There are more and more of you out there fixing up old rods, even fixing up
not so old rods. Your high-end graphite fly rods, spin rods, plug casting
rods, etc., are not noted for their ruggedness or durability. They are
noted for their delightful handling characteristics and their not so
delightful cost. It almost seems as though the higher the cost - the easier
they break. The manufacturers of these rods usually have an unconditional
warranty. Stomp on it, run over it with your pickup - whatever - they will
replace it. But the replacement is not always a painless process. If it
gets broken on a weekend and you want to go fishing the next weekend, you
had better have a substitute rod or two on hand, or else you will find
yourself staying home and thinking about the nice trip you might have had
if only . . .
I'm finding more and more of these high end rods that are repaired - sorta
- then I get them after the repair needs repairing. Ordinarily if a rod is
damaged and the damage is repaired, the manufacturer will not honor the
warranty because it has been altered. So you make your choice - send it
back - or have it repaired. But you donıt have it repaired for next week's
long-planned trip, then send it to the manufacturer when you return. It's an
either/or situation, not both.
For some reason more of the older rods are being repaired. I have repaired
lots and lots of rods where the cost of the repair was substantially greater
than what it would have been to replace the rod with a far better one.
Sentimentality is usually involved here and I have no quarrel with that, as
long as all the facts are laid on the table. The repairman must present all
the facts of the poor economics of such, and the repairee must be of legal
age and sound mind.
Quite a few of older rods are also being "re-worked" or "re-furbished", and
the expertise necessary to properly accomplish this job falls within the
repair category. Once a guy has fished with the same rod for 30 years,
caught many a memory and developed a feel for that particular stick - he
doesn't listen to all the hype about the reel seat being rusty and loose,
the handle squishy and half gone, the guides mostly taped on. These things
are irrelevant. He even goes with family and friends to local sports shops
and handles literally dozens of new modern rods of a similar makeup - but
nothing FEELS right. Then he learns about this guy that can make the old
rod new again - at about twice the price of those he looked at in the shop!
Repair Skill
The skills involved in repairing a rod can be more demanding than the skills
involved in building a rod. This statement, of course, will be challenged
by the many fine craftsmen engaged in producing the excellent custom rods so
prevalent in our fishing society, especially by those who have mastered
thread art and specialize in beautiful butt wraps. However, from many of
these fine craftsmen I see a lack of understanding of basic structural
principals as well as a lack of knowledge of rudimentary rod blank
construction. From very competent rod builders I have seen atrocious
attempts at repair of the rod that they so expertly created. I think that a
lot of this has to do with where the heart lies. If your heart isn't in it
- forget it - don't clobber it up just to get it out of your hair. Probably
one of the most common of repair jobs that any of us are asked to perform is
the simple procedure of putting back together two pieces of a rod - usually
tip sections - that were inadvertently separated. I have a few of these
jobs in my shop at the present time, so letıs go through the repair of some
of them and analyze the reasoning behind each one. I have selected some
that are very common to all of us, simple tip sections of fly rods and light
spin rods - and progressive in their complexity. All are of graphite
construction.
1. A 4-weight fly rod, broken in the center of the guide adjacent to the
tip.
2. A 6-weight fly rod, broken about a foot from the tip, between the
second and third guide.
3. Another 4-weight fly rod, broken about 9 inches from the ferrule.
4. A medium-weight spin rod, crushed forward of the gathering guide.
5. A crushed ferrule on a very cheap discount store special fly rod.
OBJECTIVE
When we join two separated sections of a rod, the intent is that the
completed repair be as structurally sound as the original and that it
perform, feel and act as it did before it became disjointed. Therefore it
follows that our repair materiel should represent as closely as possible the
properties that are inherent in the original rod, i.e., have the same
stiffness, flex etc, but it is more important that we maintain the
properties of the ROD itself. It must retain the same balance, the same
flexure, the same power, the same overall properties inherent in the
original design. The only logical manner in which to join these broken rod
tips is to use a tapered tubular section of similar materiel and make a
splice. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I've removed from repairs
that went sour. Piano wire, small nails, wooden dowels, aluminum tubing,
brass tubing, steel tubing, solid plastic rods like pieces of plastic chop
sticks - you name it. Let's take the repair examples one at a time and
analyze their differences and sameness. ~ R. O'Quinn
Next Time!
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