I have a 7'11 heavy moderate fast tip rod blank , I want to cut it down and make it a 7'4 . My question is will cutting the butt end down 7 inches change the power of the rod or the tip action. Thanks for your responses.
Brian

Brian

If you cut 7 inches from the butt any changes in the blank the will be indiscernible. The butt section is the most rigid part of the blank and usually does not bend or flex. The only change would be the fulcrum length (the distance from your grip to the tip of the rod).
I would not hesitate to cut the blank down to achieve the length I want.
Put the shotguns away It 's just my opinion, I have cut many a blank without suffering any catastrophic consequences.

Good luck

John

Nothing wrong with cutting a blank to get the power and action you want. Just remember that cutting a blank will make it slower and less powerful. If that is what you want that’s fine. If you think you will get the same action and power in just a shorter form you are mistaken.
Norm

Cutting a blank from either end will slow the action. Cutting from the butt will reduce power. Cutting from the tip will increase casting weight range. How much so in any case depends on how much you're cutting in relation overall blank length. 7 inches from the butt of an 8 foot rod will make a discernible difference. Do this - tape the rod off at the point you plan to cut. Mock up a handle and guide set up from that point and see how it feels, casts, and pulls. Then decide if it's going to work for you in that configuration.

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Brian,
In a word, I just look at it this way. As far as I am concerned, especially for rods that have a softer tip - I will never trim any length from the tip, unless I want to ruin the rod for any thing except to use as a pool cue.

So, I would trim what ever I need from the butt of the blank.

Good luck

Out of curiosity, why 7 ft 4 in.?

Terry Kirk Wrote:
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> Out of curiosity, why 7 ft 4 in.?

Are you trying to slow the blank down or is that just a length you want? Like what Norman and Tom said it will slow the blank down and it will make a noticeable difference. A slower blanks works better for certain lure types or other reasons.

I agree with everyone that said that taking 7" off the butt of the blank is going to make a noticeable difference in the power of the blank.

Not only are you taking power from the blank by trimming it, but as John said, you're moving the point of effort (generally the reel seat) closer to the tip of the blank, and onto a part of the blank that flexes more. Oh yeah .... it's going to lose a good amount of power. And having a moderate fast action, my guess is it's going to lose quite a bit of power.

Trimming a blank to slow the action and take away power from the blank isn't a bad thing I've purposefully done it twice and love the results I got. But I was doing it to change the characteristics of the blank.

Brian,
It is really easy to see the effect. Just wrap the butt end of the blank at the location that would give you the effect of having a 7'4" blank.

Then, first - while holding the blank at the butt of the blank press the blank down against the floor to fee the power and action of the rod.

Then, move your hands up to the 7'4" location and repeat the test.

Conversely, you could also put a 5 lb weight on the floor and tie a line to the tip of the rod, and lift the weight with the rods held in the butt position and then in the 7'4" length.

The completion of these two tests - will give you a very good idea of the power and action differences in the rod as a full length rod and also as a trimmed rod - without actually trimming the blank.

Good luck

Brian

Try the tests suggested and see for yourself what the difference is. I would be very interested in what you find..

It takes more work to lift a given weight with a longer rod than a shorter rod.

As defined by physics.

Work = force X distance.

Power = work/time.

So it follows if time is constant then power is reduced with the shorter rod.

Since the blank is tapered and more rigid at the butt end I don't think the PERFORMANCE change is linear, cutting 10% off the BUTT may not result in a 10% change in performance.

Again the bottom line is to make the checks listed and decide for yourself if you will be happy with the shorter blank.


Good luck

John

Good luck

Thanks guys for all your help, I got a heck of a good deal on a couple of heavy rod blanks and I was going to make a frog rod out of one of them but the 7'11 was a little to long for what I'm used to using. I love the action and the power of the blanks and I didn't want to compromise either of these by cutting them down. I did what Tom and Roger suggested and it definitely seemed to change the power , I think I'm going to stick with the original length. Thanks for all your help and knowledge my friends, I love this forum.
P.S I can't believe I got advice from Tom I'm reading your rod building book right now. Your like the Michael Jordon of rod building!
Brian

hi Brian..i couldn,t agree more..

Brian, I know what you mean .... it is pretty cool when Tom gives you advice. lol

As far as you wanting to trim your blank goes. Normally I wouildn't suggest trimming a tip on a blank. Not that I am an expert about it, but because I have broken the tips on a couple of rods, and like most probably do, I just put another tip top on and kept fishing the rod. The two rods I did that on lost quite a bit of sensitivity. At least it sure seamed like they did. But you're talking a frog rod. And if its a dedicated frog rod, then sensitivity means absolutely zilch.

If you're still thinking about taking some length from those blanks, a butt and tip trim could end you up with a nice rod. Of course that depends on the presentation you use when fishing frogs. If you walk frogs (personally I rarely do) then a tip trim may not be a good idea because having a little tip action helps with walking them.

But if you're like me and pretty much only fish a frog over heavy matted vegetation, then not having a lively tip is of little consequence. Just something to think about ...

David,
If I have a sensitive rod on which the tip is broken off, I will generally take off another foot, and splice on a new tip with the same action and length as the original finished rod. Then, you still have an excellent rod, with little change in the appearance or fishing action.


Good luck