Refurbishing an old rod

Whilst up at my paernts recently I found in the loft, a rod which was made for me as a boy some 40 years ago. Essentially it is a two piece 11ft rod with a cane butt section, and a glass top section. Sadly time has not done it any favours and I found the the eyes and the whipping which secures them, had detriorated and in some cases the eyes had actually come off in the bag.

I would like for the sake of nostalga to use this again one day, but don't really want to take it to a specialist who would possibly charge more than the actual value. Indeed, I would like to have a go at it myself and I am therefore looking for some guidance as to the best way of restoring this rod to something near it's former glory.

Could anybody out there possibly guide me to a web site or perhaps send me some information of the technique of securing replacement eyes and the materials best used.

Many thanks
Ian

Red6 ,hi here are some sites that might be of help
rodbuilding instructions

rodbuilding tutorial


i hope this is of some help
steve

( http://www.angelfire.com/sd2/chavender )

My Grandad used to make split cane rods, mainly for salmon fishing, so I speak from a seen it done, but not done it point of veiw. In addition to this description (Below) which I have found on the net, he used to place the rod onto a pair of metal plates with two wheels (rubber edged) on each that turned very close together. this made the rotation of the rod simple and controlled, and I think that masking tape was used on the opposite foot of the guide to keep it in place until one side was whipped.

The way to do the whipping is as follows:

Get you thread lay about 3"to 4" of thread (loose end) and lay this along your rod towards the rod guide, then start making the turns around the rod and trapping the loose end under your turns, working towards the loose end. When you are about 8 to 10 turns from the end get the loose end make a loop and lay it over the turns you have made. Carry on making the rest of your turns trapping the loose end under your last 8 to 10 turns. When you get to the end of the turns cut off the thread from your bobbin and thread the end of it through the loop. Holding on to the end from the bobbin pull on the loose end trapping the end from the bobbin under the whipping. Then cut any excess thread off the bobbin end and the loose end. Your first whipping done, next remove the tape from the other foot and start on this one. When done, get a match or lighter and lightly singe the whipping, this will burn off any loose fibres and leave you with a neat and tidy finish. Then start on your next one, repeating the process again until you have completed all the guides on your rod.

The next thing to tackle is the tip guide. To do this get your hot melt glue stick, melt the end with a lighter and then apply some to the end of your rod. Place the tip guide over the top before the glue sets. You can then put a whipping at the top of your rod overlapping onto the tip guide.

The finishing touch

The final thing to do is coat your whipping with Pro Gloss resin. This must be done at room temperature, following instructions on the label. Then put your rod section between two "V" blocks made from wood, one at each end of the rod section. This is so you can rotate the rod section as the resin is setting and get an even finish to the whipping. This needs to be done every 10 to 15 min for about two hours or more.