"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
On high quality rods you can usually remove them by heating the metal tube
and pulling the tip off the rod. On many cheap rods the tip of the rod
melts when you try to get metal hot enough to get the tip off hte rod.

Any rod blank will melt if enough heat is applied, it doesn't matter what
the quality of the blank is. The trick is to apply a pulling/twisting
motion as the heat is applied. Then you can be assured that you haven't
heated the tip too much.

Chris, the insert in the guide is definitely needed and if you've been
fishing with the insert missing, you'd better check your line to make sure
that it hasn't been chewed up by the damaged tip.

You should be able to buy new tips at just about any sporting goods store,
and usually tip replacement can be done while you wait. DON'T fish the rod
until the repair is made.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com