TackleTour

Has anybody tried to take guides off of rods and replace with lighter guides or micros? I have some TD-S, L&T, Iaconelli rods that have very large guides. I know that heating up graphite can have devastating affects but wondered if anyone has tried it with success.

Yes it is done all the time. How else would you be able to replace a broken guide?
Heat the thread wrap with a lighter gently. Take a razor blade and laying it flat cut the threads ontop of the guide foot. Peel off the remaining threads and remove the remaining epoxy. You may need to use a very fine scotch brite pad to remove the epoxy. Work carefully as you dont want to mark up the finish nearby. Tape on new guide and rewarp .

I rewrap rods on a fairly regular basis.

You need to go well over 200° to start to damage a blank and its pretty easy to not get to that point.

The white 3m pads are great....throw a little heat at it, cut, peel the rest and I've used denatured alcohol and those white pads to get the remaining finish off, if it's absolutely necessary, a touch of acetone, but barely enough to get the job done.

Are there any rod builders/repairers that are recommended for this? If so, who and how does one get in contact with one? Thanks.

Check www.tackleworks.org for local listings. Hopefully someone close is listed.

Bear in mind that a rewrap voids your factory warranty.

Mattman wrote:Check http://www.tackleworks.org for local listings. Hopefully someone close is listed....

Or you could just PM Mattman.
I had him re-wrap my 802 GLX with spiral wrapped micro guides for me. He made a good rod great!

I fondled a 7'1" Steez Compile-X with micros on it. Completely different rod!

thanks guys