What is the best way to fix a rod that broken in half?

Started by JBH, June 20, 2018, 07:34:07 PM

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Benni3

Quote from: droppedit on June 20, 2018, 08:31:41 PM
If the break is clean this fix is fairly easy but if you have a shattered break you'll have to get a little creative. You want to cut off the butt cap and slide a piece of old rod up the inside of the butt section.  Depending on how heavy a rod it is I'd say between 2-3 inches on either side of the break. If I was doing this I'd score or sand the inside of either side of the break and the outside of the piece that will be the patch. Use a good slow cure epoxy and glue the butt side first making sure you clean off any excess epoxy. I'd let that cure for a day and then glue the top. This way you know the patch hasn't slipped. After that has cured I'd then do a wrap at least an inch on either side of the break and finish. It will be a little stiffer but usable. Saying this is like fixing a car in a bar but then we all have opinions ;)
Hope you are able to save the rod.


Dave
I got a 12ft crappie rod,,,,,it broke,,,,so I put a insert on the inside and outside  ;D

JBH

you can see the first attempt at putting a piece on the rod inside did not bode well.

oldmanjoe

Is that a trim band or was there a guide there ? 
Grandpa`s words of wisdom......Joey that thing between your shoulders is not a hat rack.....    use it.....
A mind is like a parachute, it only work`s  when it is open.......
The power of Observation   , It`s all about the Details ..
 Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.   Alto Mare


oldmanjoe

     Is it a clean break  -   no splits under the trim bands ?        What type of glue did you use  to make the bond ?   


Quote from: JBH on June 22, 2018, 11:00:27 PM
trim band over the break
Did you put the trim bands on after the first repair ?
Grandpa`s words of wisdom......Joey that thing between your shoulders is not a hat rack.....    use it.....
A mind is like a parachute, it only work`s  when it is open.......
The power of Observation   , It`s all about the Details ..
 Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.   Alto Mare

Swami805

I think the problem is the rod is flexing and the inner piece isn't. maybe something less rigid than the blank?
Do what you can with that you have where you are

Cor

Quote from: Swami805 on June 23, 2018, 04:17:30 AM
I think the problem is the rod is flexing and the inner piece isn't. maybe something less rigid than the blank?
Yes or probably other way around!   I've repaired many rods and in the early days often made inserts  as it will look much nicer when repaired that way, but eventually decided it does not work as the thinner insert is very much "weaker" than the the outside wall of the blank.   I even attempted to double up on the "insert" by gluing another piece inside the insert without success.    
I also noticed that often the insert causes the blank to split again.    For this reason I would not attempt a solid insert.

I now always make a sleeve over the break and have a high success rate, maybe 85%

Having said this a mate of mine recently repaired a rod with an insert and it was very successful, so yes.......

Repairing a broken rod is nearly always possible but its slow painstaking work and will nearly always affect the rod action, not always negatively!

JUST A FEW IMPORTANT POINTERS
1)  Make sure you have cut away every piece of split graphite, regardless of how much it is!   I use a jewelers magnifying glass to check for cracks.
2)  Make sure your pieces all fit together 100% snug by obtaining the correct profiles and grinding and sanding them to fit
3)  Test everything at all stages all the time.   Make temporary bindings on the joints and bend the rod to see the curve.   You don't want to do a lot of work, finish the rod, replace guides only to find it does not work or breaks again.   If it has to break again then let it happen early on in the process.
4)  Taper the edges of the sleeve....a lot.

Hope this helps ;)

The photo is of a very difficult repair I did to a rod belonging to my Brother.   I had to cut away about 10 inches, it worked though did not look very nice.   Here I was test loading the rod before finishing off.
Cornelis

Cor

This is the above 3 piece rod when I started, showing the break.
Cornelis

JBH

There were splinters I removed around 6 inches to clean it up. I think my problem was I didn't put a sleeve on the outside, as the epoxy cracked when flexed. I used flex coat 5 minute epoxy on the inside and flex coat high build on the outside. The piece on the inside is from a matching rod but further up in the rod, so to fit. That's something to think about I may look at longer more flexible inserts.
Thanks, guys

oc1

Darn.  This Narmco (pre-Garcia) Conolon has been my favorite lately.  



It was a fly rod but now has a new handle and converted to light baitcasting.  The tobacco blank is great and sort of a classic but the ferrules suck.  I have accumulated several of these and all arrived with ferrule problems.  Apparently, if the rod is taken apart and the end of the male ferrule bangs a hard floor it will mushroom and will no longer fit.

In an effort to make them light they used a very thin brass.  The insert length is also pretty short.  The base of the ferrule seems to have been cut or crimped and swaged into place.  Originally, the base of the ferrule (the tapered part) was wrapped with thread to match the guides.  I did a really spartan wrap job and did not brother to rewrap the ferrule.  I don't know.  That may be why it broke.

The rest of the ferrule was removed and the ends cleaned up.  Several inches of he butt section was lost so the diameters do not match exactly.



I found a junk piece of rod.  It happened to be part of a 1970's Garcia Conolon.



The painted finish was removed.  The donor rod was slid down through the butt to find a three inch insert section that closely matches the broken ends.



An insert piece was cut out but it was a loose fit on the butt section because the two broken ends do not match up perfectly the.  So, some fiberglass tow was wrapped around the insert and bedded with polyester resin.  About 95% of the tow was then sanded off as the insert was fitted to the butt section.



To test the fit the insert had to be dropped down through the butt section from the butt cap end and tapped into place with a piece of rod.  This part was tedious.   The final fit was really snug though before gluing into the butt section.  It was already very snug in the tip section.



The result was good enough for me.



The area over the insert was wrapped with thread.  I should have varnished and finished it right then but it was time to go fishing and I was anxious to try it.  Works as well as ever despite being an inch or two shorter.  It will be varnished eventually.



This is called a spigot ferrule or an insert ferrule.
-steve





Cor

Conolon blanks are not supposed to break!   
Only after we started using Graphite did I start to see and experience, rods breaking. ;D ;D   

I still have two Conolon/Silaflex rods that I have modified and re modified over the years and are now short boat rods but never get used any more.

Rods can nearly always be repaired with some engenuity and patience.
Cornelis

oc1

Cor, I blame the ferrule and my failure to wrap the tapered end of the ferrule.  I need to extract the piece broken off in the ferrule.  It may have been ground down too much when making it fit.  It didn't splinter or that would have been the end of it.

I forgot to mention that it didn't break on a big fish or when snagged on the bottom or high-sticking.  I was just casting and it came apart.  That was after 4 to 5 short trips and 8 to 10 hours of repetitive casting a 3/8 ounce jig.

-steve

Benni3