A little rod repair issue.

robtherake

robtherake

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As some of you may have read, Sagalout received a 12ft Drennan Ultralight which had been folded in half by the carrier, neatly bisecting the two sections. I had initially intended to cannibalise the rod for spares after he kindly offered it to whoever could use it, but the breaks are quite clean and I intend to resurrect it as either a two or four piece rod, dependent on whim. If the experiment fails and the rod becomes unusable I can always revert to plan A, so nothing is lost.

I used a craft knife to sever the glue between the last cork and the composite cork butt cap, then soaked it in boiling water to soften the glue and successfully removed it without damage. However, there's a crescent of glue that's squeezed out internally at the junction with the reel seat which needs to be removed before a spigot can be inserted to test for fit. I've tried abrasive on the end of a metal rod, but it's difficult to apply sufficient pressure. Perhaps the same rod could be used - suitably hot - to melt the obstruction.

I'm hoping someone else has come upon the same problem and has a workable solution that doesn't involve dismantling the rest of the handle.
 
sam vimes

sam vimes

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Pics might be a good idea. I'll be damned if I can visualise what you are attempting to describe.
 
robtherake

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sam vimes said:
Pics might be a good idea. I'll be damned if I can visualise what you are attempting to describe.
Click to expand...

OK, I'll try again, because pics are problematic. Take the butt cap off a rod and you're looking down the hollow blank from the widest end. The butt section of this rod is broken in half a foot above the handle, but it's a simple repair involving a spigot of some sort, which is passed down through the widest end of the blank to the narrowest and fixed into place before whipping the join between the two broken ends.

The problem being that there is a line of glue running round half of the inner circumference of the blank tube, which appears to have squeezed out from where the reel seat fits on the handle. This solid crescent of glue is preventing the passage of the spigot beyond this point, so it needs to be removed before I can proceed.

I may be mere minutes away from heating up a length of metal rod and attempting to melt the obstruction, but was hoping that someone can suggest a less drastic course of action because I am the clumsiest ****** you ever met (and you've had a brief, but educational demonstration of how things are!)
 
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sam vimes

sam vimes

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robtherake said:
The problem being that there is a line of glue running round half of the inner circumference of the blank tube, which appears to have squeezed out from where the reel seat fits on the handle. This solid crescent of glue is preventing the passage of the spigot past this point, so it needs to be removed before I can proceed.
Click to expand...

OK, I think I've got it. However, I'm more than a little puzzled as to how any glue from the reel seat would get through the blank. Is the butt section not one solid piece? Is there a join underneath the reel seat?
 
robtherake

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sam vimes said:
OK, I think I've got it. However, I'm more than a little puzzled as to how any glue from the reel seat would get through the blank. Is the butt section not one solid piece? Is there a join underneath the reel seat?
Click to expand...

I'm thinking that the handle is constructed from two separate sections, with the foregrip and reel seat on the blank proper pushing into the rear part of the handle, but it's hard to see when you're squinting down a narrow tube.:eek:mg:
I could take it to bits but in all probability it means destroying the cork in the process and I'd prefer not to for obvious reasons.
 
sam vimes

sam vimes

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All I can suggest, short of stripping the handle down, is a long piece of dowel with emery cloth fixed to it. Good luck, rather you than me.
 
S-Kippy

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Chisel......or something like that. If you can reach the glue with an edged tool it might chip off. I'd be wary of applying heat as you'd almost certainly go through the blank.

I'm struggling to visualise this too so be gentle with me if I've missed the point. If the break is a foot above the handle then the spigot doesn't need to be that long as the butt section won't be flexing much. I wouldn't have thought you needed to go anywhere near the handle itself.
 
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robtherake

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If the break was on a parallel section of blank it'd be OK, because the spigot would just slide right in at the site of the break. Because of the rod's taper the spigot (also tapered) needs to be inserted from the widest end (the butt) and slid down to the narrow end, down the middle of the blank tube. Once it's glued in place the other half of the broken end can be pushed onto the exposed end of the spigot so that the two broken ends marry up and then it just needs whipping over. Am I overcomplicating things, because it wouldn't be the first time.:rolleyes:

After having a good old squint, it seems that the portion of the handle behind the reel seat is made separately on a parallel section of tube. The blank proper pushes into this tube and it's here that the glue has squeezed out, where the two are bonded together. The reel seat and foregrip will (presumably)then be slid down the blank and into place before rings and cosmetics are added.

---------- Post added at 23:31 ---------- Previous post was at 22:40 ----------
peter crabtree said:
Not a lot going on in Yorkshire then?
Click to expand...

Don't get me started, bud. Put it this way - you wouldn't want to swap lives; not in a million years. I'm an Asperger's sufferer trying to look after an adult son with a mental age around 7 or 8 years and a wife with chronic fatigue and a barbed tongue. All the fun of the fair.:rolleyes:

Peeing about trying to fix an old rod is about as good as it gets, most nights.

Edit: Sorry, mate, that was uncalled for and I apologise.
 
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Ray Roberts

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Could you not cut down the piece you are using as an internal spigot to a manageable length and just drop it through? Then you could pull it up snuggly, make a pencil mark on the spigot and then cut the spigot to its final length.

The finished length of the spigot only has to be four inches or so long and it would probably pass the obstruction.
 
mikench

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That little job will keep you out of mischief Rob and may interfere with fishing. Save it for those long dark winter nights!;)
 
R

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Ok lets have a go.

The spigot your putting in will have a taper, correct ??

Put the spigot into the butt section from the top of the section, until it is tight,not from the butt end you have cut off.

Once in place make a pencil make and add 4 to 5 inches. Cut at the line of the added on 4 to 5 inches. You should then be able to push the spigot into the butt section from the end you have cut off. Once in place you should have enough of the spigot sticking out for the other section to fit on.

If you still can't get past the glue, then the only way i can see you getting the glue out is via a red hot bit of pipe. There are glue removers you can buy, but they are not going to be any good, as you are limited by the small hollow.

Other than that, it might be quicker, and a hell of a lot easier to just start from scratch. To have glue in the hollow sounds to me like the butt section is in two parts.
 
bracket

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S-Kippy said:
This has all the makings of a Norse Saga. Keep at it Rob and we shall expect pictures of the finished article.
Click to expand...

Being a Child of Odin and having cast the Runes for guidence, my suggestion is this: Take a long piece of wood dowel that will pass down the inside of the butt section. Drill it centrally, lenghtways, to accept the tang of a round or half round file that also fits down the inside of the butt. With care you should be able to chaval away the excess glue, which will most likely be an apoxy resin, gluing the straight butt to the carbon blank. I have used a similar method to reduce internal diameters in the past but in my case I had an expanding reamer which I had braized onto a steel rod. Pete.
 
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robtherake

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bracket said:
Being a Child of Odin and having thrown the Runes for guidence, my suggestion is this: Take a long piece of wood dowel that will pass down the inside of the butt section. Drill it centrally, lenghtways, to accept the tang of a round or half round file that also fits down the inside of the butt. With care you should be able to chaval away the excess glue, which will most likely be an apoxy resin, gluing the straight butt to the carbon blank. I have used a similar method to reduce internal diameters in the past but in my case I had an expanding reamer which I had braized onto a steel rod. Pete.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Pete. I do have a selection of files, so that's a go.:thumbs:

Funnily enough, I watched some Youtube vids on rod repair last night and the fella was using reamers to get the bore on the replacement corks to the correct size. How handy, I thought...:)

---------- Post added at 10:53 ---------- Previous post was at 10:45 ----------
Ray Roberts said:
Could you not cut down the piece you are using as an internal spigot to a manageable length and just drop it through? Then you could pull it up snuggly, make a pencil mark on the spigot and then cut the spigot to its final length.

The finished length of the spigot only has to be four inches or so long and it would probably pass the obstruction.
Click to expand...

Tried that one, Ray; I pushed the donor spigot into the broken end to get an idea of the width and length needed, then cut it off and dropped it in...where it jammed immediately, although it was easy enough to extract. The glue forms a ridge that's too wide for the spigot to pass. Thanks, though; it's a good suggestion.:)

---------- Post added at 11:07 ---------- Previous post was at 10:53 ----------
Ray Daywalker Clarke said:
Ok lets have a go.

The spigot your putting in will have a taper, correct ??

Put the spigot into the butt section from the top of the section, until it is tight,not from the butt end you have cut off.

Once in place make a pencil make and add 4 to 5 inches. Cut at the line of the added on 4 to 5 inches. You should then be able to push the spigot into the butt section from the end you have cut off. Once in place you should have enough of the spigot sticking out for the other section to fit on.

If you still can't get past the glue, then the only way i can see you getting the glue out is via a red hot bit of pipe. There are glue removers you can buy, but they are not going to be any good, as you are limited by the small hollow.

Other than that, it might be quicker, and a hell of a lot easier to just start from scratch. To have glue in the hollow sounds to me like the butt section is in two parts.
Click to expand...

It is in two parts. Closer examination reveals that the handle rearward of the reel seat is on a parallel piece of tube and that the blank proper fits into it. This explains why the glue has squeezed out where it has, but unfortunately, the glue partially obscures the bore of the main blank, which is almost parallel at that point, so not enough room to squeeze the spigot past the obstruction.

I tried a hot metal rod, but after previous comments was reluctant to heat it up too far. A tube of the right diameter might be a better option, as you say, but I'll give Pete's suggestion a try beforehand.

Thing is, it's only a couple of hours work away from being a serviceable rod. Even if I consider the action compromised (being a little stiffer is no problem, it's whether the action remains smooth) it'll make a fine starter rod for some lucky young rapscallion, so either way it's worth the effort.
 
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