butt extenders?
toothycritter88
Posted 9/24/2012 6:35 PM (#586845)
Subject: butt extenders?





My MI bulldawg rod seems like the.butt is too short for my likings. Do they make some sort of screw on extension for musky rods?
RyanJoz
Posted 9/24/2012 8:37 PM (#586872 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?




Posts: 1716


Location: Mt. Zion, IL
take it to a local rod builder. He will be able to set you up. The only way I know of to lengthen a rod easily that I know of is to add a balancer.
tundrawalker00
Posted 9/24/2012 8:56 PM (#586880 - in reply to #586872)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?




Posts: 504


Location: Ludington, MI
Have you checked out the Cush-It products? They look goofy, but they extend the butt and they'll actually float a rod if your kid drops it. Someday I'll forgive him...

http://www.lunaseasports.com/
toothycritter88
Posted 9/24/2012 9:16 PM (#586885 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?





Do they make like a 3-4 in balancer?
MartinTD
Posted 9/25/2012 6:23 AM (#586944 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?





Posts: 1141


Location: NorthCentral WI
Bob Turgeon had an article in Musky Hunter a year or two ago that explained the whole process. I extended 2 of my rod handles approximately 4" but I did not exactly follow his directions. Read the article, understand the important parts, and go from there.
toothycritter88
Posted 9/25/2012 9:52 AM (#586983 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?





Is it online or would I have to find the magazine?
BALDY
Posted 9/25/2012 10:02 AM (#586986 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?




Posts: 2378


It is simple.

Get a wood dowel and some cork rings.
Cut off the butt cap from your rod.
Insert and epoxy the dowel into the blank...you may have to sand the dowel a little to get it in far enough...I usually went at least 4 inches...be generous with the epoxy.
Ream the cork rings out so they fit over the dowel and epoxy them in place.
Let the epoxy on the cork rings set and sand them smooth to match the profile of the handle.
Cut the excess dowel length off and add a butt cap.
Done
MartinTD
Posted 9/25/2012 10:02 AM (#586987 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?





Posts: 1141


Location: NorthCentral WI
The article is embedded in this thread.

http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=69... handle&highlightmode=1#M527549


Like Baldy said, go a minimum of 4" with the wooden dowel. If you are throwing any kind of large lures the amount of leverage that is put on the "new" extension while casting can be enough to split the end of your blank. It has not happened to me with any of my extensions but did happen with a different removable handle rod I had. So... at least 4" is highly recommended and make sure the dowel fits fairly tight. The cork rings I had ended up looking like butt so I got a couple pieces of large heat shrink tube from the hardware store (like 1.5-2.5" size, the stuff with hot glue inside of it too.) Melted those one with a wooden disc on the very end and they turned out awesome. More comfortable than cork IMO and fits the hand perfect. I'll see if I can get a couple pics up.

toothycritter88
Posted 9/25/2012 10:27 AM (#586998 - in reply to #586987)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?





Ok thanks guys. Yea I'd like to see some pictures if you could.
toothycritter88
Posted 9/25/2012 10:37 AM (#587003 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?





So could I basically get a solid piece of wood and just drill a hole 4"+ in the center, epoxy it to where I shaved off the existing cork and not have to plug the end?so its completely solid and not have a hole going all the way through?
BALDY
Posted 9/25/2012 12:09 PM (#587019 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?




Posts: 2378


not sure what you are asking here...

the dowel needs to be epoxied into the inner diameter of the blank...not the other way around
toothycritter88
Posted 9/25/2012 12:15 PM (#587020 - in reply to #587019)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?





I'm so lost. Lol I guess I don't understand what has to be done.
toothycritter88
Posted 9/25/2012 12:22 PM (#587022 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: RE: butt extenders?





This is the handle I want to extend. I'm not real sure how rods are made that's probably why I don't get it. This is a pic I took a while ago. I'm at work so I'm not in front of it. How big of a piece of oak should I use?


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BALDY
Posted 9/25/2012 1:02 PM (#587030 - in reply to #587022)
Subject: RE: butt extenders?




Posts: 2378


toothycritter88 - 9/25/2012 12:22 PM This is the handle I want to extend. I'm not real sure how rods are made that's probably why I don't get it. This is a pic I took a while ago. I'm at work so I'm not in front of it. How big of a piece of oak should I use?


Cut off the butt cap...the very end of the rod...far right side in your picture.  

You should be able to see the hollow blank once that is gone.

Measure the inner diameter of the blank and go to Menards and get a wood dowel as close to that diameter as you can.  They usually come in 2-4 foot lengths

Sand/taper the dowel so you can insert about 4 inches of it into the blank, and then epoxy the dowel into the inner diameter of the blank.

Now, you will have a bare wood dowel sticking out the end of your rod.

In order to match up the handles you will want to get some cork rings.  You will need to drill a hole in the center of the cork rings in order to slide them on the dowel.  Epoxy them on the dowel and then sand to make your handle extension blend in with the original handle.

If you don't to go with cork rings you can also just wrap the dowel in electrical tape to match the diameter of the original handle and then put some heat shrink over it to clean it up.  It isn't as pretty, but it will get the job done.

Sorry, but I never took pics of the process when I did it so I don't have any to share.  If you can find the issue of Musky Hunter mentioned above Bob did a nice job of documenting the process.

 

toothycritter88
Posted 9/25/2012 1:11 PM (#587032 - in reply to #587030)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?





Ok. I'm picking up what you're throwing down now. Does the hardware store sell cork rings too?
BALDY
Posted 9/25/2012 1:23 PM (#587036 - in reply to #587032)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?




Posts: 2378


toothycritter88 - 9/25/2012 1:11 PM Ok. I'm picking up what you're throwing down now. Does the hardware store sell cork rings too?



No.  You will need to get those from a rod builder.  Thorne Brothers or Mudhole (mudhole.com) has them
Rebel9921
Posted 9/25/2012 1:24 PM (#587037 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?




Posts: 203


Location: Minnesota
Exactly what I did to my 7' Jerkbait rod... I saved the syncork from another rod that broke... and just simply followed Bob's instruction which is exactly the same as Baldy's... Now I have a 7'6 Jerkbait rod, the last 6 inches being a 1.5" Syncork and I love it!!!

Thats the wonderful thing about modifying rods yourself... You can make it any way you want it...

What I did was get a round rasp file and rasped away on the inside of the rod before applying epoxy then inserting the dowel... It only took me about a hour to get everything done and that included sanding down the dowel, rasping the inside of the rod... and the handle...
toothycritter88
Posted 9/25/2012 1:47 PM (#587045 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?





So if I want I can order whatever colors and style I want and do the whole handle? And then get a buttcap for it?
BALDY
Posted 9/25/2012 2:21 PM (#587051 - in reply to #587045)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?




Posts: 2378


toothycritter88 - 9/25/2012 1:47 PM So if I want I can order whatever colors and style I want and do the whole handle? And then get a buttcap for it?


Kind of...

Putting cork on a handle is generally done from the tip, not the butt.  You can get away with it when doing an extension, but redoing the entire handle will take a little more know how and care.  I have never done that
ARmuskyaddict
Posted 9/25/2012 2:37 PM (#587057 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?





Posts: 2024


Try wrapping it with a tennis grip wrap if the cork doesn't work.
toothycritter88
Posted 9/25/2012 2:39 PM (#587058 - in reply to #587051)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?





Oh okay. Ill just see if I can find cork to kinda match what I got because ill probably only extend it 6" so that's not much cork.
Guest
Posted 9/25/2012 2:39 PM (#587059 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: RE: butt extenders?


i used the small 6" screw in handles from T.I. rods to extend handle on 3 different rods. i screwed them in right through the butt and epoxied them in then duct taped duct taped. over that i used rod wrap to make them look good.. o problems. most people don't use those 6" handles anyway and i am sure james has some laying around.
zombietrolling
Posted 9/25/2012 4:50 PM (#587083 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?




Posts: 246


I've extended two rods by 4-5"s by using a piece of a another rod using the idea of dowel method reference above. I used a length of a cheap fishing rod long enough to go under the reel seat and used rings of masking tape to make it fit firmly against the inside of the blank I'm extending. Then an abundance of epoxy to hold it in. One rods been abused for a few seasons now for both muskie and stripers and still kicking. The other I throw pounders with and it's lasted this season without a hiccup.
Kirby Budrow
Posted 9/25/2012 6:43 PM (#587101 - in reply to #586845)
Subject: Re: butt extenders?





Posts: 2325


Location: Chisholm, MN
Just have thorne bros do it! Same problem with the same rod and they made it perfect