this is probably a stupid question, but I have a custom saber and the top guide keeps coming loose. i've tried superglue and epoxy and it still won't hold. any suggestions?

thanks for the help...

Very common on the "new" (Pac Bay style) Sabres. The tip is a half sized one, about a 7-1/2.

You could try a few things. You could cut the tip back slightly so it takes a full 8 snugly, if the rest of your guide spacings aren't too affected. You could build up the tip section with thread. Or you could try what the guy at #^&#^&#^&#^&'s Tackle on MV did when my "Sabre by Pac Bay" (since sold) had the same problem--he scraped some of the gelcoat off, saying this would allow the glue to get a better grip. It worked, at least for the remainder of time I owned the rod. Of course, the net effect was that he may have reduced the size of the tip enough that a size 7 then fit :huh:

thanks again for the help Mike. i'll try shaving it down like you said.....

Clean off all the old stuff from the blank and the tip. If you can'tget the gunk out of the old tip , buy a new tip. Leave the blank with a finsih that is slightly roughened by like 400 or 600 grit sandpaper. Everything must be clean. Skin oil or any kind of wax etc will prevent a good bond between the metal of the tip tube and the blank.

After you get ALL the old crap off , clean the blank tip area only and the inside of the tube with acetone. Be carefull not to get the acetone all over the blank or it could ruin the finish on the rest of the balnk.

If the tip has to be just oversize do to availability , wrap the tip with plain nylon thread. Coat the thread with epoxy , heat a little to be sure its all soaked into the thread wrap and down to the blank. Drip a couple of drops of epoxy into the tube of the tip. Stck in a toothpick and swirl it around so all the inside is wet with the eopxy. Put the tip on over the thread/epoxy on the blank. There should have been enough epoxy inside the tip so it squeezes out the hole on the end of the tip. Wipe it all clean and let it just start to gel up. At that point , be sure the tip is perfectly aligned with the rest of the guides then completely leave it alone while it sets up hard.

I use 5 minute epoxy for the tip epoxy mentioned above. That means you have to have everything clean and ready to go before you mix the epoxy , 5 minutes goes by very fast.

wow, thanks for the in-depth response. haven't got around to it yet, but i'll be sure to report back...