If you haven't read and/or tried the repair techniques in Ralph's article (Tom has included it in the Library), I can vouch that they are easy to follow and they work great. In the last year, I have done 3 or 4 repairs using the article as a guide and tutorial. The most complicated one was over this past weekend. The rod was crushed in the same way Ralph's "example #4" was. It looked a little intimidating and I almost junked the rod. But, figuring I had nothing to lose, I took my time and followed Ralph's instructions and it worked beautifully. The repair is very strong and the original, smooth flex of the rod has been restored. I'm just shocked at how well it worked. As in the example in the article, the rod was not even "worth" all the effort but it's very satisfying to know it can be done and done well.

Thanks to Ralph for writing such an excellent article and thanks to Tom for adding it to the library (it originally came out before my RodMaker subscription started). Excellent resource.

Steve

I'll second that. That article saved my bacon after I broke my son's fly rod right at the ferrule. The first time I tried to fix it I used a scrap of graphite blank, which lasted about three trips. Then I read Ralph's article and fixed it the second time with a piece of solid fiberglass.

For those of you attending the Seminars here in Woodland next month Ralph is giving a demo on repairs.

Todd