Female play problem-needs a fix

I just finished up a graphite rod using a blank supplied by someone else and now noticed that there is "play" in the ferrule. The blank was marked F793-2DB which a web search indicates is a Forecast 7'9" 3 wt, 2 piece. The ferrule is the typical tip-over-butt, graphite-to-graphite, male to female connection. When assembled I can feel a slight amount of play inside the female ferrule, which I image will place some stress on the ferrule if not corrected. I can remove the play by placing a single wrap of Scotch Magic tape on the tip of the butt section. But, I don't think the tape would last very long and would like to get some ideas about a permanent fix. I thought about tying a thin layer of epoxy on the tip but I think it would be tough to get it even in that thin layer.
(I use the twist connection method, the ferrule is lubricated, I checked the female inside for glue or other buildup, none. I did notice, by feel, a step-down on the last 2 3/4" of butt tip section, so it may have been taped just a hair too much.)
So, I sure would apprecitate any thoughts on a better method to get a good fit.

First have you throughly checked the female ferrule for a hairline crack? If there is one present , there is a remedy for that fix. Second, If their is no crack present, I would apply a thin coat of flexcoat lite to the male end o make up the small difference. It can always be sanded if applied to heavily and smoothed out with acetone.........Ed

You might consider using Trondak U40 Perma-Gloss instead of epoxy. It is a one part urethane rod finish that goes on very thin, it has a consistency just a little thicker than water.

Most graphite ferrules are designed with a slight taper on the connecting parts, this means that the deeper the ferrule goes into the socket the tighter the fit. If this is the case with your rod something might be preventing the male end from seating correctly. You might try rubbing some chalk or colored grease pencil on the male end and see if you can figure out where it is binding. I have needed to fine tune the ferrule fit on some of the rods I built. You can do a lot of tuning with some very fine wet/dry sand paper, I used 1000 grit and 2000 grit papers followed by crocus cloth to polish. I found the finer grits at an auto body paint supplier.

I agree with Smernsky's comment, what you describe sounds a lot more like a cracked ferrule, or an out of round ferrule. Make sure you check this out completely before putting a heavy load on the rod. Casting with a cracked ferrule might do a lot of damage. If the ferrule doesn't seat well (ie. full contact on all surfaces) you can easily split the blank! Hair line cracks can be very hard to see.

If it is a crack it can be fixed with an over wrap of thread or a very thin layer of fiberglass cloth, then over wrapped with thread. I was able to find some very thin extra light fiberglass cloth at a hobby shop that sold model airplane supplies, the material was used for glassing airplane wings. They aslo had graphite cloth, but it was too stiff for this type of application.

Nylon or polyester thread has a lot of stretch, it may not be the best material for a repair, I have used kevlar thread or GPS thread for repairs successfully, I then over wrap with rod building thread to hide the ugly colors.

Ok, good job, you both may be right. Smernsky, I did find what looks to be either a hairline crack or an abrasion, can't really tell with my 10X hand lens. I already had a ferrule wrap on the female section and the crack/abrasion disappears under or near it. Right now I'm going with abrasion. I have it marked and will do some casting and see if it extends.

You know that step-down in taper I mentioned in the first post? Well, it actually is a bump about 1.5" long starting about 2" in from the male tip. It expands about .006" and it is stopping the female from sliding all the way into position. So, kengore, I will have to try the fine tuning with the 1000/2000 paper. The blank wall thickness is about .025" so seems I should have enought blank to work with. We'll see.

If you find no problem, a common fix for a loose ferrule on a tip over butt graphite to graphite is to remove a little of the open end of the tip ferrule by sanding the open end. Hold the tip ferrule vertically with the sandpaper on something solid and sand the lower end of the ferrule opening.

Put the rod in a lathe on slow speed and worked it down with wet/dry sand paper to proper taper, installed the tip and everything seems fine, so far. Thanks for the info. I probably wouldn't have attempted that without your advise.

Thank's for the update, I'm glad it worked out.