I agree with the try it and if you don't like it, don't do it Tom. I said that exact same thing at the end of my very first post in this thread.

As I have said in this thread and many others on the subject ..... if you think that adding weight to the butt of a rod to help achieve a balanced, or a specific degree of balanced rod and reel combination is a bad idea, or is a ridiculous thing to do .... that's fine.

If you're a build as light as you possibly can and let the balance fall where it may kind of person, that's fine too. I could build my flipping and pitching rods lighter in the guide train by using fewer running guides which because of the where running guides are located, increases the feeling of tip weight, but I use the number of guides I do for a reason. I followed a suggestion that Tom gave me not long after I first became a member of this site. I had mentioned that I boat flip fish, and he suggested that I may want to add some additional running guides to help protect the blank because of poor rod handling. I don't remember if he actually said poor rod handling, but I took his suggestion to heart, and I have followed that practice on every single rod I have built. Whether it be a personal rod, or a rod I have built for someone else

Anyhow ..... whenever the subject comes up of adding weight to the butt of a rod to balance a rod and reel combination, there are always suggestions of ways to avoid doing it, from those that think it's a bad idea. I'm not trying to avoid doing it. I do it for a reason. 3 of the 4 rods I've added weight to the butt were just fine to fish without adding weight. I added the weight to those rods to improve specific aspects of their performance. I add extra running guides to improve specific aspects of the rod's performance. I always see members saying that weight is the enemy of rod performance. I have always said that weight, if it has a purpose, can be a rod builder's friend.

Some need to realize that their, or someone else's definition of rod performance may not be what someone else's definition of rod performance is. It's no different than people having a different definition of what rod sensitivity is. Sensitivity isn't just one thing, it's many things. Rod performance isn't just one thing, it's many things.

That's all I got ....

I found the video I was talking about.

[youtu.be]

He was building a freshwater casting rod with a Shimano SLX.

You don't yet know if you will like the rod with weight added to the butt. Tape some on until you get the balance you think you want. Go fish with it for day. Then take the weights off and go fish with it for another day. At that point you'll know which you prefer. If you like it weighted for balance, install the weights permanently. If not, just take them off.

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

Ryan, that is pretty much how I do it as well. With one big difference, and a couple of smaller ones. First, the big difference is, I use a polyurethane arbor like those you use to mount some types of reel seats and mount my weights inside of it. If possible I use tungsten weights because they're smaller than lead weights. They're usually a little shorter, so they don't extend as far up the blank, and they're usually a smaller diameter, so there is more room between their OD and the blanks' ID. I just ream the arbor to accept the weights, and cut off the excess, then hand sand the outside of the arbor so it fits into the blank.

My thinking is, if I ever need to change the amount of weight, or take the weight out all together, it would be easier to use a pic and chip the arbor away, than it would be to pic out epoxy.

Another difference and it may be considered being picky, but I'm a picky kind of guy when it comes to certain things, but I always have the reel that will be used on the rod, full of line. The line may not weigh much, and with it being so close to the fulcrum it most likely makes no difference at all, but it's what I do. I also do one other thing that might seem picky, but I run line through the guides and then have about 15 - 20' of line stretched out off the tip of the rod. I'm trying to emulate actual fishing of a bait by doing this.

But yeah, I epoxy it inside the butt of the blank.

David...I'm guessing you already know about these...but in case you dont : [mudhole.com]

Chris, thanks for taking the time to post that link. And you're right, I did already know about them, and considered that one as well as a couple other similar weighted butts. Those are definitely a great idea because you can easily adjust the weight of them, and they're far easier to eliminate the weight if you so choose. Plus they look kind of cool. But ..... and I bet you knew that was coming lol ... I like having the rod look like it isn't modified.

I understand people that say my way of adding weight is a bad way of doing it, because of the potential problems it presents. And yes, because it extends further up the blank it takes a little more weight than it would if the weight were right at the butt, like that butt system is. But I'm ok with that.

Again, thank you for being considerate enough to take the time to post that link. I appreciate it.

No problem...
FWIW...Sometimes I will add some burl cork to a grip.
A plain cork ring weighs 1.6 grams and a burl ring weighs 4.1 grams. (this will vary)
Doing this now on some E-Glass rods I'm building.

Chris, I wouldn't have thought the difference between burl and natural cork would have been that much.

I have two rods built on NFC MB709 IM blanks. (love that blank) Both are weighted to tip light. One of them has a full length CFX rear grip that I built myself, that is 9 3/4" long. That rod has 2 oz added to the butt. The other rod I have built on that blank has 9 3/4" custom cork grip that I made myself. It has a substantial amount of rubberized cork in it. The grip itself, once reamed to fit the blank, weighs 3/4 oz on its' own. I only needed to add 1 oz to the butt of that rod to get it to mimick the other rod.

So yeah, different types of cork in a grip are in my estimation, a great way of adding weight, if someone feels that weight is needed.

Here is a link to a picture of the cork grip I mentioned. I hadn't done final shaping in that photo, nor did I have it reamed to fit the rod. [www.rodbuilding.org]

I build mostly NFC and Point Blank Bass rods.

All 7'-7'5" in length, ultra light guides Fuji lkw, carbon grips, ECS seats. Most rods weigh in sub 100-120 grams before I balance.

All of these rods no matter how short or long the handle have ever been "balanced" as is. They were all tip heavy.

I've let everyone feel them before and after putting tungsten putty in the butt cap. Usually takes 7-15 grams. My MB709 as David said, is extend 3" inside a NFC solid carbon grips, and it took 20g to not feel like a dog.

When I hand a balanced rod to someone the immediately pretended to Fence with it like a sword. The tip lightness is amazing. The rod disappears in your hand and the 15 gram difference is well worth it.

Tape a couple quarters to the butt of your rods and tell me they don't feel better in hand....

I noticed this weighing Dobyns production rods. His rods often feel so well balanced and light. Then I would weight them and be surprised the were 138-155 grams yet felt lighter in hand than my 115 gram rods....balance!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2023 09:35AM by Rob Carey.

Rob, I couldn't agree more with everything you said. It is definitely a the proof is in the pudding kind of thing for rods that are used exclusively for bottom contact baits.

You have to try it to believe it. And for me, after trying it, I will never go back.

By the way, if you want a convenient way to add weight convenienty and in the best location, try lead tape.

Lead tape is used industry wide to balance tennis rackets as well as golf clubs.

Essentially the last inch of rod blank at the butt of the rod is used to wrap on the lead tape.

Lead tape comes in various widths. I find that 1/2 inch widths is a convenient length to use.

Essentially, one uses a rear grip that has the last 1/2 inch or so of grip removed. Then, lead tape is wrapped on the outside of the blank to balance the rod. Leave enough space so that you can put a butt cap on the outside of the lead tape.

By adding weight this way, you get the maximum effect of the weight due to the longest balance length possible with the weight at the extreme end of the rod.

Please don't add weight up the inside of the rod. The available space for weight on the inside of the blank is compromised by the thickness of the blank. Also, the further you go up the blank, the lesser the effect of the weight added to the rod.

Many many years ago, when I first tried using weight, I added weight to get the rod to balance, and the weight was the full length of the rear grip. Yes, the rod balanced but the additional weight was awful. When I fished with this rod, I had a balanced rod, but it was SO heavy.

It didin't take long for me to remove all of the weight that I had placed on the inside of the rod blank. At that time, I vowed to never ever, ever, ever put weight on the inside of the blank.

Note:
Examples of lead tape in various widths:

[www.google.com]

Also, if you decide that you don't want the weight, remove the butt cap and simply unpeel the lead tape from the butt of the rod blank and replace it with masking tape and put the butt cap back on the rod.

Best wishes

I went back through some of my old posts to find a post where I did an experiment to measure the affect that adding weight to the butt of a rod, has on its' tip weight. If anyone is interested, here is a link to that post.

[www.rodbuilding.org]