Butt joint too tight on Smith Meijin

[David Sharples]

Just bought a Smith WRC Meijin, seems very similar to Komodo Dragon but for European market. Really nice rod. Only thing is that the fit on the butt joint is very tight, I can't really get it it seat all the way in. Pretty sure if I force it it will stick.

Any ideas what to do? I'm loathe to take sandpaper to it in case I screw it up. What do you reckon?

[Brandon Khoo]

get some very fine sandpaper and sand it when wet. be very careful only to take a very thin layer off. That is all it takes. Make sure you wax the joint after sanding it.

[Chris Young]

I used a green kitchen scouring pad , only do very small amounts at a time so you don't over do it. Its also worth noting some (if not most) joins are not meant to be fully seated, you will find that over time they will slowly fit deeper. I only sanded just enough for me to get them apart without too many drama's. And as Brandon said "don't forget the wax"

Cheers Chris

[Greg Burt]

I'm glade to here you can do the sanding as my Zenaq still has 10-12mm of the but joint exposed, after seating, I wasn't worried it was more curiosity why it didn't fit.

[Brandon Khoo]

The Carpenters, particularly in their old models were never meant to be fully seated. I knew one person who sanded and sanded and still couldn't get them to fit! He's lucky his rods haven't blown up!

[David Sharples]

Cheers guys, after putting it together a few times it seems to have loosened up a bit but I reckon the first timer I use it somewhere hot it's going to stick.. Might just take a tiny bit off with wet and dry sandpaper just in case..

[Brandon Khoo]

David, take only very little off and after each day's fishing, separate the but from the rod.