Alot of the discussions on this site go right over my head but im learning and I thank everyone thats willing to help us new guys out since I can count on one hand how many rods Ive built I havent had to rebuild or repair any yet (knock on wood) I also own six St.Croix flyrods built by the manufacturer these have had some misshapps over the years Ive sent them to St Croix they repaired them and sent them back as good as new my question is on custom rods if say you break an upper section on a three piece rod can you order just that section and not the whole blank?What kind of warranty do you provide your clients that can compete with todays lifetime warranty offered by todays rod manufacturers?I know that most blanks come with a warranty but most dont have unconditional warrantys.
So what if you modify a rod (say convert a spinning blank to a flyrod or vice versa
wont this void any kinda of warranty on the blank?



Thanx steve

As long as you don't alter the length or finish of the blank, you should not void the warranty. Generally, you can get individual sections of a rod blank, but often the manufacturer may decide it's more economical (for them) to just replace an entire blank.

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Steve, I have built several spinning rods from 2 piece fly blanks up to 2wt 7'6" blanks. A couple of my customers are not exactly the gentle type and have broken the same rod multiple times. I had to send both pieces back and St. Croix matched the needed top section to the bottom, the charge was for the top and shipping back, last time $10.00 for shipping. I in turn, charge my customer for the expense of the new tip, shipping and for re-wrapping the guides on to the new top section. Each time they broke the rods was due to carelessness on their part, door slams, etc. Even when the rod broke landing a fish I suspect it was due to their terminal tackle, the small eared split shot they use to keep the bait down was most likely putting nicks in the top of the rod on the cast or when they stored the rods. Neither of these "experienced" fishermen realized that this could happen.

I just delivered the latest break which is now a 1 piece 7'6" rod, it will be interesting to see how long this one lasts!