Balancing a rod

[Sbaird091]

I’m fairly new to rod building and am currently building a flipping stick. I want the rod to be perfectly balanced. How is everyone adding weight to the butt of the rod internally? not using one of those bulky counterbalance kits.

[basscatcher8]

When you say flipping stick do you mean 8' heavy action flipping or do you mean a 7' to 7'3" or 7'6" MH flipping/pitching? The former your going to have a harder time getting enough weight in the butt and still might need one of those caps. The shorter rods I listed I will usually slide a half ounce drop shot weight in the butt before I glue the butt cap on. Of course I put the reel on and test the fit and balance before gluing solid. But it works for me.

 

Your going to get a million different views on this since its one of those "hot button" issues. I like how the rod feels with the weight added. A lot of guys will say your crazy for buying an expensive blank and adding weight.

[grub_man]

My thoughts on balancing rods are this:

1. If you must add weight, it must not alter the handle length.  If I wanted a longer handle, I would have built a longer handle.

2. Add weight at the extreme butt of the rod.

3. Do not just shove weight inside the blank.  You will need to add much more weight this way, as the center of mass of the added weight moves forward the deeper in the blank it goes.

4. If you can't get enough weight in a counterbalance weight hidden under the butt cap, use lead tape wrapped around the outside of the blank, and build it up the largest OD you can get away with before moving up the rod.

 

Why weight on the outside?  Take two grips with the same shape and mass.  On one grip, ream out the grip some amount.  On the other turn it down the same amount.  Which one reduces its mass the most?  When adding weight, it is the reverse.  You get more bang for your buck adding weight with a larger OD.

 

 

 

How I prefer to do it.

 

What I do if I want to balance a rod is to mount a tee nut in the butt of the rod blank.

 

Using a wood block and a threaded rod, I'll make as big of a lead weight as I can fit into the butt cap.  Drill a pilot hole for the threaded rod.  Then bore out a hole the ID of your butt cap.  Screw the threaded rod into the wood block and pour your own cylindrical weight.  This will add as much weight as you can to the butt of the rod where you want it the most.

 

If I need more weight, I use lead tape (found in golf supplies) wrapped around the blank starting at the butt.  You will need to bore out your grip material to cover the tape.

 

On the rod in the attached images, it is shown with steel washers rather than the lead weight (a little prettier than my lead weight).  There is lead tape behind the tee nut.  I mixed some cork dust with the rod bond when I slid the butt grip into place, so the lead tape is hidden away.  Once the butt cap is epoxied into place, no one will ever know that the rod had weight added to it.

 

 

[basscatcher8]

Thats actually pretty cool. Think I'll try it on a future build. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

If the guide train and grip are well thought out, you shouldn't have to add a lot. The advice to add to the very end outside the blank is good. Lead or better yet tungsten will give you the most weight/mass ratio. All said, I can't help but say I'm in the zero added weight camp, but custom is just that. Do it your way!

[WRB]

Using the lightest state of the art blank, reel seat, handle materials, guide train and the adding weight is counter productive IMO. Balance the components during the rod build cycle.

When you add a reel, line, tie on a lure and fish, that is when balance should matters.

Tom

[Sbaird091]

On 4/24/2018 at 9:42 AM, basscatcher8 said:

When you say flipping stick do you mean 8' heavy action flipping or do you mean a 7' to 7'3" or 7'6" MH flipping/pitching? The former your going to have a harder time getting enough weight in the butt and still might need one of those caps. The shorter rods I listed I will usually slide a half ounce drop shot weight in the butt before I glue the butt cap on. Of course I put the reel on and test the fit and balance before gluing solid. But it works for me.

 

Your going to get a million different views on this since its one of those "hot button" issues. I like how the rod feels with the weight added. A lot of guys will say your crazy for buying an expensive blank and adding weight.

It’s gonna be a 7’6” MH flipping and pitching rod. A St.Croix SCV blank, Fuji ecsm reel seat, Fuji sic or alconite guides and Eva split grip. I had thought about putting a weight in the butt like you mentioned and I also have a role of lead strip about 1.5” wide I thought about wrapping under the rear grip I just wasn’t sure it was the proper way of going about it. 

[spoonplugger1]

At what position are you going to balance the rod? To my way of thinking it should be the position you're going to fish. See lots of people balance to the horizontal where the rod's balance is naturally at it's worst, than fish it closer to the vertical where the rod's balance point is the distance horizontally measured between the tip's position and your hand. Makes the need for far less weight to get the job done.

Second thought, just how much do you have to do to a rod that is fishing a short line? Just what about Mr Bucket Mouth are you not going to feel that's different?

Third thought that we custom rod builders ask? By how much? If you messing about, spending time doing all these extra steps, how much better is the rod really going to be? Can you really feel a difference, or should you just build the rod as light as you can and go fish it? I follow the light rod side of things, I have fished both and I can't say the balanced rod was any advantage, and I know from building identical rods, the custom way I learned from many others vs what you see on the rack, there is a huge difference to be had in balance and pitching performance by thinking outside the box.

[BobP]

Personally, I’m not gonna fish a tip heavy flipping stick when I can balance it out perfectly by weighting the butt.  Does it weigh more?  Of course, but a balanced rig is less tiring to use and transmits info better to my hand.  I’d rather not add weight to a rod if I can avoid it but lifting a 6 oz rod instead of a 4 oz rod is inconsequential on a flipping stick. I say try it in a temporary configuration.  If you find it’s worse than unweighted, change it back