Another quick question. I generally glue my butt cap on toward end of my build. Anyhow, a few times now when glueing up I've had the butt cap have a gap which I'm pretty sure is because everything is air tight and the air pressure pushes back... If I see it happening right away I can add some tape to hold things in place but if there is any excess glue sometimes that gets messy. Also been thinking of adding a pin hole to the butt cap so that the trapped air can be released. Also, thinking of just standing the rod vertically so the weight of the rod helps keep butt cap in place.

Seems to be worst when adding EVA butt cap to a Carbon Fiber grip.

Anyhow, just wondering if anyone has some pointers or solutions I am not thinking about.

The tip is the last thing I put on.

I build the complete seat/grip/butt knob first, so the tip is open. Never had this happen, but I think the reasoning that air pressure is involved is probably correct. One way to find out is to observe one that moves, then see if removing the tiptop changes things. Be sure it's not clogged by adhesive.

I keep a plastic capped message board pin on the bench,
and always make that pinhole before doing anything else with a butt cap.
Doesn't hurt to stand the rod up on the butt end after gluing up, helps everything stay in place.

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

I noticed the same thing on my very first build. I put 2 pieces of tape opposite of each other to fix it, and I've been doing the same thing ever since. As far as a potential problem with excess epoxy? That's easily avoided by simply applying the epoxy to the inside of the butt cap, instead of applying it to the tenon. Any excess epoxy is pushed up inside the butt cap.

I never glue on butt cap's , friction fit for me and it still takes a lot of force to remove it . The Fuji butt caps I prefer, (BRC) come with a small hole in the center .

I squeeze the sides of the butt cap while sliding it in place, this slight distortion provides a small gap to allow the trapped air to "burp" out, sometimes it may take one or two tries for the butt cap to stay in place.

Works for me.

The tip top is the first thing that I put on the rod. Reel seat and handle are aligned to it.
I have hypodermic needles I keep on hand. Just push one through the butt cap while glueing and air pressure is no longer a problem.
Norm

You can either have the tiptop or the butt cap attempt to move at some point due to trapped air. Just do what a few others have mentioned and push a pin into the end of the butt cap.

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