I bought a returned spey rod from Cabelas and after a few tries at spey casting I noticed a small crack on a female furrel just 2 sections above the butt section.rather than rewrap I applied some zap a gap and applied another coat of finish. the crack still is visible but I believe the zap a gap and finish will do. should I rewrap after gluing or as someone said cut off the crack and rewrap. paid less than $100 for 13 ft 8 wt and can build another if I want but it looks nice ,casts well for a novice spey caster and I have a switch rod I built w/o any similar problems.
any ideas what caused crack? I use parafin as a lube when putting rod together and check regularly if I notice a misalignment of sections so I dont believe that caused the crack.
what is best way to repair and prevent another problem?

The paraffin most likely caused to much area inside the female ferrule and caused a split-out crack. Ferrules are supposed to be used, dry. Wax is too thick and can cause such problems.

It may also have been caused by not having the ferrule fully seated.

Worst case scenario - it fails and then you have to go back and enact a more permanent repair.

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The paraffin most likely caused to much area inside the female ferrule and caused a split-out crack. Ferrules are supposed to be used, dry. Wax is too thick and can cause such problems.

It may also have been caused by not having the ferrule fully seated.

Worst case scenario - it fails and then you have to go back and enact a more permanent repair.

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I have often used a lite coat of canning wax then rub off with fingers or if no wax I rub male section over nose to apply some lub. Is this a no-no

Any thing you put on or in a ferrural will hold dust and dirt better clean and dry

Bill - willierods.com

when seating sections I rotate male section while alligning to insure fully seated.

Yes, it is a no-no. A dry ferrule generally doesn't stick and fits better.

The old U-40 Ferrule Lube (no longer made) was okay as it was a liquid and didn't add any appreciable thickness to the surfaces.

Just keep them clean and assemble as you state you do - the twist is the important part.

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To add to what tom has said i would think that a clean furrel will in time as it is put together and taken apart will fit better because of the two parts wareing and mating so to speck ?? LOL

Bill - willierods.com

Many of us use (like black electrical tape) on the joints of Spey rods after we assemble them to fish. The reason being that the rotations in spey casting have a tendency to loosen the joints after repetitive casts. This loosening is a very likely cause for cracking the female ferrule. If you prefer not to tape, then be sure to check the fit frequently!!

some one else suggested the duct tape or electrical tape on the joints as you said. will do so especially on spey and switch rods and again will eliminate wax on male section. the mention of u40 liquid ferrel lub would wd40 keep the sections from binding.or is that counter productive since you said you want the parts to wear together for a better fit

The U40 was a bit unique as it both lubricated the sections and helped them stay together better. But it's long, long out of production.

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I have successfully repaired cracked female ferrules for over 25 years by: a slightly different application of crazy glue as per above. I remove the hoop wrap on the ferrule. Then I apply a coat of paraffin wax to the male section. Next I place the male section a bit past the normal mating point..... g e n t l y . This makes the crack open up so as to be seen quite easily. Crazy glue is flooded into the crack, effectively coating the edges. The male ferrule is then withdrawn, and a q tip is inserted into the female section, and twisted a few revs, in case some glue made its way past the crack, into the bore. The wax is removed from the male section. It was there to prevent instant bonding of the two rod sections. Crazy glue is very fast. The hoop wrap is then replaced, about twice as long as it used to be. Works for me Your mileage may vary.

U-40 Ferrule lube was Teflon suspended in acetone or ketone, I don/t remember which. It actually cleaned the ferrules, and then deposited a micro fine layer of Teflon on the mating surfaces. Ralph also made it in a spray can form to be used as a release agent when bedding rifle barrels to a stock that was coated with epoxy. Great product but the solvent is probably why he quit making the ferrule lube.

They quit making it because no one would buy it.

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I thought of using a male section to open the crack after removing the thread wrap but never thought of using parafin to keep sections from being glued. I thought of the q tip to remove any zap a gap that got inside of the female. I didnt want to go that route cause I didnt have the proper thread color but when I return from Florida I will order the thread and do as you suggested. thanks for input.

Ferrule lube still available under Renzetti brand

Trondike makes a u40 ferrule lube but I cant find a dealer. can it be ordered from Trondike directly?