I've got several blanks that I got from a flea market. Some heavy offshore and some light inshore.

Any way to get their specifications of line/lure rating besides just general knowledge and feel for it?
(ie; tip/butt dimensions, material thickness at the butt, action, weight, etc)

The lighter rods are easier to get a feel for, but the heavier ones are most difficult.

I had one rod break after bending it significantly. How can I test for damage on the other rods before building on them?

I would rather have a blank break before building it up than after on a fish. I would get any info such as top size, butt and weight then post some pics on here.

Bend them all to test for defects or damage. As said above, better before rather then after a build, especially if for a customer!

The manufacturers have computer programs that help in the design and get them close then they build them up and really see what they got, you're really going to have to do the same. If you have similar built rods around you can bend them along side each other to get an idea.

Chris,
Bend each and every rod blank that you build on to 90 degrees before ever spending any time on the build.

If you break the rod during the test, you break the rod.

Every rod blank should easily stand up to a 90 degree bend. Better to break the blank before building on the blank and spending any time on the blank.

Good luck

Flex the blank properly - any blank can be broken at much less than 90 degrees if you pinch a section between your fingers and bend in that fashion. Always hold from the butt end and deadlift with weight suspended from the tip. Or mount the butt and hand flex from the tip in a smooth arc.

...........

I bought 8-10 old fresh and saltwater rods at diffident flea markets for the sole reason of learning about rod building,rod repair and rod restoration.
Some were in very bad shape and some were even missing guides but none were showing any signs of cracks,etc.
To test them I bent them about as much as if I was fighting a fish that the specific rod would be designed to handle and none broke.
Some were very light freshwater rods and some were off shore saltwater rods.

I stripped 2 of the saltwater rods right down to the bare fiberglass using a citrus stripper but have yet to finish them.
One of the other saltwater rods was (and is) used for practicing wraps,,,,,mostly decorative wrap now.
I learned how to wrap guides with various types and colors of wraps and also using different sizes and types of threads.
I learned how to apply different types of epoxies on wraps and guide wraps and how to live up the guides properly with proper spacing as well.

This all paid off when a cousin asked me to restore an off shore jigging rod her dad (my Uncle) had used for many years.My cousins husband if a NY Jets fan and he asked me to do a decorative wrap and guide wraps with the Jets colors,,,,blue and orange.This rod came out flawless and I would have NEVER been able to do it without all of the flea market rods I got for $15.00!

I don't intend to see any of the flea market rods but I did test them,,,,in my own way.I may have put a little more force on them then was necessary but as stated above,,,,if it's gunna break it's better to have it break before fixing/restoring it!

Thomas C. Kuzia
Beacon Falls,Ct

This situation, having a bunch of unknown blanks, is a compelling reason for having one's own CCS rig.

Your going to need a whole bunch of pennies to do a heavy saltwater blank, did a not particularly powerful musky blank and it was in the $5.80 range if I remember right, about as many pennies as will fit in a 16 oz. Snapples bottle.

Your going to need a whole bunch of pennies to do a heavy saltwater blank, did a not particularly powerful musky blank and it was in the $5.80 range if I remember right, about as many pennies as will fit in a 16 oz. Snapples bottle.