Is it possible to repair an Abu Garcia rod tip that is fused onto the rod?

[basshunterman9]

I currently own an Abu Garcia Pro Max 7 foot rod. The inner plastic ring to my rod tip recently fell off during fishing and was lost. I've attached what it currently looks like. I would like to buy the Fuji rod repair kit, but from what I understand it is for rods where the tip can come off with a bit of heating. The rod tip I have  appears to be fused on without a clear separation. Is this rod tip replaceable? I contacted Abu Garcia and they told me to drill the rod in half for a warranty replacement, which I feel bad about, because it is only the plastic ring that is missing. 

 

 

 

 

[kenmitch]

Isn't it bent? Optical illusion?

[MickD]

The guide rings are ceramic; plastic isn't hard enough.  The tube and legs of the tiptop are probably stainless steel and the tube part of it is either hot melt adhesive attached or epoxied on.  If it is hot melt it is easy and low risk to SLIGHTLY heat the tube with a butane lighter or similar heat source and pull it off.  The best way is to put a string through the eye and provide tension when heating so the tiptop will come off when the hot melt melts and you won't overheat the blank.

If it does not come off easily, with little heat, then it is epoxied and will require a lot of care and a degree of skill to get it off.  I would recommend hiring it done by a pro builder.  Won't be expensive.  

 

Bottom line is that with an epoxied tiptop the amount of heat required to get it off and the amount of heat that will damage the blank are very close together.  Easy to over heat.

2 minutes ago, kenmitch said:

Isn't it bent? Optical illusion?

Yes, it probably got bent after the ring came out or bent during the event that knocked the ring out.  It has to be replaced.

[Deleted account]

They want you to destroy that rod because the tip insert came off? That's just Pure (fishing) nonsense!

Your tip isn't "fused" to the rod. It is heat glued to the blank, the shinny clear coat that looks like epoxy is rod finish, it (and sometimes matching thread) is used to form a seamless seal and cosmetics. It is a simple repair that you or a shop can do easily. The tip will come off if you heat it, or you can scrape off the finish with a razor or hobby knife. 

[WRB]

The Abu rods are made off shore without quality control, the user provides that. It's less expensive for Abu to scrap the rod then fix it at a cost about $7 plus shipping. The proper method to fix a tip guide to the rod blank is guide glue that melts at lower temper then affects the rod. Expozy isn't easy to heat and remove the guide. 

As suggested above take the to a local fishing tackle shop and ask if they have the proper tip guide and cost to replace the damaged guide.

Good customer service should send you the guide and a authorized repair service to install it aligned properly.

Tom

[HazeRVA]

Hey, at least you got a response. I submitted a question through their website about 3 weeks ago and never got a response. Luckily I still had the ceramic insert, so I just epoxied it back in being very careful to not get the epoxy inside the eye where the line runs.

[SmallBlockMuscle]

Same thing happened to my brand new Vendetta. Their response to me is MIA, did you call or email?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

They're easy to call direct. My guess is that the epoxy you see is just finish. Once that comes off, the tip top itself is most likely hot glued. You just need to be careful not to damage the blank getting the finish epoxy off. Gentle heat (no more than you can handle barehanded) and scraping. 

[Dirtyeggroll]

I do not recommend trying to heat the rod tip yourself. It is very easy to ruin the tip of the rod and turn it rubber like. I tried to get the tip off of a Dobyns Champion and the when I warmed it the tip just fell over limp and the guide was still attached.

 

Its usually pretty cheap to have a tackle shop do it.

[LionHeart]

3 hours ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

I do not recommend trying to heat the rod tip yourself. It is very easy to ruin the tip of the rod and turn it rubber like. I tried to get the tip off of a Dobyns Champion and the when I warmed it the tip just fell over limp and the guide was still attached.

 

Its usually pretty cheap to have a tackle shop do it.

This.  Last quote I got from a shop was 12 bucks.  Kinda a no brainer.

[Matt954]

Don’t use heat. Simply use a small metal filer and grind the metal rod tip until you get a hairline fracture then pry it open and pull off. Production rods use adhesives with a higher melting point than the rod blank. Basically you will destroy the rod before the tip top gets hot enough to remove. Good luck. 

[jbsoonerfan]

57 minutes ago, Matt954 said:

Don’t use heat. Simply use a small metal filer and grind the metal rod tip until you get a hairline fracture then pry it open and pull off. Production rods use adhesives with a higher melting point than the rod blank. Basically you will destroy the rod before the tip top gets hot enough to remove. Good luck. 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Hopefully he has it taken care of since it has been 21 months since this was posted.

[jbsoonerfan]

1 hour ago, BaitFinesse said:

Drill a rod in half? 

LOL! Cut, drill, what's the difference?  

[basshunterman9]

Thanks for all your comments, I ended up fixing the tip and the rod worked for about 1 month. Then the entire rod snapped in half while I had a large striper on the end. I told Abu Garcia about it and they replaced my rod with a vendetta model. Then the top eyelet ring of the vendetta came off after 2 months, I was extremely careful with it and it just popped out one day while I was jigging.

 

I ended up buying a different casting rod from a different brand at a much higher price and haven't had any issues since.