I was recently asked to build a multi piece packable spinning rod. I needed to use a flyrod blank to achieve what was asked. The rod is a 6'-0" 4pc blank and single foot guides were used. My friend called to tell me that the rod broke at the first guide down from the tip top. The break is pretty clean with not much splintering and occurred about 1/16" back from the point of the guide foot underneath the guide foot. The guide feet were prepped properly and in looking at the break, it looks more like the guide foot created enough of a stiffness or pressure point that it crushed or collapsed the blank underneath it??? The tips are fine diameter and the tip tops are only about 3.5-4.0

Has anyone had anything similar happen, and if so, how would you address the issue?? Could it be a blank issue?? High sticking?? I'm a little fearful of making a new tip section only to have the same thing occur and would like to alter things on this new tip section to prevent any issues. If I am not explaining things correctly, let me know and I will try to explain a bit better.

Thanks in advance with any help,
Paul

Very unusual that it occurred within the guide foot wrap! Most high sticking breaks are outside the wraps and also tend to have considerable splintering. I suspect something happened to the blank before the build.

Paul,
Since it is a fine diameter, use a piece of the appropriate sized piano wire to go inside each side of the broken pieces. Also pick up a piece of fiberglass blank section that is a snug fit on the broken area. Let the outer sleeve span the break by 1 1/2 inch on each side of the break. Glue it all up, rewrap the guide and give it a coating of guide finish. Should be good to go.

When working with very fine tip sections, I will often use piano wire on the inside of the broken area to insure that there will be no crushing in the repaired section. It works very well .

Be safe

What about to tight a thread wrap

Bill - willierods.com

You could use the Rainshadow/Batson SB720-4 blank next time unless it was spec'd out as a lighter powered rod by the customer, very durable blanks.

Regarding the original question of why it happened and how to avoid, I think these are the possible causes: Blank defect in the original blank. Flex the blanks when you get them to help detect this. I have never had this happen, so I think it is quite rare. Another possibility is the guide having been wrapped too tightly as Bill suggested. If you work from the butt guides toward the tip, and you do not reduce thread tension as you go out from the butt, you may have very high (too high) tension when you get to the tip. This might cause a blank wall to collapse. Absolutely no marks on the guide wrap to indicate crushing from outside the wrap, right?

It is unlikely, in my opinion, that the cause is the tip being struck or vibrating against something hard if there are no marks on the winding or very close to the winding. I think high sticking is unlikely, too, as previously mentioned. I think high sticking would occur farther down the blank and outside of a wrap. And you would detect at least a little splintering.

If you have Rodmaker Volume 12 Issue 6 there is an article on figuring out why blanks have failed.

All,

Thank you very much for the responses. Thread tension I do not believe to be the culprit. The area where the rod broke, is so small in diameter, that to wrap with much tension would bend that section easily. I had to beck the tension off considerably to keep the rod section straight and not bent.

Hoping it was just a defect so I will wrap this other tip section and keep my fingers crossed!!! I've never had a rod break other than by mishaps, so this one had me spooked. I was a bit embarrassed when the client called, but I assured him that I would make it right even if we had to start from a new and different blank. For me it always seems to be the rods I do as favors, fundraisers, donations etc that give me the most issues!! Haha......guess thats what I get for trying to be kind!!!! As they say......the reward for hard work is more work!! :-)

Paul

My suspicion is that something happened to the blank BEFORE it was wrapped. This can be at the manufacturer, handling at the dealer, in shipping, or in your shop. That is why it is always paramount to flex the assembled blank before starting the build. If the blank survives a thorough flex test, you can be pretty sure a failure had a cause either during the build or later use.