I am refurbishing an old wright mcgill spin cast rod. The rod attaches to the handle with a ferrule and I should be able to separate the two, but the ferrule is stuck solid. The entire ferrule assembly will come out of the rod handle. Any suggestions on how I might unstick it? Is heating the ferrule a possibility? I am not experienced in rod building and since this is my wife's favorite rod, I don't want top mess up.

Thanks,

Steve

A metal ferrule? If you can get the entire ferrule off, put a few drops of oil into it from the open end. Then, find a wood dowel about the same size as the ID of the ferrule. Insert it and tap if with a hammer to knock the female ferrule out. Be careful, however, as the rounded bottom of the female ferrule can be flattened and the fit ruined if you go overboard with this.

................

Yes, this is a metal ferrule and I can get it off. Unfortunately the other end of the female ferrule is closed. There is a small hole about the size of a toothpick, but that is it.

You only need one open end on the female ferrule. I should have said that you want to tap the male ferrule out.

.............

Is the ferrule no longer available? Replacing it might be a better fix.

Try putting it in the freezer for about 15 min. before trying to tap it out. I've done this with smoking pipes to get stuck bits out and it works. Although the metal will probably contract at the same amounts which is not the case with the vulcanite and Briar that pipes are made of.

Bill in WV

I'm not sure if the ferrule is available, not sure how to go about finding out. It is unusual in that the female end goes into the rod handle. It is just like one of the old wright mcgill trailmaster pack rods, but the rod is one piece. How do I get the male end off of the rod?

Try boiling some water and soaking the ferrule in the water,,, it may be enough to reactivate the glue and you can pull apart. Wear gloves.... that is some hot water and the ferrule will be just as hot. Can you take a photo and post it??

I posted a photo of the end view of the ferrule in the miscellaneous category. I'm having some difficulty posting a side view. I'll keep trying.

I have added a side view photo as well.

Steve; I would check with Merrick Tackle and see if they have what you need. That way if getting it off without damage doesn't work you know you can find a replacement.

If everything else fails you might try fixing a nut to the bottom of the female ferrule over the hole with a screw that will fit the hole. If you can solder it to the ferrule do that if not try epoxy. Give it some WD 40 and let it sit then screw the screw into the hole until it pushes on the male ferrule that may break it loose.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/04/2007 07:26PM by Jim Upton.

Steve,

The older W-M pack rods are still quite popular around here and I have seen this same problem several times. I have been able to apply heat and get the ferrule pieces to separate. I have also been successful with light weight oil. Most likely the glue holding the female section in the handle has dried out...you can sometimes reseat the female section in the handle and then get the ferrule apart. The downside of this one is that if you can't, now you have to get the female section out again. Once you get them apart, clean both pieces good and glue the female section back into the handle.

If the ferrule sections are pitted or rusted badly, put a complete new ferrule on the rod.

Is this one of the W-M rods where the handle has several pieces that swap positions? Many of those have mutiple ferrule sets that allow you to convert from fly to spinning or casting. Lots of chances for glue to dry out over time and this sort of problem to occur.

Joe Douglas

I have been applying WD-40 to the ferrule for about a month. I have one of those WD-40 pens and everytime I went by the rod I would apply some. I even tried applying some in the hole in the bottom of the female ferrule and standing it on it's head for a while. I think that I'll try the boiling water tomorrow and see what happens.

This isn't one of those W-M rods that has multiple configurations; it was always just a casting rod. I can't remember exactly when I bought the rod, but I'm sure that it is over 30 years old. I replaced the original guides about 20 years ago, so this is actually the second re-hab. I'm not sure how many years the ferrule has been stuck, but it has been several. I'm not surprised if the glue has dried out.

If it is not being used as a take down rod, you could always just glue the female end back into the handle and be done with it.

You can also apply heat from a heat gun or hair dryer to the female side and see if you can slip it off or tap it off. Go easy with a heat gun. Sometimes those older ferrules just accummulate grit and slime and dust and make their own version of a "glue" inside the fitting. Also sometimes, heat will help it break loose.

If you have the guides off, you may be able to slide a washer down to the ferrule joint, then slide a small piece of pipe down to the washer, then tap on it lightly to break the thing free. Sometimes you just have to keep trying different techniques until it pops loose.

Joe Douglas

Success!!!!! Since I was headed up to Chattanooga I took the rod by Nutter Rod & Reel Service in White, Ga. Mr. Harold Fowler, their resident rod repair guru, was able to get the ferrules unstuck. Basically he tried every one of your suggestions except putting it in the freezer ( I tried that one myself though). He heated it up with an alcohol lamp, ran it through an ultrasonic cleaner, applied oil, and tried sheer brute force. The ultimate resolution was a variation of the suggestion that Tom Kirkman made originally. The hole in the back end of the female ferrule just was not large enough to allow in anything substantial enough to try to tap out the male ferrule. Harold just drilled out the hole to a slightly larger size and, using an old drill bit that was exactly the size of the new hole, tapped the male ferrule out. While he had the rod, Harold ran the handle through the ultrasonic cleaner, re-installed the female ferrule, and replaced the cork for me!

Thanks to everyone for their help.

Steve Lynn



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2007 05:59PM by Steve Lynn.