I have several Harnell boat rods that could use a little TLC. My interest in these rods centers on the fact my Dad bought us a couple of them back in the late 50's, a 521 for me and a 522 for Dad, complete with a couple of 3/0 Penn Senators. I have picked up several others since. In particular, the rubber mushroom style rod butt caps have deteriorated and I have had little success finding replacements. I need about ten of them. Any ideas on a source would be most appreciated.
Cant help you brother, will have to wait for oe of the Rod Repairmen to check in. Bill
I have some old Harnells, Seems like the butt caps vary depending on the age of the rod. Try medical supply places for the tips of canes,crutches, walkers and things like that. If they have Harnell logos that would be a tough one.
Post a few pictures of your rods,love to see them.
Sheridan
It's weird how every maker used to put similar mushroom butt caps on their boat rods for thirty or forty years, yet you cannot find one for love or money now.... except for hardened and cracked ones on vintage rods. BTW, there's a 522 with photos up for auction now.
-steve
Heck mudhole and anglers workshop. What size do you need? I may have some on old rods and will check when I return
Quote from: Swami805 on April 19, 2017, 02:55:44 AM
Post a few pictures of your rods,love to see them.
Sheridan
As you can see, my wife is one in a million....
Not sure why my pictures posted upside down?
I fixed them.
Those are nice. You still fish them? They look ready to go!
Quote from: Shark Hunter on April 19, 2017, 05:48:10 PM
I fixed them.
Well thanks so much Shark Hunter. How? What did I do wrong?
Thanks again.
Quote from: Swami805 on April 19, 2017, 07:13:39 PM
Those are nice. You still fish them? They look ready to go!
We still use them a fair amount. On salmon, when we have enough fisherfolk on board, we will use one or two to drag the lead balls on the sinker releases in addition to the lighter stuff on the downriggers. Where I think they really shine is trolling the albie jigs, but it has been a couple of years since we were able to do that. Maybe this year....
Quote from: thorhammer on April 19, 2017, 11:07:12 AM
Heck mudhole and anglers workshop. What size do you need? I may have some on old rods and will check when I return
Thanks Thorhammer. I checked all the usual suspects on line with no luck. Appreciate the offer but I would like to find some new ones if possible.
Quote from: oc1 on April 19, 2017, 07:20:41 AM
It's weird how every maker used to put similar mushroom butt caps on their boat rods for thirty or forty years, yet you cannot find one for love or money now.... except for hardened and cracked ones on vintage rods. BTW, there's a 522 with photos up for auction now.
-steve
I saw one on Ebay, is that the pone your thinking about?
Thanks Steve.
Hi
WOndering if you can cut down a doorknob style butt cap and make it work? I think I did years ago. ALso they wouldn't be hard to make if you have the tools and old chunks of material. Or you can reshape butt to fit as a last resort.
Rick b
Mr. Bailey....I just remembered.....I once took a blue rubber handball (not the racketball but the smaller handball) ground one side on a belt sander until I exposed enough of the hollow core to fit over the rod butt and presto....blue rubber butt cap. I did have to glue it in place with 2 part epoxy, but 8 years later it's still there. Bill
Yes, that's the one Bailey. You've probably seen this too:
http://www.seaisletackle.com/browse.cfm/4,4546.html (http://www.seaisletackle.com/browse.cfm/4,4546.html)
-steve
Yes I did, but thanks Steve. Actually I gave them a call, right friendly folks. They have been out of stock for quite some time and he suspects their source is not making them any more. Said he wished he could get some because he was actually selling quite a few over the internet.
Thanks again.
Quote from: oc1 on April 20, 2017, 06:54:58 AM
Yes, that's the one Bailey. You've probably seen this too:
http://www.seaisletackle.com/browse.cfm/4,4546.html (http://www.seaisletackle.com/browse.cfm/4,4546.html)
-steve
"STRUBLE" seems to be a key word to search for. . .
http://shop-blueblood.com/?pid=30727733 (http://shop-blueblood.com/?pid=30727733)https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://shop-blueblood.com/%3Fpid%3D30727733&prev=search (https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://shop-blueblood.com/%3Fpid%3D30727733&prev=search)Tight Lines !
Wow Good detective work Dave.
-steve
Quote from: oc1 on April 26, 2017, 01:03:37 AM
Wow Good detective work Dave.
-steve
Thanks . . . But, we still have to locate a current "source" for them !
I suspect that they were / are sold under a variety of names, including Struble.
I seriously doubt that their only usage was / is on fishing rod butts.
Most likey, they were / are some sort of furniture-related item . . . Maybe some sort of anti-slip / non-marking chair-leg cap, or similar ?
Tight Lines !
Thanks for the detective work Dave. I am unable to figure out how to order from these folks. I wonder if we might ask the board as a whole if we have a member who can read and navigate the website? Possibly find out if they have distribution in the US, or if we can order direct from them?
http://shop-blueblood.com/?pid=30727733
I know this is off topic but I was doing a search for the mushroom caps and found this link. It must have been shortly after Mudhole was sold from New Jersey and moved to Florida. I did find the butt caps but was more fascinated with the selection of blanks that used to be available. I always wanted to build on a Cape Fear.
Dave
http://olimpox.dyndns.org:8080/local/books/Catalogos/MudHole.pdf (http://olimpox.dyndns.org:8080/local/books/Catalogos/MudHole.pdf)
After I looked again I saw it was 2003. They had been in Florida for a few years by then.
Maybe you might find one here .. http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/butt-caps/
http://www.therodroom.com/shop/pc/Standard-Butt-Caps-c24.htm
Are the dark colored wood butts on those Harnell rods original?
I have located a Struble website . . .
http://strublemfg.com/ (http://strublemfg.com/)
Unfortunately, it looks like they no longer have the caps, but it might be worth contacting them.
Still "digging" . . .
Tight Lines !
I just found these . . .
https://seaisletackle.com/mushroom-butt-cap.html (https://seaisletackle.com/mushroom-butt-cap.html)
Tight Lines !
They are apparently called "RB-1" Mushroom Butt Caps by Struble.
The "Wayback Machine" has a 2011 reference to them :
https://web.archive.org/web/20110322194842/http://strublemfg.com/wholesale/accessories/mushroom-butt-cap.html (https://web.archive.org/web/20110322194842/http://strublemfg.com/wholesale/accessories/mushroom-butt-cap.html) ( Scroll down the page )
Also, more info. . .
https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/harnell-521-butt-cap-needed.379320/ (https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/harnell-521-butt-cap-needed.379320/)
STILL "digging" . . .
Tight Lines !
The crutch foot style caps can be replaced by Taylor Made chair tips
http://www.taylormadeproducts.com/cgi-bin/catalog.pl?item_id=328 (http://www.taylormadeproducts.com/cgi-bin/catalog.pl?item_id=328)
I have used the black and white chair tips from Wal Mart, Home Depot, and Lowes.
Finally got some NOS butt caps. Found them on Ebay. Looks like the seller is liquidating and old rod building supply. I have recieved my butt caps and they fit the Harnell's quite well.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313&_nkw=mushroom+butt+caps&_sacat=0
Quote from: THBailey on March 12, 2021, 04:38:01 PM
Finally got some NOS butt caps. Found them on Ebay. Looks like the seller is liquidating and old rod building supply. I have recieved my butt caps and they fit the Harnell's quite well.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313&_nkw=mushroom+butt+caps&_sacat=0
"Rock & Roll", BABY ! ! !
Tight Lines !