This question is from Volume 6, Issue #6 of RodMaker
Magazine:
Q.
With all the talk about how fragile some graphite rods are,
why not just make them solid? I've got solid glass boat
rods that you could drive over without hurting them. They
hold up to anything and everything and take any kind of
abuse. Seems like graphite rods could be made the same
way and become nearly indestructible while keeping the
lightness feature of graphite. Is this not feasible and
if so why wouldn't it be? Why does no one make solid
graphite rods? If you know of some out there please supply
the source. Thanks. Scott...Mishawaka, IN.
A.
A solid rod will generally be more durable than a
tubular rod. But a tubular rod will offer greater
stiffness for the same weight/amount of material
involved. So to get the same stiffness in any particular
graphite tubular rod, the same rod made in a solid form
would require you to use more material, more graphite, and
thus would weigh much more than our tubular rod. In effect,
you'd be negating the vary benefits that manufacturers
switched to graphite in order to get.
Most rods have been designed to offer a pretty reasonable
combination of weight, performance and durability. In
the event that utmost durability is your goal, however,
you'll have to lean towards those blanks with smaller
diameters and greater wall thicknesses. But just like
rods of solid construction, the smaller diameter,
thicker walled blanks will weigh more for any given stiffness
than their larger diameter, thinner walled counterparts.
Unfortunately, you have to give on one end to get something
on the other. ~ TK
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