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Isotopes

Lee Backshall

Lee Backshall

Active Member
I have my isotopes stood up on my rod tip classic style....if you will.
Have seen some that are fixed with shrink tube flat to the blank.
I'm after feedback if I should go flat to the blank or not.
Cheers
Lee
 
Probably a stupid question. How do you trap the isotope with shrink tubing - remove tip ring? I’d ideally like 2 far enough apart to create a comparable reference point.
 
In the past I did my rods with isotopes flat, take off tip ring then shrink wrap isotope in place before refitting tip ring. Sounds a lot of faff but really quite straightforward. I'm now using the clip on LED tip lights from Temu, much easier and a heck of a lot brighter than isotopes.
 
Lee Backshall said:
Did you remove your top eyes or had them whipped on?
Click to expand...
They were put on at the stage that the were being built
It’s a professional builder job which were both shrunk on whipped and sealed
IMG_6863.jpeg
IMG_6866.jpeg
 
Richard Isaacs said:
They were put on at the stage that the were being built
It’s a professional builder job which were both shrunk on whipped and sealed View attachment 32403View attachment 32404
Click to expand...
Nice job!

Dave Lumb did an article in his blog with something vey similar. I bought the white and clear shrink tubes but never got round to doing it.

It's the whipping that puts me off doing it, that aspect of the job can the difference between a really nice job as in your pic or a bit of a mess.
 
Apart from the need to remove the tip ring for attaching isotopes in this 'along the rod' fashion, there is another factor to consider. I bought some isotopes 2 or 3 years back, various sizes, and almost all of them are now so dim as to be virtually useless. My point being, taking a tip ring off is an awful lot of faff if it will need redoing in 2 oy 3 years time....unless there are some isotopes available with mega long life spans?
 
David Gauntlett said:
Apart from the need to remove the tip ring for attaching isotopes in this 'along the rod' fashion, there is another factor to consider. I bought some isotopes 2 or 3 years back, various sizes, and almost all of them are now so dim as to be virtually useless. My point being, taking a tip ring off is an awful lot of faff if it will need redoing in 2 oy 3 years time....unless there are some isotopes available with mega long life spans?
Click to expand...
You must of got a bad or old batch of isotopes David. I’ve got them on my rods ranging from 2-9 years. The torrixs in my picture were built in 2019 so that’s 5 years and they are as bright as the day they went on.
It’s pot luck with isotopes because you don’t know how long they’ve been stored.

The ones on my rods are korda 25x3 and they state a half life of 10-15 years.
I don’t mind that at all. A decade out of a set is well worth doing. So hassle free. No battery’s to charge or snap lights to change.

Regarding replacement it’s actually pretty easy. You don’t need to remove the guide if it’s something like a 6-8mm ring.
You can buy shrink tube with a shrink ratio of 4:1. This should comfortably go over the tip guide and shrink down neatly.
 
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