I have a couple of 8' Saltwater Blanks that I want to cut down to better fit my purposes, does anyone have any experience or tips when cutting blanks? One blank is graphite the other is fiberglass. Will the integrity of the remaining blank be affected by trimming 12" off the existing blanks?

Thanks,

Tom E.

A lot of things will change. Cutting from either the tip or butt will change the action. In most all cases it will become slower.

The blank will be stiffer if you trim from the tip, although it will not be stronger (you haven't changed the wall thickness, only the length). Trimming from the butt will take away some of the blank's power.

For cutting, use a "cut-off" wheel or three-sided file. You can use a jewler's saw but make sure it is very fine toothed and wrap some masking tape around the area of cut first. Whatever you do, you do not want to splinter the fibers that comprise the blank.

The only other thing I would add is to go easy on how much you remove. It's always possible to go back and take off a little more. Very hard to add any back on. And you'll find that removing even a couple inches can seriously change the blank's overall power, action and feel.

.......................................

Tom i Right,
Take a little of at a time and check the action after each take till you get it right. I use a small three sided file. It takes a little more time especialy on the butt. Its worth the extra time not screwing up the action completely
NEVER USE A PIPE CUTTER. A friend of mine decided to cut down a glass surf blank using a pipe cutter. Crushed the blank almost a foot above the cut!

Use a dremel tool with the cut off wheel. The same time it cuts, it also sands the edges so you don't wind up with shards of fiberglass cutting into your hand when you work with the blank.