I'm trying to rehabilitate a fiberglass conventional surf rod I received from Santa in 1954. The stainless maybe reel seat is the female to wood butt and wood grip. What glue type/brand and technique be suggested to bring all back together. If I decide to rewrap and put on new guides, any special considerations for cleaning a blank of that vintage, because I'm not certain what the original finish was back-in-the-day? Thanks in advance for directions on a sentimental journey.

Make sure you have water-break-free surfaces (see online library article here) and most any epoxy will be fine. The wood should be lightly scuffed with 400 grit sandpaper.


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Thank you. "Make sure you have water-break-free surfaces"... Uh, oh....how do I access online library? 'Preciate it, Sir ... better fisherman than site navigator.

Just look above and to the right. You'll see a button that says "library." That would be it. There is an article on surface preparation that you'll find interesting. This is one area in particular that most people who use adhesives really don't understand.

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Bingo! All becomes clear. Thanks from Mantoloking, NJ

I repaired a wooden handled surf rod for a friend last year. The wood under the male stainless steel ferrule had quite a bit of rot. After removing all ruined wood I secured a wooden dowel into the butt with Rod Bond (making sure to create a water-break-free surface). I built up the dowel with fiberglass dry wall tape and Rod Bond. I waited 48 hours before affixing the newly restored butt into the male ferrule with a thin layer of Rod Bond. The ferrule interior was also properly prepped. Be certain everything remains straight and true during the gluing process. A good sanding and a few coats of Tru-Oil do wonders to an old wood handle. New guides and a simple butt wrap finished the project. My friend was amazed with the transformation. Heactually accused me of switching rods on him.

David, thank you... But you raised (and maybe anwered) another concern: The butt has dried out and shrunk some over the years so there is some play... I'm guessing that should be addressed prior to gluing (?) rather than counting on glue to fill space? Rod Bond is epoxy adhesive that will work metal-to-wood? Or, the equilent of resin for fiberglass cloth? Sorry to ask you to amplify on such an informative answer. PS: Lucky friend!
Bob McIntyre
Mantoloking Nj

Rod Bond is in a paste form. It's the only adhesive that Lamiglas recommends to adhere handle components to their titanium butted rods. It's an excellent adhesive and I'd sure recommend it for what you're doing. Don't count on any adhesive to fill a large void, though, in my opinion.

Bob,Howdy neighbor(I`m in Brick NJ and fish in your back yard).If the clearance to the seat is small try wrappinng some nylon thread to take up the clearance.I`ve done this on similiar projects with great sucess.

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)

Thanks, Fred... See you at Lyman in about 7 wks. Going to try the thread to take up some space. Bob