regripping SouthBend 55-9ft bamboo Rod

[iceman]

I have an old ( from the 5o's?) bamboo rod in great shape except the cork grip is completely gone.

My question, and I am new to this, is what would be the best way to put a grip on the rod? If I could get the rear rear seat off I could then ream out a new grip and slide it into place? Is it possible, using heat? to get the rear reel seat off the rod without destroying the seat and or the rod?

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Tom

It can be done, but you have to be careful.

I am assuming the reel seat is bakelite. The idea is to warm it slowly and evenly with a heat lamp or the like. It should never get so hot as to melt, of course. That's where the careful comes in. And the heat has to get through to the adhesive around the bamboo blank. Once the adhesive gets hot enough, it'll release and the reel seat will just slide off.

I am not familiar with how a South Bend reel seat is mounted. I would highly advise getting more information before trying it, but that's the basic idea. For instance, on a Granger like I have, there is a wooden spacer that centers the blank. SB's might be different.

Caution warranted, but it can be done!

Best
RS

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[url=http://www.native-waters.com:4288d]http://www.native-waters.com[/url:4288d]

[kengore]

Gentle heat will break the bond of most adhesives. Allow plenty of time for the heat to penetrate. It might take over 45 minutes for the heat to migrate into the center. A heat gun with variable temerature is ideal for the job. Epoxy breaks down at around 200 degrees F, try not to get much hotter than that or you risk cooking the cane. You could also put a couple of pounds of sand or table salt into a bowel and heat it in the oven, then dip the handle into the hot material to transfer heat. This is how opticians heat up plastic eyeglass frames to bend them.

Because of the taper in the rod it is normal to install the cork from the top (tip side). This means you would have to remove the winding check, stripper guide and snake guides above the handle, then replace them.

If this seems like too much work it is also possible to build up a handle from cork rings cut in half. The split rings are glued in place with staggered joints and the handle is turned to shape with sand paper while on the rod. If you cut the rings with a very sharp razor knife and use Titebond II or polyurethane for the glue joint is it
barely noticable. Avoid epoxy for this task, as it much harder than the surrounding cork and might develop ridges after wear.

Wrap the glued up handle in stretch wrap to provide hoop compression then clamp it against the real seat.

A small power drill, a few clamps and a cardboard box will make a simple rod lathe. See the following link for an example...
[url=http://www.thomaspenrose.com/bamboo.htm:32ff3]http://www.thomaspenrose.com/bamboo.htm[/url:32ff3]

Another method of turning cork is to chuck the rod in a drill before you remount the reel seat. Then turn the grip by holding a piece of sandpaper against the cork in one hand and use the drill to turn it. Be careful, this is a good way to get burned. Also you will need the stiff pieces of sandpaper with adhesive backing that are made for a vibratory sander. Don't take the backing off, it will be stiff enough that it won't grab. You can also turn the rod by hand, but the drill will speed up the process.

[bamboo4u2]

iceman,

If my oftentimes foggy memory serves me correctly, the SB#55? s reel seat is all metal chrome plated brass with a down-locking screw lock (I think early versions may have had a slide band). If so,the metal reel seat was cemented to the rod via a wood spacer. To completely remove the seat and spacer requires that you heat the seat with enough heat to loosen the cement (a rosin-type cement akin to the old rosin ferrule cement). Slide the reel seat off then reheat the wood spacer and when it?s hot enough and the rosin is soft enough, it will slide off too. WEAR GLOVES TO DO THIS!!! Heat can be applied from a heat gun or the wife?s blow dryer but be sure the wife is out of the house before grabbing the dryer or flogging may ensue. If you?re careful, you shouldn?t damage the rod by applying the necessary heat?the reel seat area is the thickest part of the bamboo.

You can easily ream (level ream) out your choice of preformed cork grips and slide one on as a replacement (a 55 is not all that collectable). You can epoxy and slide a preformed grip from the back side by building up the rod in the area of the winding check with some nylon thread or cord to the appropriate thickness. If an exact match is what you must have, then you?re probably going to need to go the route of gluing, turning and sanding.

Good luck with your project!

Regards and WDE!!!
Bob L.

?The secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse. ?
--Robert Earl James

[dleo6446]

My SB 55 has a nice large winding check too.! now that means that taking the reel seat off, reaming a new grip and gluing it in place would be the way to go....The winding check on mine is large enough to cover any oversize reaming required to get the grip in place....

Did all 55's have that plated RS? Didn't some of them have that phenolic seat on them too?

[iceman]

Thanks gang for all the good advice. I used a small heat gun to remove the metal seat. The wood spacer wouldn't heat up with the small gun but I used boiling water, dipped it into the water for about a minute and slid off the wooden spacer.

Two questions. How would you suggest I ream out the new grip. The hole is about 1/2 the diameter of the bamboo butt? Second what adhesive should I use to reset the new grip and the spacer and reel seat.

Thanks for the good advice.

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Tom

[kengore]

You can use a small metal 'rat tail' rasp or simply wrap and glue a spiral strip of sand paper around a wood dowel or steel rod.

I like to clamp the reamer in a fixed horizontal position and move the cork handle back and forth. It's easiy for me to grip the cork. Rotate the cork a bit on each pass to insure a round hole.

By adjusting your sanding pressure you can ream tapers as well as straight holes.

I use epoxy with filler to attach handles. The filler I like is made from light weight glass 'micro-spheres'. It adds strength, reduces the weight and makes it easier to apply.

I use 1/2" wide strips of drafting tape as needed for bushings. Leaving at least 1/2" between the tape bushings for glue. I mix the epoxy up to a very thick paste and coat all sides, as I assemble the handle I fill the voids with epoxy mix.

My method would be:
1. Remove the stripper guide and any other guides up to the first ferrule.

2. Remove the hook keeper and winding check.

3. Remove all remaining cork from the grip area.

Either one of the following...

4. Ream out the preformed grip (I would use a length of rod with sandpaper glued to it(forming a beautiful rasp) I get a much better job than using a rat tail file. Glue the grip on and and replace hardware.
refinish if necessary

4. Instead of 4 above...obtain good or better cork rings and ream out each and slide on as far as it will go (snug against reel seat. number this ring #1. Do not glue.

5. Do the same with the remaining rings till
the proper number of rings have been put on.
Each ring= 1/2" so a 7" grip would take 14 rings. They should be numbered 1-14. Be careful when reaming the rings a snug fit is best but not too tight.

6. Use water resistant carpenters glue and glue up the rings in numerical order. Push each ring down tight by resting the blank on the floor. When all are on, either use a clamp to hold things together or continue holding the end on the floor and pressing down hard on the top ring. Hold for as long as you want to but 20 min will be enough if the rings are a snug fit. Set the assembly aside for 48 hrs.

A SIMPLE LATHE
I use an old electric motor 1/2 hp from a flea market and only tape the rod to the shaft. I have three uprights made from 3/4 inch pine. They have holes through them exactly the same height as the motors shaft is above the bench. The motor is clamped (or bolted) to the bench. The uprights are "T" shaped and are mounted upside down...and are "C" clamped to the bench. at the hole locations, Ball bearings are mounted at exactly the right height to accept the rod.(I have three sizes of ball bearings) With the Real seat end taped to the motor I slide the upright up to where the bearing catches then back off and tape about three layers of masking tape where the first bearing will fall Then use the same proceedure for the other two (sometimes one). Nows the time to check to make sure that everything is perfectly lined up. Turn 'er on. If everything was lined up right you should have a smooth running rig with very little or no whip. Grab up a piece of sandpaper and start shaping the grip. I use #40 and #100 to shape then #240 and #1000 wet or dry to smooth things to a silky feel. Only thing to do now is to replace the guides and finish.

What I would do is check rod over paying special attention to the guides and tip-top which can wear to the point needing replacement. If thats the case, I would do the complete job...remove all hardware, scrape off all varnish. replace guides and refinish. Rods that have had especially good care can look perfect but close inspection will sometimes show wear...especially on the upper guides and tip top.

Now get right on it and you'll have it all done in a few days!

PS...If the reel seat is in good order there is absolutely no reason to take it off whatsoever!

Ol' Bill

Ol' Bill

[This message has been edited by snipe (edited 27 February 2005).]

[iceman]

I have finished regripping my South Bend 55 9 foot bamboo rod. It thurned out very nice.

Now if i could get your opinion:

What type model brand of reel should I get to go with the 50's era rod?

What weight and type of line should I use?

Finally what is the action I might expect with rod?? ( not how many trout I catch

Again thaks for the advice.. Couldn't have done it without all your help.

Tom