I'm working on repairing a brand new Fenwick rod. I know Janns carries the Berkley SS304 guides as I've ordered them. However, this rod has a broken SS304 in a #7 . I don't see this size on their site. I've compared it to the #6 and the #8 SS304s that I have in stock to verify that it is definitely in between the two sizes. Also, there are some much smaller guides near the tip that are smaller than a #6. I'd say probably a #5 or even a #4! I need to get these odd sizes. I need the 7 now in single foot black frame and will probably stock some of the smaller ones just in case because IMHO these guide frames are made from a brittle grade of SS. Does anybody know of anyone else who carries these guides? Or, a POC at Berkley that could help? Tis a shame. This guy didn't get to use this rod for two fishing trips before this guide broke. Yeah, he stepped on it but it broke when he bent it back up. Something is definitely wrong with the way these are made as I've seen at least a dozen do this same thing. First time I've seen these wierd size guides though. Any help?
thanks
greg marshall

Try calling them.A lot of vender's don't list the full inventory on the net.

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)

Break at/near the welds or tight bends? 303, 304, 316 are all similar enough in working properties from what I've seen. Work hardens, and if not annealed can certainly get brittle in those smaller sections. I believe most of those are slightly magnetic when work hardened, and not at all magnetic when annealed. .

Dave is correct. 300 series stainless has such a small amount of ferrite or iron in it's chemical makeup that it is non magnetic. Now, when this piece of metal is stamped and tumbled it has essentially been work hardened . This work hardening concentrates the iron molecules thus becoming somewhat magnetic. When the guide is assembled it is silver soldered together. After it is assembled it cannot be annealed.
400 series is magnetic in it's normal state because of it's higher ferrite content.
That's my theory anyway. Bill Stevens is a good authority on the subject.

Yeah, the point on it becoming magnetic when workhardened I use in playing with my own guides. Of a bunch of loose guides I will find differences in how magnetic they are. So I pick the least magnetic if I'm going to just use them as is, and the most magnetic for those I rework. I like the one piece frames, so can 'anneal' with heatgun on high without worrying about solder melting (and yes, I remove the rings first, and epoxy them back later). Now I know that may be less temp than true annealing, but I figure it is relieving some stress as it does seem to become much less magnetic. If anything, I know I at least made the attempt.