I know this a topic that has been covered many times on this forum. But I didn't keep any of the treads about fixing broken rods. I also remember seeing something about an article in RodMaker. If anyone has any tips I would be greatful. The rod was broken on the second guide from the butt. So the blank is still hollow in that area. It only crimped the blank it didn't shatter it, like an explosion from failure or overload. I'm not interested in making the rod a 2-piece if at all possible. Thanks, Pete.

Dear Pete: You didn't say if the blank was graphite, or glass, There is graphite material out there called linear graphite. It is basically solid graphite stock. Clemens sells it as tip repair stock. Anyway, choose the proper diamenter that fits your blank at the break. Epoxy it in from the butt section, and do a repair wrap 2or3 inches either side of the break. With the finest diameter thread available like 00 if you use a neutral color it will become almost invisible. I have repaired many tips on UL spin and Fly and have never had one come back. So I guess its pretty secure. A crush is definitely better than a break, as its not a two piece yet. The use of 00 thread increases your hoop strength. I do not use color preserver on it because I want full penentration of my wrap with finish. Good Luck

Since you are doing a blind repair, make sure that you get the plug about 2" on either side of the longest length of the crushed section. You need to measure and mark the plug so that you know it is ending up in the right place.

IMHO, I would go ahead and cut the rod and insert the plug to where I could see exactly where the ends of the plug will be. It will do no more harm to go ahead and cut it.

After you insert and epoxy the plug, coat the outside with a thick coat of expoxy. Let it set up to the point that you can sand it down smooth with the blank. This will fill the gaps in the crushed area and give you a smooth base to wrap.

Like Lincoln said, DO NOT use CP. You want full penetration to the blank.

You will not want to use graphite as repair plug/splice. Even though it is a graphite rod, you will want to use fiberglass if you intend the repair to last. All better rod repair people have learned this the hard way. Some may get by with a graphite repair sleeve or plug, but they will be in the minority.

If the break is near the tip, you will want to oversleeve the break. Nearer the butt, an inner sleeve may work fine. On heavier rods, an oversleeve and an inner plug are sometimes combined for durability. But not all rods can handle this. It has much to do with the wall thickness in that area.

It is also possible to fabricate a "spacer" to take the place of any damaged/crushed area of the blank where the break occurred. This restores original length to the rod and allows an inner plug to mate correctly with each piece. Very nice technique.

The Jan/Feb 2000 issue of RodMaker has what I feel is the definitive work on splicing broken rods. Ralph O'Quinn put in quite a bit of time covering nearly every breakage scenario and showing how to fix each one. It is available as a back issue and in a few weeks will be available for free download for those who are listed at www.tackleworks.org. For anyone who intends to make these types of repairs, this is a must have article covering the 5 or 6 most common types of breaks.

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I don't endorse the use of solid 'plugs'. They create a shear line in front and back of the 'plugs' that will not follow the hoop contures of the rod when it is loaded. Try to stay with an 'inner sleeve' that is close to the wall thickness of the blank that you are repairing.

I have used 'inner sleeves' of graphite (not solid plugs) scrap blanks to repair breaks and have not had a problem that a customer has advised me about. I would rather have used fiberglass, but you cannot always be picky when you have a tub full of scrap blanks and the only thing that will fit is part of a scrap graphite blank.

THE biggest problem when repairing a broken rod is finding a piece of scrap that fits the tapered ID of the broken rod. I have been collecting scrap blanks for 15 years and sometimes I still don't have the correct size.

If you are going to be in the business of repairing broken rods you have to learn to improvise, adapt and overcome. I will not divulge some of the materials that I have repaired broken rods with for fear I might not be classified as one of the better rod repair people.

Suffice it to say, if you have to repair many broken rods you may have to use things that you don't want to use. Looking at it another way, you only have three options with a broken rod; install a metal or fabricated sleeve ferrule, install a inner or outer 'sleeve' around the break, or dump the rod. If the customer likes the quality or sentimental value of the rod, they will say fix it. If not, they will give it to you and you will have another piece of scrap.

Also, before I will repair a break, I always advise the customer that there is no warranty on repairing broken rods.

On larger rods, particularly in the butt area, it is possible to get away with quite a few repair materials that would not be optimum and still manage to have something that will work. As we move up to smaller blanks, more load, areas nearer the mid and tip areas, the info Ralph gives us becomes that much more important and that much more critical.

And as Mike points out, fitting of the sleeves or plugs is important. You need full contact area so taper of the replacement parts is very critical.


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One point comes to mind, already explained , but another way of thinking is to use a material to repair (plug/butt) of lower Modulus than the rod you are repairing. Especially important with the lighter rods, and a sleeve of fiberglass (less modulus than graphite) to splice near the tip on smaller diameter rods should be sufficient. Adding more strength material can cause failure above or below the plug or sleeve (sheer points). A lower modulus graphite material will do if you know that, on more higher power rods.

Yes, I can relate to the collection of pieces over the years for repair, and still not finding the 'right' one. Just keep collecting.

Rich
Richard's Rod & Reel Service

I have to thank every one for responding to this thread. I didn't specify that the break was on the 2nd guide from the butt-end. Also the rod is graphite. I'm assuming the rod is a low modulus because of its age. The area of the break is hollow so a plug/scrap will fit. The blank is small, around 12lb. What can I use for a sleeve on the outside, should I decide to use one in addition to the plug/scrap? Or should I not use one. Thanks, Peter.

Peter
The rod was broken on the second guide from the butt. What rod? fly rod? spin rod? cast rod? Graphite or fiberglass?
So the rod is still hollow in that area--please be advised that the rod is hollow from the butt cap to the tip.
It only crimped the blank, it didn't shatter it. Now we are getting somewhere.
First--remove that guide where it is crushed. Be careful here, a crushed blank probably means that all the linear fibers are still intact, this is critical if it is graphite, merely important if it is fiberglass.
Remove the butt cap and clean out the inside of the blank where the butt cap/handle joined the blank/
After removing the guide, closely examine the crushed area and mark ( with a pen) the extent of the damaged area---probably something on the order of about 2 inches total. This is the area which you will need to fit an interior doubler section. This doubler section will consist of a piece of fiberglass rod similar to your crushed rod, with the OD of the piece equal to the ID of the crushed area of your rod. You will have to place your doubler in place by using another piece of rod section as a tool, a piece long enough to reach the damaged area with the doubler piece attached to it. You have cut your doubler piece about one inch longer than your total damaged area and now bond it into place with rodbond. With the doubler in place and the rodbond fresh and wet, tightly wrap the area with D thread, and let it cure. There will be lots of rodbond oozing through the entire area, let it be, just wrap it tight for now --- this is a temporary wrap intended for bond pressure only.
When the rod bond has cured, remove the thread wrap, clean up the area nice and smooth and DOUBLE wrap with A thread the entire area extending about an inch beyond both sides of the doubler. You can now apply a coat of epoxy, then re-install your removed guide, or do as I do -- install the guide over the double wrap and apply your epoxy to the whole shebang.

There are two other options to accomplish this job, but this one (although the most difficult) will the give the rod the best looks and feel. All three options can be guarenteed if done properly. I guarantee all my repairs. If I receive one that I can't guarentee, I simply won't do the job.
Hope this helps
Ralph