Hi all. I am wondering which characteristic am I changing if I cut off 6" or more off a rod? Power or Action? Correct me if I'm wrong, power is in terms of light, medium, or heavy and action is slow, mod or fast?

So for example if I cut off 6" from a 9ft medium fast rod, does that turn into an 8'6" medium mod-fast or 8'6" medium light fast? Any thoughts or input would be appreciated! Thanks!

You affect both when you trim a blank. There is a good article in the new RodMaker that details what happens when you trim from tip, butt or both. An illustration is used to depict each scenario.

In any case, trimming always results in a slower action. Speed is generally increased. Power may be reduced if you trim from the butt, but overall power remains mostly the same if you trim from the tip, while possibly increasing casting lure weight range.

Terms like "Mod-fast" and "Medium Light" are subjective to begin with. Without numbers to back them up, they mean very little. But again, action will become slower if you trim anything from either end.

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

Sid,
I have trimmed many many blanks go get the exact rod needed for a given purpose.

About 95% of the time I will do all of the trimming from the butt of the blank.

Many of the rods that I build are for Walleye fishing - which generally require a very flexible soft tip for bite detection. In many rods, trimming anything from the tip can result in a much stiffer tip that causes one to lose the bite detection that a softer tip will give.

However, now and then, I need a blank with a heavier tip to handle a particular fishing style, or bait. In that case, I will trim from the tip, but generally only in 1/4 inch increments or so. On many blanks the removal of any length at all can drastically alter the performance and or use of a given blank.

Good luck

Tom, would you clarify ". . .trimming always results in a slower action. Speed is generally increased." Can't get my mind around that, so I'm missing something.

[www.tacklewarehouse.com]

Read the article and check out the pictures. The link contains the information to answer the question about rods power, speed and action. -- also how the numbers change when the rod is made less long.

Be safe

Action is where the blank initially flexes. No matter what percentage initially flexes as supplied, trimming it from either end will increase that percentage. Thus the action becomes slower.

Speed is reaction and recovery time. All else being equal, when you make a blank shorter, the frequency will usually increase, resulting in an increase in speed.

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

roger wilson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> [www.tacklewarehouse.com]
> n.html
>
> Read the article and check out the pictures. The
> link contains the information to answer the
> question about rods power, speed and action. --
> also how the numbers change when the rod is made
> less long.
>
> Be safe


The illustration on that site depicting action is incorrect. It is from an old illustration put out by a blank maker many, many years ago showing a fast action blank flexed to greater and greater degrees. It does not depict different actions.

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

It seems to me a lot would depend on what end of the blank was cut off ??

rog

Not in terms of Action or Speed. Cutting from either end, or both, will result in a slower action and quicker speed.

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

Lots of good info from Tom. I agree with Roger. Best to buy the blank you need rather that cut a blank. So many options these days it shouldn't be hard to find the one you need. Good luck.

Michael,
I like to build on one series of blanks. In the series - there are plenty of blanks to cover the rod building needs that I have. However, from time to time, I need to make a blank longer or shorter to satisfy a particular clients request.
So, I either chop the butt of the rod to make the rod shorter, or add material to the blank and hide it in the grip to make the rod longer.

Be safe

I totally get it Roger. I've done the same with surf rods. Mainly cut the butt to shorten but I do everything I can to guide the customer into buying the length they want. Ive cut the tip of a few rods to make fluke bucktailing rods but again I'm always looking for blanks that fit the build so I don't have to do that. It's a last resort for me. I appreciate the response. Best, Mike

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You affect both when you trim a blank. There is a
> good article in the new RodMaker that details what
> happens when you trim from tip, butt or both. An
> illustration is used to depict each scenario.
>
> In any case, trimming always results in a slower
> action. Speed is generally increased. Power may be
> reduced if you trim from the butt, but overall
> power remains mostly the same if you trim from the
> tip, while possibly increasing casting lure weight
> range.
>
> Terms like "Mod-fast" and "Medium Light" are
> subjective to begin with. Without numbers to back
> them up, they mean very little. But again, action
> will become slower if you trim anything from
> either end.
>
> ................
I read the Article showed from Tom (wrote from Capt. Mike Ballard), it is a great article and has clarify in me some aspect to trim blank's. I had a problem to undestand about the use of tools to predict how much change the results. More precisely, I can't translate (according to the meaning of what to do) the second method that Mike suggests, can someone help me by explaining it in different words?
Sorry but these are the limits imposed by the language!
Thank you very much for all the help you want to offer me.

Thank you for your support
Marco Cellini

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You affect both when you trim a blank. There is a
> good article in the new RodMaker that details what
> happens when you trim from tip, butt or both. An
> illustration is used to depict each scenario.
>
> In any case, trimming always results in a slower
> action. Speed is generally increased. Power may be
> reduced if you trim from the butt, but overall
> power remains mostly the same if you trim from the
> tip, while possibly increasing casting lure weight
> range.
>
> Terms like "Mod-fast" and "Medium Light" are
> subjective to begin with. Without numbers to back
> them up, they mean very little. But again, action
> will become slower if you trim anything from
> either end.
>
> ................
I read the Article showed from Tom (wrote from Capt. Mike Ballard), it is a great article and has clarify in me some aspect to trim blank's. I had a problem to undestand about the use of tools to predict how much change the results. More precisely, I can't translate (according to the meaning of what to do) the second method that Mike suggests, can someone help me by explaining it in different words?
Sorry but these are the limits imposed by the language!
Thank you very much for all the help you want to offer me.

Thank you for your support
Marco Cellini