OK, here’s a question. I have a beautiful Diamondback 7’ 2/2 4WT Bamboo Fly Rod. Problem is that one of the tips has a hairline crack in one of the side strips, only appearant as the rod tip is flexed and not on the spine or belly of the rod.
One of my fellow TU members suggested using s syringe to inject some additional adhesive in the crack as it opens from flexing, then wrap it with silk thread. Diamondback wants $350 for a new tip as they do not warranty bamboo, but may or may not have a tip to replace the broken one.
The question comes what type of glue or adhesive do I use?
Then the second question is the wraps have a clear see through look to them, maybe a slight amber color, but clear. Wondering if the Gossamer silk in white would work and would it change to the transparent clear / amber color?
I’ll take a picture of the crack and the wraps tomorrow morning and attach them in a second post.
Thanks
Matt
What you suggest doing is the appropriate way to do things, but working with a delamination can lead to bigger things. I suggest you pose your question at: www.clarksclassicflyrodforum.yuku.com, as this appears to be the premier forum for things bamboo. There are many highly qualified rod builders there who also do repair work, and at very reasonable prices. I would recommend that you check some of them out before you do anything yourself. I can personally vouch for Dave LeClaire, located in up-state New York. You can Google him at: The Fly and Rod Room.
Good Luck!
Aged sage
I have made such a repair. I used Gorilla Glue gives a good working time until you hit it with water. Once dry I wrapped the repair about 1/2in above and below with Pearsall’s white Gossamer silk. Then I applied three coats of Spar varnish. The wraps will practically disappeared.
What narcodog says is true; however, you should first insert straight pins to open the delaminarion up to ensure that you get the glue all the way across the surface-to-be-glued. It can happen that when you start opening the gap with pins that it starts to “run” ( just like a runner in a woman’s silk stocking!), which can lead to having to re-glue all six strips!(Don’t even think about asking how I know!!) Instead of Gorilla Glue, I would recommend Tite Bond II or III. The basis for this is that you need a glue that is very thin to get it to ‘flow’ to the very bottom of the delamination, both across the flats and down their length to be sure that there are no voids left. You can thin the Tite bond with a little water, but can’t use water with the gorilla Glue, as it requires water as an activator. You can also use the nylon sewing thread (11 X tippet material) to bind the area after applying the glue. It will definitely dry clear, and you can either leave it as a ‘splint’, or remove it. If you remove it, you may need to VERY lightly sand the area to remove the glue ridges, and do a ‘touch-up’ with varnish. These are the primary reasons why I initially suggested getting a ‘pro’ to do it. However, to do it yourself makes for a very educational experience IMHO. I first cut my teeth on a few old cheap production rods before I ever ventured to do anything to a bamboo rod of any value, and I don’t regret starting out this way.
Cheers,
aged sage
Here’s a picture of the wraps I need to duplicate, guessing Gossamer White Silk on this one?
Also what the cracked tip I need to repair looks like.