Ferrule Removal

[bbrothe1]

Hi,

I am refinishing an old cane rod. I am trying to remove the female ferrule from the butt section. I used heat to try to break the glue bond, I can get the ferrule to wiggle now. I looked down from the top and there appears to be a small wooden wedge driven into the top of the cane to hold the ferrule on. There's no edges so I can't grab it and pull it out. Any ideas on getting the ferrule off?

Thanks,

Bill

[BruceHandley]

Are you sure that the ferrule isn't pined, if it is you will have to drive the pin in before ferrule removal.

[bamboo4u2]

Bill,

Sounds to me like your ferrule is pinned. If you look very closely around the outside of your ferrule (sometimes a magnifying glass helps) I?ll bet you?ll see evidence of a pin. Pins can be especially hard to find on nickel/silver ferrules because most of the pins have been filed off to the level of the ferrule and then polished out, rendering the pin almost invisible.

Most ferrules were pinned on only one side however some have a pin that runs all the way through. If and when you find the pin, if it?s the kind that?s pinned on only one side, it needs to be carefully driven back into the bamboo and clear of the thickness of the ferrule, but no further. On a ferrule that has been pinned all the way through, the pin should be driven in only far enough to allow it to be pulled out from the opposite side. When the pin is driven back or pulled out, the ferrule should slip off with a moderate application of heat.

You can make a pin punch out of a piece of piano wire (from a hobby store) of the appropriate thickness held by a pin vise or you could grind down a small punch (nail set).

I haven?t seen a wooden wedge used to hold a ferrule in place.

Regards and WDE!!!
Bob L.

?Actually, it only takes one drink to get me loaded. Trouble is, I can't remember if it's the 10th or 11th. ?
--Robert Earl James


[This message has been edited by bamboo4u2 (edited 07 March 2005).]

[bbrothe1]

I finally managed to get them off. I worked on it last night, I took a needle and felt around the bottom of the female ferrule in the butt section. It turns out there wasn't a wedge in there after all, just some fuzzy debris that looked like old lint. I checked around for a pin, nope, no pin. So, I gently heated over my stove (I have a ceramic stove). The stove was set to low and I turned the rod every 10 minutes or so. After 30 or 40 minutes the ferrule just slid right off. Whew! That was a learning experience. OK, I've got everything apart now and it's time to start the refinishing. Thanks again.

Bill