I need help repairing this rod. It looks to me like it wasnt glued well by Fenwick back in the day, this is an early graphite GFF series rod. The upper section is broken and is not glued to the blank. Sooo.......... how can I get epoxy or a good bonding glue into the loose section and make a decent repair?

Do I have to boil the bottom section, repair the part, then replace the entire handle, or, is there another way? Thanks.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2015 07:07PM by Jesse Shipe.

Is it originally a 2 pc rod or a 1 pc. Why would the upper section be glued to the butt section? Why do you think you have to boil the bottom section? Does the grip or reel seat need to be replace? Kind of a confusing post. Clarity helps a lot in giving answers. Not trying to be disrespectful, but I don't really understand what you wish to do.

x2 on what Randolph said or a photo would help to understand you problem

Regards Baz

Bundeena
NSW Australia

Sorry for the confusion, the grip is cracked and loose. I hope to post a pic, but that didnt work. Sorry...

I would like to keep this original grip if possible.

Jesse,
From your description, it sounds to me like you have a loose fore grip.
i.e. you ave a rear grip, a reel seat and a fore grip.

So, since many of the rods of today don't have fore grips, if it was my rod, I would just remove the fore grip, clean up the area, wrap that area with guide thread to cover the blank, call it a butt wrap and apply guide finish to the threads.
No real need for the fore grip on most rods, so, unless you actually have your hand on the fore grip, I would just remove it, cover the area and move on.

To remove the fore grip, I just use a pair of slip joint pliers and chew off the old grip. Once I get the grip mainly gone; I will use a bit of heat to soften the glue and then just use a sharp knife held at 90 degrees to the blank to remove the softened glue. Then, if necessary, use fine sand paper to clean up and smooth any remaining area before using thread to cover the area and coat with thread finish.

Take care

No, this is a 1 piece cork grip on a 6' 4wt fly rod. I want to preserve the grip. It basically broke about 3 inches from the hosel toward the reel seat section. (This handle is cork all the way to the butt). The break is clean, the broken part turns freely on the rod blank. The bottom section below the break is fine.

I want to repair this and keep it original looking.

I would like to post a pic, but I could not find the info here...

Sounds like all you should have to do is remove the broken section of cork. If there is a guide above the cork, remove it and slide the cork off the blank. True up the remaining portion of the grip, then glue the number of cork rings that you want on the blank, then shape them, re-wrap the guide or guides, finish and you are good to go.

If it spins in place, maybe it will slide forward, remove the hosel, or see if you can get it to come loose and than glue it all back together. Cork clamp it, or rubber band it and let set for 6 to 12 hrs.

I think I get the picture of what is wrong but a real pic wold help. If it's a clean break like you say you could get a syringe(many rod building suppliers carry them) and fill it with epoxy. paint a little epoxy on the joint then clamp together and then using the syringe pump some epoxy between the cork and the blank. you may have to drill a small hole into the cork to get the syringe in there and then patch it with some cork putty.

I think the easiest way is what Spencer has posted keeping the old section if it fits well together

Bill - willierods.com

I have found that medical syringes, complete with needle (get the largest size they offer-try the pharmacy at big grocery stores) are less expensive than the ones sold for measuring epoxy by rodbuilding suppliers, and with the needle, repairs like this become more precise, and with a smaller hole if one is necessary. Once used with mixed epoxy in them the syringe will have to be carefully cleaned of all the epoxy or thrown away. If you have a needle, dispose properly.

I agree that you should be able to do this repair with no more disassembly than possibly the "hosel." You want to get the epoxy along the blank and onto the fracture area of the grip. If the adjacent area at the blank doesn't appear solidly glued, inject some there too. Any epoxy that gets onto the surface of the cork should be cleaned off before it cures with alcohol.

There also is the possibility that if the loose grip piece can be moved forward of its normal position, as Spencer mentions, you can use paste type epoxy, no syringe, which will be easier to work with than liquid.

I think moving the hostle will be the best option. But if you decide to go the syringe method I would suggest not using 5 min epoxy and using thread finish instead. I tryed it once with 5min epoxy and a big needle. It is just way to thick to get it to work well. I would use a thin thread finish if I had to do it again.

Thanks to all. I will try to use the thread finish on this, it makes sense to me. The rod is in very nice shape otherwise, I don't want to mess it up. I like the old Fennies and want to keep it original.

These old Fenwick graphite rods have a nice slow action. I like to use them myself, less break offs and the timing of the cast forces me to slow down and think a little before I react. Im a hyper kind of guy, I actually land more fish with these rods over the more modern fast action rods.