Hey all,

I have an old graphite rod (Olympic 065GN made in Korea - can't find anything about it) that has a cracked end. There are about a couple cracks about 2"-3" down to the end of it - I removed the grip and reel seat as I was intending to replace all that regardless. I've replaced the reel seat/grips on another rod previously but have pretty limited experience otherwise.

Here are some pictures of the damage:
[photos.app.goo.gl]


Any suggestions on what I can do to remedy this? I checked on another forum (though not dedicated to rod building) and one person recommended cutting about 2" above where the crack ends at the butt, then use another old rod blank (I have a small section from a travel rod that I checked and seems like it fits) to reinforce everything.

Also, is there an simple way to remove the old foam and tape on the blank from where I removed the grips/seat? That stuff is really stubborn and I'm having a heck of a time removing it...

Jeremy

See discussion of Michael Sutheimer on Jan 16 @ 05:16 AM

John

Jeremy,
The fix is very simple and absolutely reliable.
With the crack exposed and the blank cleaned up, find a perfectly fitting piece of rod blank material that will fit tightly inside the butt of the rod up past the crack for at least 2 inches.

Then, sand down the outside of the repair blank to give it a nice rough texture so that it will adhere well to the inside of the cracked blank.

Then, have several strips of masking tape cut and ready apply on the outside of the blank.

Finally mix up a batch of 5 minute epoxy and give the inside of the cracked blank and the outside of the repair blank a good coating of 5 minute epoxy and firmly shove the repair blank up past the cracked blank at least two inches such that it is nice and firm in the cracked blank. Then, wipe off any 5 minute epoxy that has seeped out of the cracks and quickly take the masking tape and do tight tape wraps on the outside of the cracked blank that is being repaired.

Give the glue a couple of hours to cure, and then remove the masking tape and you now have a sound blank to put a new grip on and finish the restoration of the rod.

The entire process should take less than an hour and will last as long as the rod is in service.

Good luck

Thanks guys.

So no need to cut off any of the cracked rod portion?

Here's a picture of a blank section of an old travel rod:

[lh3.googleusercontent.com]


And with the section inside (it's pretty long and goes way further up than just the bottom cracked area):
[lh3.googleusercontent.com]

You should make sure there isnt much wiggle room.. Haveing them close to the same taper.. The epoxy should help fill any slight void id assume.. Definatly no need to cut it off though.. Apply the epoxy leberally.. Better to have to much and wipe it away then not enough.. I personally havent had to do a repair like this in the butt section, but the tighter the fit. The less chance of failure when stressed.. Theres a article on rod repair in the library section lf the page worth a read

Just a suggestion; I would bend the rod over my head at fairly good bend that would be just a little over the stress that a fish would put on it to make sure the rod doesn't just snap after all the effort to repair. If it is hardy enough to withstand a stress test then it should be good enough for the repair. I am just saying this because the rod looks a little old or has been abused.

Lance Schreckenbach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just a suggestion; I would bend the rod over my
> head at fairly good bend that would be just a
> little over the stress that a fish would put on it
> to make sure the rod doesn't just snap after all
> the effort to repair. If it is hardy enough to
> withstand a stress test then it should be good
> enough for the repair. I am just saying this
> because the rod looks a little old or has been
> abused.


Not sure if this matters but it's a 2pc rod - I actually fished it a couple months back and caught some fish on it granted they were smaller and probably no more than a pound or two. But good point though - that would really stink! EDIT: I just put it together and flexed it a decent amount a few times but not super aggressively. It *seems* ok - not sure if the way I did it was sufficient enough though.

BTW: The blank spare section I have is about 12"-15" long or so - would it be OK just to stick the entire thing in? I guess it would allow for extra reinforcement pretty much across most of the grip and seat areas. I think it gets about half-way into where the fore-grip is position.

Also, I have some U-40 Rod Bond on hand from a previous reel seat/grip install. Would it be ok or even preferable to go ahead and use that for the blank reinforcement instead of 5-min epoxy? Or better just to stick with 5-min epoxy? The reason I ask partly is because I don't have 5-min epoxy on hand so if I can use the U-40 instead, it'll save me a trip to the hardware store.
On that note, does U-40 ever go bad too? I recently mixed some up and have some residue on a piece of cardboard - it still feels tacky to this day. Unless I got the ratio wrong but I was pretty close to 50/50



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2019 05:14PM by Jeremy Lee.

Use what ever glue that you want to use.
I expect that you feel some tackiness on the cardboard is because it is likely you are feeling parts of the glue that were not well mixed.

I agree with Roger, just glue the sucker up and go with it.
Norm

Thanks all. I'm deciding on the grips and seat to put on it. I was probably just going to order a Fuji DPSM seat - any pointers though on what size for this rod? I was considering the DPSM16 or DPSM17 but originally it had a HAPS-18 sized reel seat on it. I mostly have fished this with a 4000 sized reel but I think it could take as low as 2000-2500 up to 5000 (although I never fished a reel bigger than 4000 on it)? Was curious about the grips too - I'll probably order EVA grips that have a .50" bored hole. Right now I have roughly around 16.5" of length to work with for the grip and seat area. Might be a little less if I really cram the blank in but I think I may have it in as far as it'll go - I'm guessing I should avoid tapping with a hammer lol. Also, any thoughts on the blank having a smaller O.D. sticking out at the bottom? Just build-up with masking or some other kind of tape until it's the same O.D. as the original blank? Or don't even bother?

These are the components I'm considering if I were to lean towards the DPSM17 btw:
Fore grip 3" - [www.mudhole.com]
Seat DPSM17 4.685" - [www.mudhole.com]
Rear grip 9" but I think closer to 8.75" in actual length - [www.mudhole.com]
Butt Cap - [www.mudhole.com]



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2019 09:57PM by Jeremy Lee.

Jeremy,
The key point of this entire repair job is to have a tapered plug that exactly matches the taper of the original blank.

It is nice to have the repair blank a few inches longer than what you need for the repair so that you can have the repair insert protruding past the butt of the blank. This protrusion makes a nice handle to use when working with the repair blank.

If your repair plug has the exact same taper, the inside end of the repair plug will stop about 2 or 3 inches in front of the damage. Glue it up and when the glue is dry, chop off any protruding piece of the internal repair blank.


Good luck

i fully agree with roger, thats how a plug repair is done basically anywhere on a rod

Thanks for clarifying - I'll follow your advice Roger!


BTW: if I'm measuring a 14-15mm or ~.50" diameter of the blank along last 14" of the butt of the rod and I'm planning to get those EVA Foam grips, what inner diameter should I go with?
They offer grips with pre-bored holes of the following I.D.s: .25", .375" or .50" - best to stick with .50"? Or go smaller for a 'snug' fit?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2019 02:00PM by Jeremy Lee.