Titanium Carbide Guide swap

[Southcoast Bassin]

What does it typically cost to have a skilled rod builder take off old guides and replace them with Titanium Carbide Guides on a 7ft rod ?

[TomM]

I build and repair my own rods now but before I did it was $15 to $20 per guide.

Tom

[Southcoast Bassin]

What does each guide cost you now ?

[ECobb91]

It all depends on the builder and cost of guides. The average cost I’ve seen is $10-$15 for install plus the cost of the guide itself . Also have to consider if you want micro guides or a standard guide size.. as that will affect cost too

[willwork4fish]

I charge $25 to strip and $10/guide to wrap plus the guide cost. Stripping a rod can be a pain in the ass depending on the brand...St. Croix's are easy, they usually strip themselves...

[Spoonplugger1]

Titanium carbide isn't a material per se like SiC, it is a vapor coating put on other materials, usually stainless steel frames and zirconia ceramic rings. In essence another form of coloring. Titanium alloys are used to make guide frames, if you want a springy snap back guide they are made out of nickel titanium a memory metal like spring steel. SiC is a very slick, hard ceramic ring that transmits heat away from the line very well. SiN, silicone nitride is a long standing known material, tougher the SiC and less brittle, but not as hard, they call it Torzite now at Fuji, but they have used the material for decades in their guides. I've never had a SiC guide fail on me, so I don't get all excited about Torzite, they make ceramic bearings and surfaces out of it, been a favorite for wireline trolling guides for a very long time as mentioned above.The price of the guide will be very close to the retail price in the catalogs.