Number 5. This cheapie should have been thrown away but sentimentality
overruled mentality. Somebody stepped on the ferrule and that sorta put
things out of round, and that somebody wants to pay for it - so here we go.
Picture of original break got lost, but it showed the ferrule with many
pieces separated and damage extending about 1 &1/2 inches inboard from the
end. This is a male ferrule so we want to restore the original OD as near as
possible. I selected a piece of fiberglass that fit into the ferrule and
cut it to extend 2&1/2 inches into the ferrule and rod. I left about 4
inches excess for the rod wrapping chuck. I applied a liberal quantity of
RodBond to the reinforcing piece and to the inside of the damage. The piece
was inserted in position and the frayed damage of the original carefully
positioned around it. The ferrule was now wrapped with 'D' thread very
tightly. Wrapping is very slow as the frayed pieces have to be positioned
as you go along. There will be lots of squeeze out which should be
distributed liberally along the entire damaged area. When the RodBond is
fully hardened, remove the thread and clean off the excess adhesive.
Install it in your rod wrapper again and work the surface to a smooth finish
with fine files and 320 to 400 grit abrasive paper. Wrapping the broken
pieces around the insert should insure a good round OD, but final smoothing
will be necessary. Now you can test your handiwork by inserting it into its
intended place in life - the female part of the joint. When you are close
to a final fit, cut off the excess and finish it by hand.
FINISHING
The final act will be to coat the entire ferrule with 1 coat of Permagloss,
or an equivalent Urethane. Why Urethane? Because urethanes have the best
abrasion resistance of all the possible coatings that are available to you.
After the Urethane is cured I always coat ferrules with U-40 Ferrule Lube
and they will last much longer as this teflon product eliminates the
friction and wear of a fiber to fiber ferrule and the ferrules will fit much
tighter. [publishers. note - See the
Product Review on U-40 Ferrule Lube.]
And all this for a $9.95 Wal Mart special! Don't expect to get rich.
CONCLUSION
As many of you have concluded by now, repair work is a labor of love. And I
have found it a lonesome labor. I can find all sorts of builders with
talents far beyond mine, that will readily engage in discussions about
finishes, spine, handle shapes, guides, thread art, (I hate it) any subject
pertaining to building a better and/or prettier rod. But as soon as I
broach the subject of repair I'm looked at like I'm some sort of weirdo
that should crawl back under the rock from whence I came. The conversation
now changes from enthusiasm to boredom with a faint trace of hostility
thrown in for good measure. And not surprisingly, it is from these very
same talented artisans that some of the most pitifully inadequate attempts
at repair have originated. We as rod builders are usually judged as a
group. If one very excellent rod is known to have been constructed by a
custom rod builder, the general public sees ALL custom rod builders as
producing the same thing. If one botched up repair job is known to have
been botched by a custom rod builder, then ALL custom rod builders botch
repair jobs. Repair is certainly not the most glamorous aspect of the
custom rod builders' art, but it is becoming increasingly more in demand so
it behooves us to recognize this fact and learn to do it correctly - or at
least acceptably. ~ R. O'Quinn
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