First Time Rod Repair - Keeping the action....

[satinet]

A while back I snapped my shakey Mach 2xt 9ft wand. This is a very light action rod with a 4lb max line rating. I think I only paid about £25 for it but I did like it, so I decided to have a go at fixing it. Nothing lost if it bodged it. The break actually happened when I lent over it while I had it against the kitchen counter in a rod bag (silly boy). I have not tried to fix a rod before but I do know how to use composites as I fly RC models where the sound of splintered carbon and shattered dreams is inevitable.

I thought fixing it strong would be okay but this would create an obvious flat spot in the rod. Kind of not used to trying to repair something to not be too strong The problem with this rod is that it's really thin and the break was the between the last two rings on the main blank (before the quiver inserts). The only think I could find to put inside was the quiver tip from a broken mitchell fluid feeder rod that was approximately the correct diameter but needed making a bit bigger to fix snug. The problem when you break a rod isn't the break itself which is pretty easy to fix it's the splits that go longways up the rod (if you hacksawed a rod and then tried to fix it, it would be a much easier fix .

First of I tried wrapping the piece of quiver tip in some glass cloth. This was tough at this very low diameter. You cannot get the cloth to grip as you wind it down. I actually did this in some old mitre mate and then blathered it from the outside with expoxy resin. This worked okay. I sanded it down and it fit quite nicely.

 

[satinet]

This was going fine and fit snug in the two halfs, but then as I had the glue in place i suddenly realised that the longitudanal split was much more than I though and the piece I had prepped was too short. I had the other quiver from the broke rod so a bit of quick thinking was required and I packed out the diameter with some masking tape which perhaps should have been my first though. This will soak in the epoxy.

I glued this in to both rod halfs and let it dry. This worked find but when you bend the rod the outside of it was still coming apart. I did wonder whether an insert alone would be enough and obviously it wasn't.

 

[satinet]

So time to turn to something else. I wrapped the longways split and the break in carbon tows. Again you have the same issue with nothing being able to hold the stuff done while you wrap it tight so I just used some tape to wrap it tight. This peels off after it's dry.

Actually I did this process twice as the first time didn't work. I must have made a mistake with the mix ratio on the epoxy which is 5 to 1. It didn't set first time. The epoxy is pretty old and crappy but still goes off ok for the purposes of this. You have to weigh it out to get the right mix for which I use a little set of scales.

 

[satinet]

After it had dried (takes 24 hrs). I peeled back the tape and the repair seemed good. All I did was sand it down a bit and then hit it with some clear lacquer to make sure it's sealed.

Here is also a picture of the action of the rod. Least it didn't snap when I put a quite big weight on it. The repair bends as I wanted. Pretty happy with the outcome. Guess proof will come in the pudding. I.e how it stands up to casting and playing fish.

Obviously you are always going to create stress points where the repair ends, assuming it's stronger than original, but there are also stress points at the rings and spigots etc as well in really extreme circumstances.

I welcome any comments on how it could have been done better!

 

[satinet]

The break was here btw.

 

[Yosemite Sam]

Looks like a good effort to me, although the proof in the pudding will be when you next use it. If you are happy then it doesn’t matter.??

 

[Total]

@satinet .....Reading your accounts above I actually think you've cleverly thought it out and procured a decent result from the photos.......The only thing I perhaps would have done/suggested is used a new packet of epoxy....

I hope you have many more happy hours use from this rod....

 

[satinet]

@satinet .....Reading your accounts above I actually think you've cleverly thought it out and procured a decent result from the photos.......The only thing I perhaps would have done/suggested is used a new packet of epoxy....

I hope you have many more happy hours use from this rod....

Thanks. Hopefully it will still give me good service.

Yes I need some new glue but to replace that West epoxy would actually cost a fair bit more than that rod cost. The problem is that it gets worse over time. Good stuff though.

 

[OldTaff]

Great thread - good to see the repair process and I hope the rod gives many more years of happy fishing.

 

[jasonb]

Great job

 

[adriang]

interesting read, and job well done.

 

[R0B]

It looks like a good job. The only improvements are things you've already dealt with, like a better fitting under-repair section and how to approach the overwrap. Even thread and epoxy (or silk thread and epoxy for a clear repair) is usually enough for the overwrap - could the tow be started and finished like whipping thread so you could keep it tight? The rod is short so the weight of the repair shouldn't be too noticeable - if it is you can always counter balance with some lead up the butt.

When I did builds and repairs for a shop, the customers used to bring me old broken sections for free to keep for repairs. Not only did I use them, but being poor, I also managed to make myself a "pair" of light carp/tench rods out of bits and pieces . Incredibly they held permanently and I lost one and sold the other eventually. It is sometimes surprising what you can do, especially as there are so many similar carbon blanks used for mid range big brand rods.

Repairing an old or cheap rod that you love so it can fight again is a great thing. I hope it puts many more fish on the bank for you.

 

[trotter2]

It's always a difficult job in the thin tip sections like you found out it needs an internal spigot and external carbon wrap to make it strong. A spigot by itself works ok in the thicker sections but not a tip I find.
Well done.

 

[satinet]

It looks like a good job. The only improvements are things you've already dealt with, like a better fitting under-repair section and how to approach the overwrap. Even thread and epoxy (or silk thread and epoxy for a clear repair) is usually enough for the overwrap - could the tow be started and finished like whipping thread so you could keep it tight? The rod is short so the weight of the repair shouldn't be too noticeable - if it is you can always counter balance with some lead up the butt.

When I did builds and repairs for a shop, the customers used to bring me old broken sections for free to keep for repairs. Not only did I use them, but being poor, I also managed to make myself a "pair" of light carp/tench rods out of bits and pieces . Incredibly they held permanently and I lost one and sold the other eventually. It is sometimes surprising what you can do, especially as there are so many similar carbon blanks used for mid range big brand rods.

Repairing an old or cheap rod that you love so it can fight again is a great thing. I hope it puts many more fish on the bank for you.

Hi
Thanks for the idea. I hadn't thought of doing it like a whipping. I've never whipped an eye but I have seen it done on YouTube. I'll have to give it's go. Might be one to take over to the rc boys.

It was also a case of using what I had rather than buying anything new. I even used some of my daughter's paint brushes because I didn't have any epoxy brushes. All the other stuff was from my RC repair Stocks. I've literally spent pence on it. So that's good.

I wanted to use a fairly flexible spigot because the rod is very flexible. I could have sanded down a solid carbon rod but I think it would have been miles too stiff.

I'm not sure how much weight the repair added. Not much though. It's only a short length of glass rod and some tows. The rod felt great with a greys gfs30 on which I would use with it. So I'm happy with that side of it.

Obviously it will depend how it holds up but I didn't put a serious bend in it and it was fine.

Can't wait to get fishing now! Weather a bit bleep though.

 

[satinet]

It's always a difficult job in the thin tip sections like you found out it needs an internal spigot and external carbon wrap to make it strong. A spigot by itself works ok in the thicker sections but not a tip I find.
Well done.

Thanks. What's it like keeping the alignment of the rod in breaks further down?

I only eye balled it but the whippings interrupt your sight line. Also the rod bends ever so slightly under it's own weight with the feeder tips on.

 

[trotter2]

Thanks. What's it like keeping the alignment of the rod in breaks further down?

I only eye balled it but the whippings interrupt your sight line. Also the rod bends ever so slightly under it's own weight with the feeder tips on.

Its ok usually it rare that it breaks perfectly square cut so you can see were it needs to go. Failing that just sight down the guides like putting a rod up.

 

[trotter2]

What you will find if you do the old standard way of fixing a break which is fitting a spigot and araldite it in ,whipping over the top. It time it will break down mite take years but it will start to go. First you will notice the tell tale cracking on the glue line were the two section come together .The best way is spigot and carbon wrap it will last forever. Plenty of YouTube videos on how it's done.

 

[R0B]

What you will find if you do the old standard way of fixing a break which is fitting a spigot and araldite it in ,whipping over the top. It time it will break down mite take years but it will start to go. First you will notice the tell tale cracking on the glue line were the two section come together .

This usually happens when the spigot is a poor fit (too loose or wrong taper) or too soft (bending inside the blank) and/or there's too much glue/poor quality glue. Over time the constant opposing flexing forces (from casting then playing/bringing in fish) work the glue down and the joint develops movement which shows in the cracks.
A correctly fitted spigot of the right taper and power, with the appropriate glue (like U40 rod bond) should give the same or better service as a factory spigot joint between two sections. Providing the walls of the rod sections are up to it (this is where you decide on carbon wrap) Of course, this means having a good stock of solid glass and solid carbon tapers, as well as hollow carbon in order to find a good spigot.

 

[trotter2]

 

[satinet]

That's a really interesting video. I've never used epoxy that sets that slowly. The method he uses solved the problem of trying to wrap pre wet-out cloth around stuff.

With regards to repairing fully snapped tubes of a decent diameter, I know from RC experience that it's a lot stronger if you do a repairs inside and out. What I tend to do is treat a thicker part of what would be the pole with mould release wax and lay some wraps of carbon cloth around it. Then if you cut a slit in this you can take it off. As it was from the larger diameter you can can fold it to the inside of the break because of the slit and glue in place then do a repair on the the outside as per that video. Then you've got strengthening inside and out. Although that looked like pretty beefy cloth so I guess it's would be plenty strong enough for the application of a pole repair.