I repaired a 6 1/2 ft. med/light power rod for a friend. It had broken about 18" down from the tip.
The break was a split (crushed) type so I had to make the oversleeve a bit longer than I wanted,to cove it ((abut 4".)
I did use and internal piece (about 3") as well
I used fiberglass for both pieces and even sanded the oversleeve O.D. down quite a bit.
The rod appeared to have good flex thru the break area.

Talked to him tonight and he tells me it broke again right above the repaired area.
What happened? was the repaired area to "stiff" despite seeming O.K. ?

Any recommendations for my next repair job are appreciated.

Oops forgot to say It was a spinning rod. med/light - fast action 4-10 lb. line.

Fatigue. I don't reckon tips are repairable even 18 inches down. I have tried many times and they work for a while and then the constant movement and difference in stiffness fatigues the material. They always break ahead of the repair for me.

The guy might be high sticking. I've repaired tips as close as 5" down for bass guys that are extremely rough on their stuff. The repair may have been to long for that area though. Did you cut out the crushed fibers?

You made the repair too strong/stiff and it failed due to the concentrated stress at the end of the repaired area.

Dump the internal piece - you don't need it.

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

No I did not cut out any of the broken area. I did use a very flexible peice of
solid fiberglass for the inner plug. I figured if I didn't put this in it would give way for sure.
It had had a split line running. at leat (2") on either side of the break, that's why
I used a longer outer sleeve If it was a clen break I would haver shortened it
up a lot and thenm I agree Tomm I probably would not have need the inner plug..

Thanks for your inputs.

The solid fiberglass inner "plug" was the primary culprit. On a rod that light, an outer sleeve would have been sufficient, as Tom said. I have repaired a bunch of breaks and so far they are all holding. And some are being fished very hard and often. One should never put a hard, solid plug inside a blank where the blank will be flexed. It creates a tremendous amount of stress in the blank at the area of the plug when flexing.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

I agree that broken tips are difficult to repair successfully. I have had some success however, using solid carbon fibre inserts (if necessary) with a fibreglass sleeve over the top. Not a good look but I'v never had any returned that I had fixed. When cutting the sleeve, care must be taken not to leave any jagged ends that can split when put under pressure.The carbon fibre insert is not always required, but if it is , they should extend no longer than 1/2 inch either side of the break, and fixed in place by a good quality, 24-hour epoxy resin glue. Just remember to "loose" fit the sleeve over the break before gluing the insert in place. Don't worry, I've only forgotten ONCE. Small sized carbon fibre can be obtained from aero modelling shops.
Good Luck

Cheers,
Dick
Toowoomba
Queensland
Australia

In spite of the comments about using solid plugs on the inside of the blank, I don't necessarily agree with the comments.

I think that the important thing to do is to make your sleeve - inner or outer of the appropriate material, and of sufficient length to completely span the broken area as well as a significant distance on both sides of the break.

I have repaired many many rods in all areas of the rod, butt, mid and tip section, using an inner and outer sleeve repair technique. I try to be careful to match the bending moment of the completed repair to be essentially the same as the original blank.

I have to report that I have never had a repaired blank back for repair in any area that was close to the repair.

I have had a few rods back for repair, where the blank was snapped or crushed in some other part of the rod.

Bottom line -
There are many many ways to successfully repair a rod. It may be a single outer sleeve. It may be a single inner sleeve, it may be a simple thread overwrap, If the break is very jagged, or it may mean some sort of compromise.

Bottom line, is that any repair that works successfully is correct and satisfies the user of the rod. I think that the overall effort of the repair effort should be to try to end up with a repair that has little effect on the overall action of the blank, and if an outer or inner sleeve is used, it is of sufficient length to completely span the broken area with a good safety margin.

Choose your repair materials carefully and try to match the bending moment of the original blank. Remember, you really need to use a material that is quite a bit more flexible than the original blank, since you will have adhesive as well as potentially a thread overwrap on the repaired area.

Good repairs.

Roger

Steven;
Please read this tutorial ( 2 or 3 times) untitled "Rod Repair",in the" Library" section at the top of this page. If you will follow the directions to the letter you shouldn't have any problems with your repairs. This tutorial was written by Ralph O'Quinn. He has spent countless hours developing and testing this repair procedure. I , for one, would never question his judgment and I don't think anyone that knows him would either.
[www.rodbuilding.org]

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY