Hi Guy's,
I have a 15 kg standup rod that I am slowly working on. It has the rear grip,seat and foregrip on.Now should I proceed by putting the tip on and then put the gimbal on last after all wrapping and epoxy? Also what epoxy for tip? Is handle paste ok or use a normal 5min epoxy?If putting the gimbal on last does it need a small hole drilled in the bottom to allow air pressure to escape.I have read about people doing that when putting on the ferrule on a uni butt.I am wrapping by hand so I don't have to worry about a gimbal slipping in a chuck if that makes a difference.
Tight lines Scott.

There is always the possibility that air can be trapped in the rod shaft and push the gimbal or tiptop off during cure. I have heard of rare cases where one of the other parted with a "bang" after many year of use - owing to pressure inside the blank on a hot day and many seasons of use that weakened the epoxy bond holding the item in place. Again, I have heard of such a thing, but not experienced it personally.

So, by all means put a small hole in the end of the gimbal. If nothing else it eases the installation process.

I prefer any of the nice gel type epoxies. The 5 minute variety can be a quality type and be quite strong, but the short working life tends to make me a bit nervous when installed heavy duty components that might take me a couple minutes to properly align.

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Thanks Tom.