I just inherited my wife's grandfather's surf rods and am looking for some info on them. I know one of them is a Berkely Buccaneer glass, the other is a Sears Ted Williams special (white glass), and the other is a Garcia Conolon. The Garcia and Berkely have metal ferrules which fit nice and tight and the Ted Williams has what looks to be a tip over butt ferrule.

I am planning on stripping these completely and fitting them with new fuji seats, cork tape, and new guides. I want to use these for working pencil poppers and occasionally throwing bunker chunks and clams off the Jersey surf and jetties. I don't currently fish with bait, but I thought that using these glass rods and soaking some chunks or clams, would serve them justice since that's the way they were originally fished by my wife's grandfather. I

noticed that the Garcia has a metal tube sticking out of the bottom cork where it looks like a butt cap fell off. The metal tube seems to run the length of the entire bottom cork and possibly into the reel seat. Is it possible that the blank was extended and the handle built on a metal sleeve? I know nothing about extensions or sleeves. How would I go about rebuilding this section?

My main question is about the building processes of 30 or 40 years ago. Is it the norm that handles were built on external sleeves as opposed to directly on the blank??

Thanks for any info.

Lou

A good many of the Garcia Conolon rods have full aluminum tube handles - it extends all the way up through the foregrip and the blank is inserted a few inches there. These rods are easy to rebuild/restore as you can use heat or heavy cutting/scraping to strip the grips and seat.

The Ted Williams rods were made by various firms for Sears. Shakespeare sold their WonderRods under the Ted Williams name in the Sears sporting goods section for many years. Most had metal ferrules or the anodized Featherweight ferrules. A tip over butt model is likely a later one - an Ugly Stick with the Ted Williams name on it.

Don't know much about the Berkley Buccaneer. I've seen some, but never worked on any that I can recall.


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Thanks for the info Tom. I mostly flyfish, but do have a modern plugging rod, so these older surf rods are totally new to me. They do have a nice feel to them tough, and I think that with new graphite seats, cork tape, modern guides, and less finish they will fish very well.

If it were you, would you leave the current aluminum tube in the handle section, or retrofit a new lighter sleeve section. I think that the current aluminum tube section might be adding unnecessary weight, although it may not be a bad thing since it might help balance the rod out.

Thanks again.

Lou

Cool idea, refurbishung grandads old surf rods! aluminium overlays were fairly common on early glass surf rod handles, I'm imagining that they are all spin rods? a lot of times the alluminum tubes were extensions of the handle, and really did not hurt any thing in the way of performance, and for what you wish to use them for will be fine. Look at the reel seats check them for cracks etc. If there is none leave them be, you will find that the original handles work well and have a better feel or "grip" You may want to add aditional guides , do so it will improve the rod a whole bunch. The Ted Williams rod however , you may just want to restore as original and look for a Ted Williams reel to go with it, Ted has passed on , but not his fame as a fisherman (let alone ball player) his rods and reels are becoming a collectible item and make nice display pieces. Good luck and good fishing !!!
Larry

Hey Larry,

The reel seats and handles have definitely seen better days and I am planning on replacing all of them. Also, since these rods were my wife's grandfather's and he was a blue collar fisherman, I am planning on fishing and refinishing the Ted Williams rod to my liking despite any collectability issues. I think he would have wanted me to fish the rods hard, and I cannot do so in their current state. I really like the action on all of these rods, especially the Ted Williams.

I'll ask you the same question I asked Tom. Would you replace the current aluminum handle section with a newer lighter one, or build the new handle over the existing aluminum?

Thanks for the info!

Lou

I'd leave the aluminum tube. There's not much else you can use to really save any weight, save for a titanium tube which is going to cost you a pretty penny. Even heavy walled fiberglass will end up weighing as much as the aluminum. And, as you said, you may need that butt weight to help balance the rod.

I have no idea what you plan to do with these rods. They'll certainly be better with modern components. But even so, if you just wanted to fix them up and back to original specs with original type pieces, you'd have some nice heirlooms to fish with and eventually pass down.

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Thanks for the follow-up Tom. I just want to update these rods with modern components and use the blanks that my wife's grandfather used. I think he would have wanted someone to fish the rods and they just aren't usable right now. I could probably just re-wrap them, but if I am going to go to the trouble of reaplacing the guides, I may as well go all out and redo the handles too. I'm not going to go nuts with high-end components, but the blanks deserve fuji seats, new cork, and at least Hardloy quality guides. I'll probably use thread colors similar to the factory wraps to at least keep a somewhat similar look to the originals.

I really do like the softer action of glass rods and these seem to have nice, soft tips, with a ton of backbone in the butt section. They will be nice rods once I finish and I will certainly pass them on to my kids some day.

Lou

Lou Perez - Do yourself a favor and keep those aluminum extensions on these blanks. Like Tom Kirkman said, switching to a fiberglass blank won't offer any significant weight reduction. And I would wager that a heavier butt section will act to give the final, built fishing rod a better balance for any surf rod over ~ 8 ft long.

Another serious advantage of these uniform-diameter aluminum tube extensions is that building the handle in the first place, or repairing it after the guides are wrapped on, is generally much easier. The uniform diameter means you can mount cork grips or the reel seat from the butt end. And there are usually pre-assembled cork handles available with an ID (inner diameter) that will nearly perfectly fit the tube you have. Just a little quick reaming to help the adhesive hold the cork, and you're done. After you re-build these rods, if you or its heir ever need to replace the cork grips or the reel seat, it can be done from the butt end, which saves the hassle of stripping the rod & re-wrapping it south of the ferrule.

I rebuilt two surf rods with aluminum extensions: one a Gladding 2-pc 9' and the other a Garcia 1-pc 9'. Both are over 30 years old and now are in better shape than when I bought them, so many years ago. Whatever glue they used to mount the rod blank inside the tube seems to last forever. If there is no obvious problem with the glue-joint, I would not mess with it, nor worry about it.

Have fun re-building and fishing them. I know you will.
Happy Father's Day. -Cliff Hall, Gainesville, FL-

P.S. – Regarding the extent of the re-build, definitely remove all the old hardware and replace with all new components. Hopefully, you will be able to remove the old ferrules and properly re-fit with some new, high quality ones. Just be careful if you heat the ferrules to remove them. And the same goes for removing the rod’s tip-top. You may wish to just cut the blank ~ 1/8th inch back from the end of the tip-top, rather than risk over-heating the tube and delaminating the blank.

I would agree with you, Lou, that there is virtually no real additional value to any of these blanks because of their history. Like you said, it’s all about usefulness, nostalgia and sentimental value, not so much about salability. With nice new grips, a great graphite body & stainless hoods reel seat, new hardloy-type guides & tip-top, and new colorful threads, a pretty little butt wrap and a fresh finish on the threads and blank, and you will have some great surf rods for now and the generation to come.

Just remember to rinse off these rods (and reels) with fresh water after each use. The saltwater fishing is not like the sweetwater: it won’t forgive you if you neglect to clean-up, even after just one trip. Rust never sleeps, my friend. And clam juice and bunker (menhaden) are notoriously corrosive. Keep your hands clean in the first place, with a damp towel or a swish in the surf when changing baits, and clean-up will be that much easier.

LOL ! -Cliff Hall-

P.S.S. – Regarding the use of cork tape as a grip handle on these surf rods:

You may find that the OD (outer diameter) of this aluminum extension tube is a bit small for your hands, depending on how you hold the rod. A smaller OD (less than 3 / 4 inch) is likely to increase your hand’s fatigue in a longer fight, especially with a longer rod.

Using a pre-assembled cork handle grip with an OD ~ 1.00 inch is likely to be more comfortable, and not that much more work to install, than the cork tape. IMH, -Cliff Hall-

Hey Cliff,

Thanks for the great advice. I actually started removing some of the cork from 2 of the rods last night and noticed that the aluminum tubes do indeed go all the way up through the fore grips. Am I correct in assuming that the blank is epoxied to the inside of the metal tube? I can't really tell because the joints are covered with a hosel that i haven't tried to remove yet.

The Ted Williams rod is blank through the handle constructed so that is a familiar set-up for me.

Cliff, I flyfish the surf and also have a modern plugging outfit so I am very familiar with saltwaters destructive ways!

I am still on the fence about the cork tape/ grip and won't decide until i finish removing all of the hardware from these blanks. Shopping for components will be quite fun and I am really looking forward to it.

Thanks again.

Lou

The aluminum extension tube on the two rods that I re-built had the blank “epoxied” inside the aluminum tube. The factory had made some effort to taper the step-down from the larger OD of the aluminum tube down to the smaller OD of the rod blank by using excess epoxy outside the joint. (Filing the aluminum tube’s end, to taper it down to the blank’s smaller OD, could weaken the tube’s end and make it tear open under a lot of leverage.)

Again, if there is no evidence of any rocking or play or creaking in that joint, then leave well enough alone. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If it does need re-fitting, it might be easier to just cut off the rod blank where it emerges from the tube. Then ream the old stub of the blank out from the inside of the tube (or just cut off that short section of tube). Test fit the tapered rod blank inside the aluminum tube. Decide if you need to build a bit of a shim with heavy rod thread to help align the axis of the rod with the axis of the tube, and to help fill in the gap between the rod and the tube. Then use some excess epoxy outside the joint to build a bit of a ramp. (That would make it easier to mount a synthetic grip like hypalon or EVA from the tip side.) Use a thick adhesive epoxy like Rod-Bond (jelly) or PC-7 (paste). And make sure the joint stays straight while curing; lay it flat and supported in a cradle at the correct angle.

Regarding the finish on the rod blank, consider to what extent you want to re-finish the blank’s surface or color after reading the two relevant Articles by Ralph O’Quinn in the RBO Library.
REFINISHING ROD BLANKS, by Ralph O'Quinn.
RodMaker Magazine, Volume 2, Issue #3.
SURFACE PREPARATION, by Ralph O'Quinn.
RodMaker Magazine, Volume 5, Issue #2.
These rods are almost guaranteed to be 100% fiberglass fibers, and not fiberglass/graphite composite, so that makes sanding them a simpler task than if they contained graphite fibers.

If you want to paint the blanks, do a SEARCH on RBO and read up on automobile paints and lacquers, etc. You could also get a pigment to color Permagloss or use Testor’s paint as pigment. Just remember, do NOT use casting-resin thread finish epoxy to re-coat or seal a blank. It has lousy adherent / wetting properties. It will not coat the blank smoothly and will flake off the blank when scratched and flexed.

Hopefully, things won’t get this complicated as having to re-fit the tube-rod joint. But the rod blank themselves could probably stand a serious refinishing job. As you continue to strip off the old components, and get down to just the rod blank, you will want to know what I have discussed in advance. This will help you decide, along the way, just how far you do (or don’t) want to go with this renovation project.

Chances are, that old hosel is shot, so think about using the tie-off band of thread from a crisp little butt wrap / diamond wrap as a ramp-hosel. Forget about where the old guides lay on the blank. Do all your guide work fresh. You can use a plastic knife to chisel off the old thread varnish if the blank does not need a complete re-sanding to remove old varnish and rod coating. But, to go all the way, consider sanding the blank and re-coating with PermaGloss or auto paint or lacquer, etc. It’s gonna look hot and ready to rock once you get the blank re-finished before you do a butt wrap, and wrap down your new guides. (Have you thought about Titans?). … I gotta stop, now I almost wish I was doing this myself, … Alright, back to work !! …

-Cliff Hall, from “Nostalgia-Land” in Florida.
“Those were the days, my friend, we thought they’d never end.
We’d fish all night, and hope for hits by dawn.
We’d catch a blue or two, or maybe stripers, too !
Those were the days, oh yes! those were the days.”
La la la LA la la, … sung to the tune of
“Those Were The Days, My Friend” by Mary Hopkins