim; I trim only from the butt of the rod.

When selecting sensitive rods for light biting fish, the tip end of the rod, especially the very end 2-3 inches contain a very large part of the nice soft visible of a good sensitive rod.

Many times, by trimming even a 1/2-3/4 of an inch can really change the action of a rod in a very negative way.

On the other hand, if you are trimming a blank that is essentially a pool cue to begin with - trimming the tip is not such a big deal.

So, the message of this post is that if you do trim from the tip - do it with the greatest of caution and only trim in very small amounts and then recheck the action.

Be safe

I have never (deliberately) shortened a blank, but I was under the impression that cutting off the butt would produce a faster action, because its bend under a load would shift toward the tip?

How can that be
Say the tip flexes to the middle of the blank You take 6" off the butt
Now it bends closer to the butt Because the blank butt is shorter

Adding would tend to make it faster cause the flex would go father up the blank when adding to the butt

Bill - willierods.com

Phil,
Lets take a 6'6 extra fast M-L spinning rod that is the typical rod used to catch walleye.

In its stock configuration, about 80% of the bend occurs between 5-10 inches from the tip.

When you cut 6 inches off the butt of the rod, you have about 80% of the bend occurring between 5-10 inches from the tip.


But, if you take that really excellent walleye M-L extra fast spinning rod and cut 6 inches off the tip, you have now turned it into a M_H rod that is actually a slow rod, because you have removed all of the wonderful sensitive tip that would be normal for this rod.

--------------------
Now, if you take a classic trout rod that is a standarad moderate or slow action blank. The bend on this rod ir pretty gradual and tends to bend very gradually all of the way from the tip down to about a 1/3rd of the way up from the butt.
Now, if you cut 6 inches off the butt of the rod, you have actually removed the power section of the rod.
But, if you remove 6 inches from the tip, you will only slightly change the action, because the flex and diameter of this rod is nearly constant from the tip down a good bit toward the mid section of the rod.


So, yes, certainly the general guide lines that have been discussed by Mr. Kirkman and Phil are absolutely correct - the action and power of the individual blank - before trimming - certainly has a major effect on the magnitude of the change as a result of butt or tip trimming of a rod blank.

For example in the world of Walleye fishing it is common practice to trim either the butt or tip of a longer blank to achieve the result that one is looking for in a blank.
Easy to do large amounts of butt trimming, but when it comes to trimming the tip, cuts are normally only made in 1/4 or 3/8th inch increments, because even short amounts trimmed from a soft fast tip can make very significant changes in the action and overall fishing effect of a good blank.

Summary -
When trimming a rod from either the butt or the tip of a rod - DEPENDS.
It depends on what you are trying to accomplish.
It depends on whether you need more power or not.
It depends on whether you want to change the tip action of the rod, or simply shorten the rod.

But also, when you compare blanks of different manufacturers in various lengths - you will find that for some manufacturers and for some models of a rod, it certainly appears that the manufacturer simply starts with a longer blank, and if sales needs dicticate selling a shorter rod, they simply lop off the butt of the longer blanks that are in stock to make the shorter rods. The reason that I suggest this is that I have measured and compared some of these different models of blanks in different lengths and for some of the popular series, the longer and shorter rod blanks are identical - when the tips of the rods are aligned side by side. i.e. same wall thickness, same tip, same taper all of the way down to the butt of the shorter rod. Then, the longer rod, simply has the normal expected increase in diameter is the rod flows toward the butt.

But at the end of the day, one can always trim a rod blank from either the butt of the rod, or from the tip of the rod, or both to modify the action and power of the rod, or to simply create a rod that is different than the original blank offered.

Just to suggest - think very carefully, and check both the action and power of the resulting blank - before you ever put the blank to the cutter.

If you want a shorter tip, simply tie on guides so that your end guide is at the location of your desired tip, and see how it casts and works for you.

If you want a shorter butt, temporarily place a grip at the shorter butt location and with the other guides taped in place, check out the blank to be sure that the shorter butt section does give you the effect in power and action - before you ever commit the blank to a chop saw.

You can test for days on end, with a shorter butt or tip, without ever cutting the blank. But if you find that you don't like the blank with the shorter butt or tip, you can always restore the rod to a different configuration, because you have not actually made the cut on the blank.

Be safe and think ahead.

It has been my experience that taking off the butt does not always change the angle of action and in some blanks actually can increase angle of action. I have never taken anything off a tip of a blank because i am pretty sure that would alter the action drastically and definately alter the action in all cases, no scientific science to back that last part up except for repairing lots and lots of rods with broken tips, have yet to see any that didn;t change and most for the worst.

Also if you have the room to set up The CCS system you can tape where you are THINKING of cutting and measure in between the tape to find out the lure weight , power of the blank

If still unsure do the tape on guides mark where the seat maybe and cast a while and see how it feels

Bill - willierods.com

It seems more common to trim more powerful 1 piece blanks than comparatively lighter blanks. I think this is because the differences among light blanks are quite subtle, for example lure weights on one blanks may be 1/4-5/8 and on the next blank they may be 5/16-3/4. The differences are quite small so there's not much reason to try to find something in between. On the other hand, when looking at more powerful blanks, like inshore or offshore saltwater blanks, one blank might be rated at 1-4 oz and the next blank might be 3-6 oz. It's not difficult to imagine a need for something in between these two blanks.

I think it's also more commonplace to trim one piece blanks than multi-piece blanks. Trimming multi-piece blanks can cause a storage problem (depending on guide placement relative to the ferrule) when the blank is trimmed so that the tip is more than a few inches longer than the butt section and the rod is broken down for storage while still strung with line. I find it undesirable to have the distance (on the tip section) from the tip to the guide closest to the ferrule longer than the distance (on the butt section) from the butt to the guide closest to the ferrule. If you or your customer ever wants to store the rods vertically, you can't really wind the line on the reel tight because the guides on each side closest to the ferrule will seek each other and match up - if the tip distance is longer then the tip will be in contact with the ground, often bent in an undesirable manner. This is not a big problem for rods that wont be broken down for storage or will always be stored or transported broken down in a horizontal manner. Over the years I've had a couple butt-trimmed trolling rods with just such a scenario when I mocked up the guide locations and did my stress and load testing. In some cases I was able to add an extra guide which altered the distribution of the rest of the guides and sometimes this change made the folded tip to ferrule guide vs butt to ferrule guide distance more desirable, other times it made it worse. Thinking back on these situations I can generally say that as a group of rods I found those long tip/short butt rods the ones I never felt good about. Maybe that's just me as I tend to over analyze and fret over minutia in my builds and these just never seemed right when they were done.

On the other hand, one piece blanks are a lot easier to trim as you have no unequal length tip/butt sections (if this is a problem at all for you). You really only have to consider the effects that trimming a particular blank has on it's action. Suspending the bait and terminal rigging on a line and adjusting it up and down the tip until it feels right to the angler sets the location of the tip cut and them measuring back from there sets the overall length of the rod.

Dan

Now that you are more confused then ever

Simple thing is
Cutting from the butt does not change the rod much If At All
Cutting from the tip will stiffen and make the lure weight go higher
mark the cut Figure where the seat will go Tape some guides on Go outside and even with the reel on the ground Pull line String it up add lure Cast holding line in hand

Should be fine Some times this stuff will drive ya crazy

Bill - willierods.com

Bill,
X10 -

But in addition, before cutting the blank - go fishing with the rod with the top guide in the location of the final tip position.

Compare this shorter rod to one which has not been trimmed and see if the shorter or the original rod works better for you when fishing.

Remember, casting is not the question about fishing rods.

Catching fish is the important part of a fishing rod.

Be safe

Wow. I figured the guys who design the blanks know what they are doing so I never chopped one, but now Roger says that's how blank rollers make different length rods?! Still, I don't think I will build any rods for people who insist upon a particular blank and insist upon chopping sections off it.

Phil,
Please don't quote me by saying that this is the way that blank makers make different length rods.

I only made the suggestion, that some models of various manufacturers have virtually identical characteristics for the measured length of the shorter blank.

I wouldn't think that it would necessarily be in the makers best interest to make a bunch of 7 foot rods and then chop them to 6 foot. It would work but think about the wasted materials.

Be safe

Phil

also what of warranty if you cut a blank and the user breaks it The company may not back you up

Bill - willierods.com

Lots of words here. But I like to keep it simple. If you want a 7 foot rod, unless there are compelling reasons that a 7 foot blank will not work, buy a 7 foot blank. Same for 6.5, if you want a 6.5 rod, buy a 6.5 blank. Is your granddaughter such a great rod evaluator that she will know the difference between this option or that? If she is short, just buy a good 6.5 blank and she will do fine.

Hey, not all that long ago it was standard practice to trim blanks. Mostly it was because we didn't have as many choices as we do today. There is nothing wrong with trimming a blank. The key is knowing how to determine the end result before you commit yourself.

All that said, I wouldn't trim a blank when I could buy the right blank. IMHO trimming should be reserved for when it is the only way to get what you want.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Hello,
Good thread, I am working on a reconstruction and have to cut a tip down 6 inches. What should I use to cut it?