Broken rode =(
- Thread starter pedrim17
- Start date
Gordon Bryson
Well-known member
- Messages
- 105
- Reaction score
- 0
You can repair a graphite or fiberglass rod as I have fixed both. The most recent was a Cortland 4/5 four piece travel rod. I broke the tip section about six inches above the ferrule in a boating accident. The rod is well out of the warranty period, so it was either fix it or scrap it. Being on the tight side, I decided to try to fix it.
First, I went to a local piano store and got some music wire, considerably smaller than the inside diameter of the broken section. I cut three pieces of the wire about two inches in lenght, and the three of them fit snugly into the rod blank. It is better to use multiple pieces rather than one piece that will fit snugly, as the three pieces, in this case, leave room for epoxy to run around them and also come into contact with the inner wall of the blank.
You want to make sure you remove any burrs on the ends of the wire so ther will be minimal stress concentration points to damage the inside.
Now that you have some wires that will fit into the two sections, it is time to prepare the sections for joining. Take the two sections and place them side by side. You'll want to reverse the side with the guides so you have one section with the guides up, the other section with the guides down. This will insure the spine of the blank will be the same when the two are joined back together.
Now get some fine sandpaper and lay the sheet on something flat like a piece of glass or metal. You are going to use this to shape the two pieces by sanding a long sloping surface on the two pieces. It doesn't matter what the angle is, the flatter the better, since both will be sanded to the same angle. This is much like a carpenter joins two pieces of wood by beveling the joint. Once you have a good flat sloping surface, you're ready to join the two together.
Try a dry fitup before you put the epoxy on. If it looks like you've got a good fit, then mix some epoxy (I use 30 minute cure so you'll have more time). Put some inside the blank (use a toothpick, needle, bodkin, etc) and insert the wires to about their half way point. Now put epoxy on the wires and in the other blank. Push the two pieces together. You'll probably have plenty of epoxy oozing out to cover the two beveled surfaces. Once you have the pieces in the right position and pushed together, wipe off the excess epoxy and put a small clamp on the beveled joint to hold it all together properly.
I let the epoxy cure overnight, then I wrap the joint with rod guide winding thread to go a little beyond the lengths of the wires. Now you can finish this by using Flex-Coat or some other guide sealing material. If you don't have that, you can put a few coats of varnish over the thread.
I can't tell any difference in the casting characteristics of the rod and it handled a very nice bass yesterday with no problem. Will it hold forever? I don't know, but I do know I've still got a good fishing rod that would have wound up in the garbage can.
First, I went to a local piano store and got some music wire, considerably smaller than the inside diameter of the broken section. I cut three pieces of the wire about two inches in lenght, and the three of them fit snugly into the rod blank. It is better to use multiple pieces rather than one piece that will fit snugly, as the three pieces, in this case, leave room for epoxy to run around them and also come into contact with the inner wall of the blank.
You want to make sure you remove any burrs on the ends of the wire so ther will be minimal stress concentration points to damage the inside.
Now that you have some wires that will fit into the two sections, it is time to prepare the sections for joining. Take the two sections and place them side by side. You'll want to reverse the side with the guides so you have one section with the guides up, the other section with the guides down. This will insure the spine of the blank will be the same when the two are joined back together.
Now get some fine sandpaper and lay the sheet on something flat like a piece of glass or metal. You are going to use this to shape the two pieces by sanding a long sloping surface on the two pieces. It doesn't matter what the angle is, the flatter the better, since both will be sanded to the same angle. This is much like a carpenter joins two pieces of wood by beveling the joint. Once you have a good flat sloping surface, you're ready to join the two together.
Try a dry fitup before you put the epoxy on. If it looks like you've got a good fit, then mix some epoxy (I use 30 minute cure so you'll have more time). Put some inside the blank (use a toothpick, needle, bodkin, etc) and insert the wires to about their half way point. Now put epoxy on the wires and in the other blank. Push the two pieces together. You'll probably have plenty of epoxy oozing out to cover the two beveled surfaces. Once you have the pieces in the right position and pushed together, wipe off the excess epoxy and put a small clamp on the beveled joint to hold it all together properly.
I let the epoxy cure overnight, then I wrap the joint with rod guide winding thread to go a little beyond the lengths of the wires. Now you can finish this by using Flex-Coat or some other guide sealing material. If you don't have that, you can put a few coats of varnish over the thread.
I can't tell any difference in the casting characteristics of the rod and it handled a very nice bass yesterday with no problem. Will it hold forever? I don't know, but I do know I've still got a good fishing rod that would have wound up in the garbage can.
very nifty fix there gordon bryson. i've never heard of anyone fixing a rod in that manner. will deffinetly have to keep that in mind though.
as for our friend here and his problem. i don't know what kind of rod you've got for one thing. but i do know that it's fairly new or so it sounds from your post i've read. if it's under warranty then go that route. if it isn't our didn't come with a warranty at all. then i'd go with gordon bryson's fix.
nothing against his fix or anything else. always go with the warranty first if you can. save yourself some headaches later on.
but again very neat fix. may i ask where you learned this? or is this some wild brain fix? if it is must've been a big brain storming session to think of this one. because i never would've thought of that.
as for our friend here and his problem. i don't know what kind of rod you've got for one thing. but i do know that it's fairly new or so it sounds from your post i've read. if it's under warranty then go that route. if it isn't our didn't come with a warranty at all. then i'd go with gordon bryson's fix.
nothing against his fix or anything else. always go with the warranty first if you can. save yourself some headaches later on.
but again very neat fix. may i ask where you learned this? or is this some wild brain fix? if it is must've been a big brain storming session to think of this one. because i never would've thought of that.
Gordon Bryson
Well-known member
- Messages
- 105
- Reaction score
- 0
Thanks for the kind words. As I said, I'm rather tight when it comes to dumping a piece of equipment and I'm an engineer by education and a tinkerer by necessity.
I had repaired a fiberglass spinning rod several years ago using a single piece of metal, but the spinning rod does not get the flexing action that a fly rod does. The spinning rod is still functioning, in fact, my grandson landed a three pound bass on it Friday afternoon.
When I broke the Cortland, I tried the same fix as I'd used on the spinning rod. However, to reduce weight I used an aluminum screw. This worked okay initially (you can chuck the screw in a drill motor, turn it on and use a file to turn it to size where it will fit snugly in the rod), and the epoxy will fill in the screw threads that are left. The aluminum however didn't have the strength to resist the flexing and it fatigued and broke again. This was when I decided I had to have more strength in the reinforcing.
Actually, the three pieces of piano wire work similar to reinforcing steel in concrete as they are imbedded in the epoxy. Also, in the first fix I didn't sand the beveled joint like I did in the second fix.
So far I haven't been able to tell any difference in the way the rod casts, but I'm sure there is some. It's really a pretty simple fix, descdribing it makes it sound more complicated. I'm sure some of the pro rod builders could improve on it, but then, most people would reason that the repair would negate the action of the rod. Again, I don't worry about things like that, I just want a rod I can fish with.
I had repaired a fiberglass spinning rod several years ago using a single piece of metal, but the spinning rod does not get the flexing action that a fly rod does. The spinning rod is still functioning, in fact, my grandson landed a three pound bass on it Friday afternoon.
When I broke the Cortland, I tried the same fix as I'd used on the spinning rod. However, to reduce weight I used an aluminum screw. This worked okay initially (you can chuck the screw in a drill motor, turn it on and use a file to turn it to size where it will fit snugly in the rod), and the epoxy will fill in the screw threads that are left. The aluminum however didn't have the strength to resist the flexing and it fatigued and broke again. This was when I decided I had to have more strength in the reinforcing.
Actually, the three pieces of piano wire work similar to reinforcing steel in concrete as they are imbedded in the epoxy. Also, in the first fix I didn't sand the beveled joint like I did in the second fix.
So far I haven't been able to tell any difference in the way the rod casts, but I'm sure there is some. It's really a pretty simple fix, descdribing it makes it sound more complicated. I'm sure some of the pro rod builders could improve on it, but then, most people would reason that the repair would negate the action of the rod. Again, I don't worry about things like that, I just want a rod I can fish with.
be it out of necessity or being tight about dumbing a piece of equipment. it's still a amazing idea and one that i hope i never have to try myself. but i know some day more than likely i will have to. been lucky in the last 15yrs. i haven't broken a rod.(several reels have bitten the dust though)