Good friend, Bill E. -- stepped on the butt section of his 4 piece Sage flyrod.
Knowing little about rod repair (except this butt section is crushed beyond proper repair, IMO) -- what are my options to replace the butt section graphite blank?
Model is: DS2 590-4, Graphite ll by Sage out of Bainbridge Island, WA.
Bill owns a cabinet shop down in Auberry, and is an expert in horseback Search & Rescue. He volunteers his time, truck, trailers, horses, gear, and experience 24/7 for the Sheriffs Department and Forest Service. He finds folks who are lost or injured. He is a stand up guy, and was sick when he broke this rod.
What can be done?
Best,
Fred
A quick word with Sage maybe :-\ They may be nice
I too agree to try and call Sage. They may have some bottoms that were returned for warrantee and they sent them a new rod but the bottom may be fine.
Call Sage, Don't think there's a practical repair for a light fly rod that wouldn't upset the balance of the rod. A metal ferrule would work but add a signicant amount of weight and lose a few inches.
I repaired a break in my favorite home-built spinning rod a couple of months ago (about 9" above the handle) & it came out fine, but it was a little nick vs. what your compadre has. Ralph O'Quinn had a good article in Rodmaker mag a few years ago (available on the Internet) about tackling different kids of rod breaks, from those near the tip & others further down. But, to my novice eyes, that poor Sage doesn't look like a candidate for successful surgery.
Frank
Fred, back in the 90's I broke the tip on the same Sage fly rod twice, car door and steppin on it. Sage replaced it both times, no questions, and if I remember right, I only paid shipping. Sent the butt section in and they matched one up to it. Mine was a home build, so I had to re-tie the guides. Don't know what the warranty deal is now. Call 'em or the vendor.
Gfish
Very few broken graphite rods can not be repaired, but in most cases it changes their action because the repaired bit is nearly always stiffer than the original.
This is not necessarily negative as some rods I fixed actually turned out better than before.
It takes some thorough planning and searching to find a suitable profile graphite to make a sleeve to repair the broken section. On a strong rod an insert does not work well, I have never repaired a fly rod.
Did a search on Sage and boy, they are expensive.
I am sure a master rodsmith could fix it, but I am not one.
I agree with Cor and all the others. You could stick it back together with a graphite insert but it would never be the same. Sage stuff is very refined; hence the price. If he was willing to fork over the initial cost then his tastes are probably very refined as well. Send it back to the factory. Even if they charge him it would make economic sense.
-steve
Fred,
I agree with Steve and the others,send it back. They are exceptional rods, and almost any repair will effect the action, even that low in the blank. I still have and use 3 of them, and had great service from them when a camper door broke the tip off one😥
Brett
I agree. Call Sage. It doesn't hurt to ask.
Crap happens all of the time. They are a reputable company still in business. It appears to be a four section, factory-built-to-specs rod as opposed to a custom build. Sage may want Bill to send them all four sections along with a cover charge, before they send out a replacement (that way they have three sections for people that have broken other sections). Or they may have an orphan butt section in their stock.
"Lifetime guarantees" don't have free replacement anymore. We know that Calstar and Seeker require a "cover charge" for replacement of a rod that wasn't intentionally abused.
Same with Phenix. If it's a mfg defect they'll replace for free otherwise there's a warranty fee associated with the replacement of between $50 and $150. Black Diamonds are $65-75 and Hybrids are $120. In years past I've warranteed a Shimano Convergence rod and there was no charge.
There really nice rods,,,very good warranty thay will fix it,,,but thay take forever :D
As other said, I'd call Sage about it. Back in the early 2000s, as I recall, the DS2 selling price was in the upper $200s range. I have two 5-wt Sage SPs from the same time period, but if I broke one I'd never be able to get it replaced with another identical rod. Depends on the warranty of that rod, but I remember years back reading warranty terms that with discontinued models under original owner, Sage would at least replace it with something similar if they didn't have any of the same models left. Sage made some beautiful rods.
Sage warranty dept. 888-848-7243
https://www.sageflyfish.com/contact
Hopefully, Sage will replace the part at no or a reasonable cost. I agree with Cor that most rods can be repaired, but it could affect the action, especially if part of the damaged part has to be removed (this will also affect length).
Even with a graphite rod, Ralph O'Quinn's logic is to use a fiberglass insert/sheath for repair. He feels the modulus ("bendability") of the fiberglass will be less than the graphite, thus minimizing added stiffness and perhaps minimizing stress at the ends of the insert/sheath where it meets the rod to be repaired. Rod butts are often pretty stiff to begin with (especially fast action rods), so a little additional stiffness may go unnoticed.
Frank
As I recall, the Sage DS2 was a medium to slower action rod with a fuller flex. If a repair for such a break was even possible, I don't know how it would affect the quality of the cast, which is the single most important aspect of a quality fly rod. I can imagine how heart broken the owner of the rod was when he stepped on it, especially on an older Sage.
Got hold of Bill at Sage up on Bainbridge Island yesterday.
He was very knowledgeable and helpful.
Said to send the entire rod in to them -- they would replace the butt portion, plus inspect and restore the entire rod as needed for alignment of guides, any issues with wraps or threads, etc.
Cost would likely be around $50 + shipping.
I opened an online service, tracking, and incident account with them -- very smooth and slick.
Sage is a responsible company with a good reputation and good people -- I will post the process and result.
Should be around a 2 or 3 week turnaround, according to Bill at Sage.
Thanks to everyone -- stay tuned for a good result from Sage.
Best,
Fred
That's great news. Everything I've ever heard about Sage's service was good. Fortunately I've not "yet" broken one of my Sages, but if it happens it would be worth that cost to get it fixed. I currently have an older Ross Cimarron fly reel (under warranty) boxed up along with a $30 check to send back to Ross Reels to get a bent rim repaired. Accidents happen.
Glad it's working out,never owned a Sage but I know they are highly regarded. $50 sounds more than reasonable
I had a spinn rod made from sage blank 5wt it was fantastic,,,,got in the car door >:( but a friend got a new one like $875 he had to send it back,,,, man thay fix it right but 4 mouths he said ;D
Happy that there is progress Fred :)