Hello Gents,

I've been running my friends fly only shop for over ten years now. Part of the everyday routines is handling rod breakages/'warranties'/repairs. Besides the obvious abuse I think the second most common reason for rod breakages is a breakage due to loose joint. A certain brand has a rod series with very slick transparent coating over sanded blank. This series of rods has the largest percentage of breakages in relation to sales of all the rods we sell as the joints get loose very easily. Another brand has left their rods with plain sanded male ferrules and they seem to have clearly less issues with loose joints and breakages due to it.

Anyways I have two SW rods in process. Both of them have unsanded blanks. I wonder if it would make any sense to sand male ferrules of these blanks? What is the best way to sand ferrules?

Many thanks!

-Miki-



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/13/2017 08:52AM by Miki Stenberg.

In my experience "not at all" is the best way.

Correlation is not causation. The root cause of the correlation (blank failures vs male ferrule finish) might well be something other than whether or not the male ferrule is sanded or not. Thus sanding the male ferrules might make a bad situation worse.

There are a great many things you need to know before taking sand paper in hand. Type of ferrule, its material, the impact on blank warranty, blank manufacturer's thoughts, etc., etc.

Yes, some male ferrules can be sanded, and sometimes, as is the case for fitting metal ferrules for bamboo rods or repairing a worn stint for a spigot ferrule, it must be done. However, unless you are well practiced in such processes the odds for success are not good.

Hi Miki,

I agree with Phil's statement, but if you really want to take the shine off of the male ferrule, just try some super fine scotchbrite type scuff pads.

Take care,

Chris

guessing part of the problem with the breakage is improper fitting of the ferrules the male end doesn't seat far enough to the female end removing the finish will only make it worse and even more loose.
if the spigot end is snapping off the spigot it self is weak and needs to be strengthened by inserting another piece in the inside of the male spigot end,
The loose fit can be fixed but will take some skill and may require removing the wrap if there is one and lightly and I mean lightly sanding the female end a bit and keeping it square so there isn't a pinch point doing this will allow the spigot to seat a bit deeper in to the female end creating a tighter fit.
if there is a noticeable vibration when the sections are connected there is a mfg issue as the spigots don't match the inner taper of the blank or there is a ridge or seam keeping it from seating.
what I have done to fix broken spigots is to use a piece of solid glass blank that can be slipped in from the butt end and epoxied in place.
Finished or not doesn't make a difference with the spigot the problem your seeing is the fit from the mfg. of the rod/blank.
if it were my shop I would discontinue selling that rod/brand and look for a well made replacement so there isn't a customer that gets irritated because they lost their fish of the day.
What your asking is will removing the or scuffing the finish fix the problem the answer Is a big NO

The best day to be alive is always tomorrow !!
Think out side the box when all else fails !!!
Wi.

Miki,

The female section of the spigot may be compressed with a full length wrap. Add the wrap with the spigot separated. Do NOT apply epoxy. Test fit the ferrule. If it fits as desired, apply epoxy. If it does not meet your requirements, cut off the wrap.

Don Becker

Thank you gents for the valuable input! I'll leave the male ferrules as they are, after all I specifically ordered these blanks unsanded and there is no play in the joints. Just to be clear these blanks are of maker A. The one with slippy finish is a Far-East made brand B and the one with uncoated male ferrules is a Far-East made brand C.

It is very likely that brand B ferrules have another factor causing the breakages - like you suggested. They could have also been sanded too much probably etc. However the typical characteristic of these rods is that despite the ferrules sitting nicely and snug they simply will not stay put. We are talking about two handed fly rods here and Speycasting. I am yet to encounter a rod of which joints would not get loose in Speycasting due to the torque put on them.

-Miki-

Oops. Double post.

-Miki-



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2017 01:49AM by Miki Stenberg.

Miki,
If you have a few blanks - that are essentially broken, do some experiments where you do some sanding on the male ferrule.

From basic physics, a surface that has a more rough finish will have a much higher friction of coefficient or "better holding power".

So, if you have the type blank where the blank is slightly increasing in diameter, you may very well be able to sand a rougher finish on the male end of the blank. Then, if you find that the blank does not go into the female portion of the other part of the blank enough, trim a bit of length from the end of the male part of the blank. Do the trimming with an abrasive cut off wheel to insure a clean end on the blank.

Again - do this on a currently broken blank to determine the feasibility of such work on the blank for a better and non slip fit. Then, if it works for you - by all means implement the change.

Good luck

Another thing to do is make sure that your clients are assembling the sections correctly by doing a quarter twist or so when mating the sections and not just pushing them straight together.

Many, if not most Spey casters tape the joints after assembly because of the torque applied during their casts. Some use electrical tape others a hard to get medical tape.

Thank you for the tips gentlemen!

-Miki-