Rod Repair?

Flymph

Steelhead
Has anyone on this forum performed this type of rod repair with long lasting success?

I fixed a favorite Rod with a break in the mid by finding an old rod section that fit the area inside, matched the taper, roughed the surface, and epoxied it in, worked great and is neither clunky nor heavy. No change in casting that I can decern. It fought a lot of big Browns and Rainbows over the last 5 years without a hitch.

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Rob Allen

Life of the Party
Yes I have done it a few times. It works marginally well but once the blank is broken in half all repairs are marginal
 

Salmo_g

Legend
Forum Supporter
I've done it. It was successful in that it worked, but the rods were never the same again. I won't bother again unless I break a very favored rod.
 

Wetswinger

Go Deep
Forum Supporter
Yes I've repaired a few of my own. You only need 3in. or so each direction. If it's not snug you can spiral wrap thread on it as you spin it in. Do one side only, let it set and then the other. I'd remove the guide and wraps and replace it with longer wraps that also covers the jagged broken area edges. You want it smooth as your line passes thru. It's really just a glorified spigot ferrule.

 

Wetswinger

Go Deep
Forum Supporter
On another subject, and please forgive me if I'm out of line, this brakeage at the guide is way too common. All my broken rods, and there's been several, failed at a double foot guide, except the ones that were crushed by my foot or a tungsten bead. They just seem to dig in and cause a break point when your rod is bent with a heavy load. I only use single foot guides now...
 

Flymph

Steelhead
Yes I've repaired a few of my own. You only need 3in. or so each direction. If it's not snug you can spiral wrap thread on it as you spin it in. Do one side only, let it set and then the other. I'd remove the guide and wraps and replace it with longer wraps that also covers the jagged broken area edges. You want it smooth as your line passes thru. It's really just a glorified spigot ferrule.

Yes, I would agree about threading over the broken area. The broken area is of greatest concern. The pictures I presented were form a different forum member. I have never attempted this type of repair. I was hoping for some ideas on further strengthening the broken area as I suspect further separation at some point in time. Your thread over plus additional epoxy might be the best ticket.

Interesting that you recommend only three inches as the other forum members are at 6 to 8 inches. Your smaller lengths would make for a lighter, finished, rod.
 

Otter

Steelhead
I have a 4 weight rod that the previous owner (and builder) had broken about a foot below the stripping guide. He made a repair about 8 inches long, using a piece of old rod inside, wrapped all the way with thread. Near one end of the repair, there are 2 cracks all the way around the circumference of the blank. There’s also one similar crack near the other end. I can feel the cracks with my thumbnail on the surface of the polymer, but I can’t tell if they extend into the blank itself. I don’t trust this rod, and no doubt, neither does the builder, since he gave it to me for free. I’m just going to maybe re-use its components some day. I believe this rod was built on an early Winston blank.

I don’t know the repair details on this rod, so I can’t say why this one failed. There may have been a problem with the adhesive used, or perhaps surfaces were not cleaned with isopropanol before gluing (absolutely imperative on any glue repair, in my opinion), or maybe there was a problem with the plug, or something else.

Just one experience to add to this interesting discussion.
 

Rob Allen

Life of the Party
You can buy fiberglass twine to wrap the repair too which makes a very strong repair but makes a bulky and heavy repair.
 

PhilR

IDK Man
Forum Supporter
I’ve had one break near the tip, and couldn’t find a stiff enough section of old rod, so I used a drill bit for a stent. I’ve also seen people mention using carbon or glass rods used by kite builders.

I didn’t feel like I was getting good exterior support by wrapping around the repair, since it started cracking between the wraps. Instead, I used a section of body tubing to get some longitudinal reinforcement. But in the end, it was a fun experiment, but I don’t fully trust the rod anymore.
 
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