for a Klondike bar?

Sorry .... I know why that popped into my head. I just don't know why I decided to type it out. Anyhow .... I ordered a blank not all that long ago, and when it got to my house it was damaged. Damaged as in, broken almost perfectly in half. I've since filed and had a claim with USPS settled, and now that I don't have to save the blank in case USPS wanted to look at it, I can do something with the blank. My plan is to slide the tip section into the butt section, and epoxy the two pieces together, and then build on it.

I'd like to keep as much of the tip section exposed as I can, and I'm wondering how much of an overlap you fine folks think would be sufficient to produce a nice strong blank. Personally I was thinking about 2" would probably be enough. I'll be building it as a spinning rod, so I won't really be horsing any fish with it, but I do want it to be strong. If you think more of an overlap would be needed, then how much more?

Also, I'm thinking I probably wouldn't want to simply use U 40 rod bond, that I would probably want to use a liquid epoxy? The broken blank in question is an NFC MB736 X ray, and I'd like to keep as much of the blanks sensitivity as possible. That's why the thought that a liquid epoxy would maybe be better than a paste?

Any thoughts you guys have on the subject, would be greatly appreciated.

About 5 or 6 times the diameter at the point of the break would be enough if you plan to epoxy it together. If you intend to try and craft a two-piece from, you would need more to ensure enough friction to keep the two sections together. For what it might be worth, all St. Croix multi-piece freshwater rods have a ferrule overlap of 2 inches.

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

Here I go thinking again! I would think 2" would be enough. I would absolutely wrap the tip end of the butt section as though it were a ferrule and give it a coat or two of finish before proceeding with assembly. I'd likely put a wrap over the point where the tip section ends inside the butt section also, now that I think about it. Good luck with the glue.

If possible I would build a two piece rod. Other wise if it is not in a condition to build a rod I would think about making sanding reamers from them.

Last resort use the blank sections to practice different weaves (no finish)


John

Fix it. You'll probably never know it was broke. If it breaks again you can make reamers.

Tom, thank you for the response, and the specifics you provided. I do plan on epoxying the two pieces together, and the 6 times the diameter at the break (once I clean the end up) on the tip section would give me 1 1/2" of overlap. That will give me a 1/2" more of the tip section exposed, so that is a good thing. And the reason I was thinking 2" was based on some of the slip fit two piece rods I've seen.

Lynn, thank you for your response as well. Is your suggestion for the wrap on the tip of the butt section more or less just for cosmetic purposes? Because I was kind of hoping I could get by without one. The reason being, my first reduction guide is probably going to fall somewhere around 2" from the tip of the butt section of the rod. I was thinking a wrap that close to the first guide might look odd. I didn't think I'd need one for structural purposes as I'll be epoxying the two pieces together.

John, thank you for your response as well. I'm definitely going to epoxy the pieces together as I think it will be much easier, and I don't really have a need for a 2 piece rod. The finished length of the rod is going to be around 6' 4", so even if I wanted to transport it in something other than the rod locker of my boat, I wouldn't have a problem fitting it in the back seat of my truck. And originally I had thought about turning into reamers, but I already have 4 reamers that I made from old rods. That and this is one heck of a blank, I hate the thought of turning it into reamers if I can at all avoid it.

Even though it's life as a mag bass blank is over, I'm thinking it's gonna be a dynamite little rod for skipping baits under docks.

Once again, thank for all of the responses. I truly appreciate them.

We use to make a two piece rods using a graphite or fiberglass sleeve as a ferrule. For example, use a piece of blank that will perfectly fits over your broken rod sections with about a 2” overlap on each side of the break. Glue the sleeve to the tip section of your broken rod, and trim the butt section a little to allow for wear. This will give you a tip over butt ferrule. I wrap both ends of the ferrule to make sure no splitting will occur later. You could also use an internal plug made from an old broken blank that snuggly fits both sections. With the plug in place I like to push the rod against the ceiling to see if I get a nice smooth bend, with out a pronounced flat spot. If you get the smooth bend you can glue the plug into both section aligning the broken sections together to give you a one piece fix. In many cases you can adjust your guide placement to hide the repair. Or you can glue only in the butt section to give you a spigot ferrule. Again wrap both sections to prevent splitting and you will need to trim the tip section a little to allow for wear.. you will need a supply of old broken blanks to choice from to get the proper fits. I have a bunch of old rods that I use for these purposes. In fact in the past couple of weeks I repaired two broken rods, one with a sleeve tip over butt ferrule, and the other with an internal plug for a one piece fix. If you need more specifics email me.and I will be happy to help. I have done this many times and these repairs will last for a long time without problems.
Norm

You may want to consider making what I call a drop rod. Were the top section drops into the but section about 14 inches. the drop can very depending on the blank your working with. it gives you some of the benefit of a two piece rod and the reliability of a single piece rod. I used to make them for hiding behind the seat of pickup trucks. Out of sight, out of temptations path so to speak.

David,
You have received replies from those more qualified than me. Allow me to offer that the rod will never be precisely the same as it was prior to being broken, no matter the method used to repair it! If you are OK with that, then proceed with the repair. If not, save your effort and consider it a sacrificial blank for future use to repair other blanks, reaming mandrels or whatever. It can be silly to spend $2.00 to save 50 cents.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Go with your original plan, using a 1 1/2" overlap. Either epoxy will work fine, the with the Rod Bond being less messy to work with.

Norman, thanks for the response, I appreciate it. That's just more work than I'm wanting to put into it. I'm not trying to repair the blank, I'm just trying to make something usable out of the two pieces. I do appreciate you taking the time to explain your procedure though. It sounds like it would work fine and something I'll keep in mind for possible future use.

Paul, thank you for responding. I had actually thought of possibly doing something like you proposed. Because of what and where the guide spacing is most likely going to end up, the overlap of the two pieces is going to end up between the first and the second reduction train guides. The tip section will only be able to drop back into the butt section about 3 inches, so I'm just going to epoxy them together and call it a day.

Mark, thank you for your response as well. Believe me, I am well aware that the blank won't be close to what it would be if it were unbroken, and I'm not trying to, It was a 7'3" mag bass medium heavy power, fast action blank, that when all is said and done, will probably be about 6'4" long. I'm most likely going to have to take about 9" off the tip of the butt section of the blank in order to get the the 1 1/2" overlap I'm looking for. So yeah, it's going to have some odd characteristics to say the least. That's why I'm going to build it as a spinning rod. As I don't really lean on fish with spinning gear, I figure that's the best configuration to avoid over stressing it. I already have a set of Minima 4 guides I can use on it, so it's only going to cost a few dollars for the rest of the stuff I need to complete the build. If it doesn't work out I'll be able to reuse everything but the grips. So .....

And finally Phil, thank you for the response. I am going to do exactly that. It's going to be quick and easy, and interesting because of the characteristics the rod is going to have. The first rod I ever built was a jerkbait rod, and I had chosen an MHX shooter blank. It was much more stiff than I had anticipated, so I returned it and went with a different blank. I have a feeling this surgically repaired blank is going to be pretty similar to that MHX shooter blank.

One final thank you to everyone who responded. I knew I could count on you fine folks for some great ideas. I truly appreciate your thoughts.

I would wrap tie tip of the butt section to add hoop strength. That's the only place a split might occur. May not be needed, I would do it. The 2nd wrap I mentioned is probably over kill.