I've actually had to replace 3 tip tops this year. They weren't on flyrods but none the less had to be replaced. The reason? All 3 of them failed on the soldered joints holding them together. I simply grabbed the closest size tiptop and some hot glue and was back in business after romoving what was left of the old ones. All three of these rods were built in the early '70s! :)
Gary -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Preston Singletary Sent: Friday, October 29, 2004 3:21 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Rod Building: hot glue One very important reason for wanting to be able to remove a tip guide is the possibility of wear or some other form of damage. A badly worn or grooved tip guide can chew up a flyline in no time flat. On a couple of occasions I've had tip guides that wore much faster than I would have thought reasonable. One was a rod I'd built myself and the other was one I had received for a product review. In both cases I opted to replace the tip myself. Either the old-fashioned melting cements (like Pflueger Bulldog) or epoxy can be softened with a little heat and the tip easily pulled off. Just be careful not to use excessive heat which may damage the epoxy resin in the rod itself. I usually use a loop of string (to avoid burning my fingers) through the tip guide, and pass the barrel of the tip guide back and forth quickly over an alcohol lamp while pulling gently on the loop. As soon as the cement (or epoxy) softens, the tip guide will slide off.
