Restoring Grandfather's old boo rod

I inherited my grandfather's old boo rod when I was 17, and used it that summer for Atlantic salmon when the tip of my graphite rod parted ways with the rest of the stick. The old girl isn't particularly a nice rod(sloppy job on the finish),but the varnish is in good shape,with no chips. My problems with this rod are that the guide wraps are dried out & cracking,and 1-2 missing guides. The hook keeper & tip are wrapped in y/b jasper thread, and are in good condition. I'd like to re-guide/wrap this rod back to useable condition.There isn't varnish under the cracked wraps/guides,and the female ferrule on the bottom section of rod is slightly cracked under where the wraps would have been. I'd like not to have to refinish the whole rod,just the windings. And, just for me, I'd like to add a red agate stripper . If I knew how to post the pics I had, I would. It is a 9' 3pc. rod,likely a 6-7wt(no indication) brand name "Sure Strike". I also bought a Pflueger 1554 reel for the rod,with an old silk line.The line is beyond repair, but will look good on an old skeleton reel I have for a shadowbox. Any tips,advice,etc would be a great help. I'd build rods myself, but I've gotten too far into tying classic salmon flies to take on anything else. Tips on guides,finish,and how-to are greatly appreciated. Jamie

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Tight Lines & Big Smiles
Take A Kid Fishing!!!

Hey Mutt,

The guy you need to talk to is Dleo, here on the board. The guy knows cane and the refinishing thereof.

He's helped me out a ton.

REE

Ree, thank you for the vote of confidence, I will try to offer some advice and I am hopeful that more of the boo guys will jump in on it with a few ideas as well, there are tons of them that come from the group here on FAOL.

Quote:

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"My problems with this rod are that the guide wraps are dried out & cracking,and 1-2 missing guides. The hook keeper & tip are wrapped in y/b jasper thread, and are in good condition. I'd like to re-guide/wrap this rod back to useable condition.There isn't varnish under the cracked wraps/guides"

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If you want to match the wraps..pretty easy to do and depending on the wraps you should be able to find a thread that is very very close or similar. What i would do is to re wrap the whole rod, sounds as if you are pretty close to needing to do that anyway. Which guides are you needing? I have several hundred take offs that are in great shape and will send you what you need. while you have it stripped you can get some varnish under those wraps and probably help with the black marks left by the old guides as well.

Quote:

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"and the female ferrule on the bottom section of rod is slightly cracked under where the wraps would have been. I'd like not to have to refinish the whole rod,just the windings. And, just for me, I'd like to add a red agate stripper"

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I think that if I were you, replacing the guides and the stripper I would go ahead and do the ferrule as well. If that ferrule is cracked and you are fishing for big fish with it, you are facing a problem on down the road that you could eliminate by replacing that bad boy now. I also have a few old agate strippers and you are welcome to one of them if you want it.

Pictures of the rod would be a huge plus, but based on what you are saying, your grandfather would be very proud of you using this fine old rod, and his pride would really swell knowing that you restored it. Take a lot of pride in that old rod, and just think of the stories it could tell if it could talk

The stories? Maybe of the spilled rye & cursing when a fish got away...Thank you for the advice, and for the referral, Ron. I sent email to you, dleo, of the rod & shape it's in. Guess I'm gonna have to find a decent silk line now.... Humbly yours, Jamie

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Tight Lines & Big Smiles
Take A Kid Fishing!!!

mcmutt,
I love to hear about old rods with a lineage. I bought all of mine second hand from people who knew nothing about them other than they were found in the attic, basement or garage when moving into their new home.
I agree with Leo in carefully inspecting the ferrule for cracks and possibly replacing them since you'll be wrapping guides anyway and applying a coat of varnish on the raw boo before puting on the guides.
You'd mention the Pflueger 1554 ("Sal-Trout" made of aluminum and very light). I had one but it did not balance well with my 9' bamboo rods. I went with Medalist reels which counter weighted the tip-heavy 9'ers nicely. Additionally, I found the silk lines to be pricey. You might want to test it with the more reasonably priced modern "SYLK" lines.
I hope you'll find as much joy in refinishing your grandfather's rod as in recreating classic salmon flies.

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God Blesses!
A wing & a Prayer! ----*<(((><~ ~ ~ ~
Quinn



[This message has been edited by Wednesday Caster (edited 07 April 2006).]

Here's a few pics of the old girl: http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...t2/BooRod2.jpg

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2.../BooRodtip.jpg
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...t2/BooRod3.jpg
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...t2/BooRod1.jpg

Hopefully that gives you an image of what I'm working with. I priced the color preserver & varnish online yesterday, not a problem. For a rod like this, how much finish am I going to need? Jamie

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"Fishing is more than a sport.It is a way of thinking and doing,a way of reviving the mind and body" Roderick Haig-Brown

not much...Remember to cut your spar or it'll never dry. Mineral Spirits works fine.
1 Tablespoon Spar to 2 Table spoons of Spirits