Re: tip top new
Posted by: Tom Kirkman (Moderator)
Date: May 01, 2015 05:11PM

If you'll extend your trim wrap up onto and beyond the tiptop tube, and then epoxy finish over that, your tiptop will stay put - no turning nor twisting. If you need to replace it, just trim back the trim wrap, loosen the hot melt with gentle heat, and remove.

Best of all worlds.

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

Hi Tom and All. Interesting post. Do most people wrap up the tip top tube? How far, maybe half way up the tube? I'm leaning something here.

I'd guess that most don't. I only started doing it as further prevention for tips mounted with HotMelt coming loose in very hot temperature use or storage. Even then, remember it is not the thread wrap that adds the additional protection - it's the epoxy on the thread. You could also just wrap up to the edge of the tiptop tube and then overlap epoxy onto that, but I found that the epoxy will quickly separate from the tiptop tube so I began wrapping thread up there as well. It seems to work better, and longer, that way.

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

Hello,

I will occasionally wrap up and onto the tip-top tube for the reasons Tom stated.

My preference is to select a top where the braced metal "legs" are welded fairly close to the end of the tube.

The thread wrap is continued over the metal tube, and will end at that exact point where the "legs" terminate.

Here is a photo:

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Without color preserver, it is easy to see just how much of the tube is wrapped.

-chad

Do you do the same with fly rods, spin rods, and casting rods? I'm finishing a fly rod.

I don't build fly rods, but have done similar wraps on a few ultralight spinners using 5wt fly blanks and they worked fine.

-chad

Has Roger ever discussed the softening and/or melting temperature of the Flex Coat tip adhesive?

Up north in NY, I've never had a tip come loose from a rod "baked" in a closed car on a sunny day, but I've always wondered about places down south where it gets really hot.