copper rod

[BAA]

I have dome 7 foot rods for copper but the top eye insert keeps falling out its two small I like the 7 foot rod for storage as my boat is smaller okuma makes a copper rod but it is 8'6" has anybody changed out the first eye to a bigger stainless eye for the knot to go through or know of a 7' rod for copper

[dick black]

yes, I have changed lots of tip eyes. They are available from Bass Pro, Cabelas, maybe even your local bait and tackle shop. You can carefully heat your existing tip and remove it, clean the end of the tip, select the correct size tip for replacement, and I use arrow knock cement to fasten the new tip. Most tip replacement set will even come with its own cement.  Good luck

[bigblue]

Shimano 7ft Talora lead core copper rod . Tough as heck been running them for several years.

[John E Powell]

Some tips in changing a tip. 

 

Apply indirect heat from a flame. Work quickly. The goal is to heat the metal very quickly, without cooking the rod blank inside the tip. The epoxy used to bind the fibers of the blank can be softened by heat that is allowed to soak from the metal guide into the rod blank. 

 

Be Ready with a pair of needle nose pliers. Grab the metal with the pliers, apply the heat and slide it off without twisting or rotating the tip. Some manufacturers use 5-minute epoxy instead of rod tip cement to adhere the tip. These are challenging to get off without damaging the blank. 

 

Here's an important tip. If you don't get it off with the first heating, don't reheat it and try again. You should dip the metal tip in a glass of ice water to cool the rod blank inside the metal tip. Once cooled try this procedure again. repeat the entire heating/cooling as many times as needed to get the tip off.

 

Installing a new tip. There are lots of adhesives out there. Most will work. Some better than others. The problem is, unless you know it has a very similar melting point to rod tip cement, you just kicking a potential problem down the road if you have to replace the replacement tip some day.

 

Get yourself a stick of Flex Coat brand rod tip cement. It will last a lifetime of tip changes and the cost is only a few bucks.

 

Here's something that clearly shows the best practice at installing a new tip: