Has any one else had their blank break while checking for the spine. The one I was testing had just been checked and marked and I was rechecking to make sure the mark was in the right place when it happened. I was using the method in Tom's book, and the blank just snapped. I could understand this if I had put a severe bend into the blank but wasn't. I tried 3 other blanks and nothing happened using the same method.

The blank was a 2 piece and I was testing the tip end. I could understand, maybe, if the blank had broken where I was bending it but the break happened about 10" off the table about 1/3 the distance to where my hand was putting the bend in the rod.

I sent the blank back to Lamiglas with a note explaining what I was doing when it broke and am waiting for a call from them to see what, if anything, they are going to do.

I started out by asking if this has happened to anyone before and would like to hear how they handled it.

darby

Most likely there was some damage to the blank somewhere in that area where it broke. A defect? Perhaps. More likely it had suffered some sort of impact in that area during shipping, etc. Such a thing is not at all uncommon. In fact, looking at how some of these blanks are packaged and what they often go through in shipping, I'm surprised more don't suffer a similar fate.

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I broke a few, all my fault. I was using a vertical spine finder and trying to put a full bend on graphite 30-80# blanks, which were STIFF. Had to put one hand on teh tip to flex, and my other in the middle of the blank for "support", so wha tI was effectively doing was high sticking.

I'm NOT saying this is what you were doing, just wah tI stupidly did.

According to what he's saying, he just put the blank butt on a table top and had the blank tip in his one hand while pressing in the middle with the other hand. This won't put enough stress on any sound blank to cause any damage. It's not like use a table top edge to lie the blank on and letting the weight of the blank hang from there, or high sticking (even then, what you say isn't really high sticking until you take the rod past 90 degrees).

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PVC tubes. I use only vendors who ship blanks in PVC tubes. I'm sorta friendly with my UPS guy at work, and after hearing him describe how they handle their boxes, I look at cardboard rod tubes and wonder why more aren't broken in 4 pieces before they even arrive at their destination.

I think we all have broken blanks at one time or another.
It is not the method, as Tom mention more than likely the blank had a nick or defect of some kind.
I always check and flex all blank as soon as they come in so then I can contact the supplier if I have a problem.
Just be thankful that it occur now and not after you have finished the rod.

Lynn

I had a similar event with a one piece Matrix blank. I never even got to bend it enough to find the spine when the top 4" of the tip snapped off. After examining the break under a magnifier it looked like a defect.

Just be extremely thankful. Much worse if it had hung together until after you built it and then snapped on the first long cast. I know from experience. Now I wrap the ferrules, tape on some guides, and flex a blank pretty good before I build it.

I agree with Chris! When blanks are shipped in PVC tubes, I have never had a problem with any of the sponsors of this site. Cardboard tubes, and particularlly DHL, are batting 1000 in damaged or broken (2 broken rods). I just don't buy blanks from this sponsor anymore even though they did refund my money. I think the major problem occurs in shipping not defects!

Ed Smith

I have seen so many of the same questions in so many different ways as above but still coming up with the same answers , all are legit as far as I am concerned from more than thirty plus years of wrapping these sticks...In these years of rod building I have come to my conclusion that 80 % is from the shipping and 20 % is from the mfg. and as you can see none is from the rod builder. I like many rod builders have broken blanks through my stupidity but I ate these knowing I was the dummy that caused this blank to break...to this day I fully check out a blank by using my spine finder from Clemens ONLY to find defects in the blank ,as I am now a firm believer in the "sighting method". On the botton of my Clemens spine finder I attached a 1X2 in the 2" downward position to lock the finder into a vise , which I tighten as far as it will tighten, attach a tip top to the blank and make believe I am a fish fighting for my life pulling down only on that tip...I got breaks
you bet, but under a glass I have found defects not from my doing and was never questioned or lied to by any upright mfgs. [except by the new Loomis people who always blames the rod builder ,at least in my case, even if it was not built on. I was never denied a returned blank to this day. In conclusion I must say that I have NEVER found a bad blank [damaged] shipped in a PVC tube but have found them in cardboard due to the Gorillas at UPS etc.and If I feel I have wrapped the correct way and after I have inspected the brake in the customers rod
I have them return this rod to the mfg. noting the problem and with upright mfgs. I doubt you will ever have a problem.

Tight Lines
Tight Wraps
Fishin'Stix by Fred

If the spine is of no concern , why then is Billy V testing for it,, and why is it in Tom's book ?

Fred, people talk about spine because it's a subject that refuses to die. Any introductory book about rodbuilding, including Tom's, would be lacking if spine wasn't discussed.

I think that spine as a subject holds on so tenaciously, contrary to evidence, partly because it's been around so long, but mostly because it's an easy, logical notion for builders to grasp. It makes sense, after all, that if you find the arc that the spine wants to bend to (what some call the "relaxed curve"), you can use it to improve your finished rod's performance. The fact that spine has no real bearing on the performance of a rod is a less comfortable scenario than finding a spine and configuring your components accordingly, so spine as a subject stays with us.

I received a blank packaged in PVC tubing a few months ago. The PVC tube was folded over about 10" from the end and about 5" into the butt of the blank. I've no idea how the delivery folks could have folded a 2" PVC tube like that but they managed. If they could do that with PVC then anything shipped in cardboard could easily have been damaged.

Very simple - the tube was caught in a conveyor.
Last year, I had the opportunity to be "blanked" be each of the carriers.
i.e. US mail, UPS, and Fedex all brought me a blank in a PVC tube that had been folded in 1/2. Obviously the blank on the inside of the tube had been folded in 1/2 and broken as well.

The insurance that I always have on the blanks as well as finished rods, took care of the replacment blanks.

In talking with each carrier, they all indicated the same thing. Someone had lazily not HAND carried the tube to the drop off as policy requires for tubes by each of the suppliers. Rather, someone had put the tube on a conveyor, had it roll to the side, and then get caught in the next coneyor bracket on the side of the conveyor. When, there are 500 boxes behind the tube, and all in a hurry to get on an airplane, the pvc tube doesn't stand a chance.

Take care
Roger

p.s.
Always insure - both receiving blanks, and sending finished rods.
Be sure to insure the finished rods for the FULL price of the rod. After all, if you have to rebuild the rod, you want the insurance money to pay your FULL bill for the initial rod that you built.