Hi, I've got a rod that some how developed looseness in the ferrule. It's a spigot ferrule and I can feel it wobbling and tell there is a small gap at the bottom of the female piece when its completely seated. I'm not sure how that could happen other than maybe using it when the sections weren't completely seated. I've tried trimming 1/8" off the male end to see if that would allow it to slide farther down and seat better. It's still tightening up exactly where it did before so that didn't seem to do anything. Anybody have an idea how to fix this problem?

I have found with a loose spigot ferrule you need to trim a little off the female section versus the male section. Spigots can wear down and become loose. Try trimming the end of the female ferrule with a file, and see if the fit becomes better. In most cases you don’t need to trim very much. You may need to remove the ferrule wrap and then rewrap after trimming.

Norm

It;s called "Ferrule Knocking" and may have been there from the outset but you didn't notice it until it got worse.
Or - you may have got grit/sand in the ferrule when using it. That happens sometimes when you use paraffin to lube the ferrules.
Oddly, the use of paraffin will also lessen the knocking.
This is a very difficult fix.
Anything you do may fix, or exacerbate, your problem.
Maybe contact rod /blank manufacturer.
Herb

Have not tried this but would a very thin coat of finish epoxy tighten things up. Very light coat on the male end. Lightly sand once dry until you get the fit you want. Would be easy to reverse if it did not help.

The correct fix is to trim a tad from the end of the female ferrule (this assumes the problem is a loose female ferrule end). This allows the male spigot to extend further into the female portion and retain the original fit.

We did an extensive article on ferrule fitting in a past issue of RodMaker.

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I second what Tom K and Norm M said is the correct fix.

Adding anything to the male end, wax, epoxy, ect is not going to fix the problem, those are just short term fixes. If you got the blank from a well known blank maker, I would try and contact them, they may fix it for you.

Trimming the male end, that will do nothing, and with the possibility of making it more loose. Typical Spigot Ferrules should have at a minimum 1/8" to a max of 3/8" distance between the rod sections when properly fitted.

If the Male Spigot is the problem: I have seen Male spigots that were not tapered properly, lower end that is hidden in the rod section is too small to mate up to the taper of the blank and the epoxy did not seal all the way around it, causing it to "knock or click" when you wiggle or cast the rod. Same thing happens when the ferrule is not epoxied properly. The best way to fix this, remove the male spigot and have a new one installed, best to be done by the folks that rolled the blank in the first place, especially if it is a blank that you spent a good amount of coin on, and if you are a novice at more involved blank repairs.

If it is the Male section making the "click or knock", you can figure it out by putting the rod together, no reel, hold the rod in your fingers (parallel to floor), with your fingers holding the rod just down from where the male spigot protrudes from the blank, wiggle the rod up and down, you'll feel the "click" in the blank if the male spigot is not seated or loose within the blank. No click, its not the male section that is loose within the blank. Repeat with you holding the blank where the male spigot seats into the female section of the ferrule, that will tell you which part is the problem.

Thank you guys for the reply. The blank is kind of an odd ball in that it's a 12' surf rod. I've had it for quite a few years but if I remember correctly it was one of those "OEM" deeply discounted sale blanks from mudhole. I might call them to see if I can get any manufacturer info but I'm not expecting they'll have much. That's the only reason I haven't done it yet. I've never used anything on the ferrule but over the years sand could have taken it's toll or maybe it was very slight and got worse over the years like Herb said. I'm pretty positive it's a loose female end, when I hold that area between my fingers and wiggle the blank I can feel it right there. I'll try as you guys suggested and take a little off the female end to see if that helps. I appreciate the responses!

Brian

Do the two sections bottom out on each other or is there still some gap through which you can see the spigot?

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Tom Kirkman Wrote:
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> Do the two sections bottom out on each other or is
> there still some gap through which you can see the
> spigot?
>
> ..........


There is a good gap, about 1/4-3/8".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2020 12:27PM by brian rossi.

Try cleaning out the inside of the female ferrule, may be dirty preventing proper seating. You said it is a surf rod, and the ferrule may be prone to sand, salt crystals, and other things.
Norm

Okay, in that case, you do not need to trim from the bottom of the female ferrule - you need to trim from the tip of the spigot. Take maybe 1/16th inch, clean and test for fit. If that won't do it, take another 16th and repeat.

I'd start by doing what Norman suggested - run a Q-tip up in there and make sure you don't have anything in there that is stopping the tip from fully seating.

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Thank you guy's. I'll try cleaning it out to see if that helps. I already took a little off the spigot (Male end) and it was still tightening up in the same spot as before. Any chance that I could rub some chalk on the spigot and put it together. That would allow me to see the point where contact isn't being made.Then I could put the rod in a lathe and sand a tiny bit off the spigot so it would seat a little deeper?

That's plausible (RodMaker article showed how to do this) but generally a mis-fit that creates any sort of wobble or knock is a ferrule that isn't fully seating. High spots along the ferrule spigot itself are usually the case of a ferrule that twists or won't stay tight during use.

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Hello All.


Tom I found 4 repair articles on Ferrule Repair.

Vol-4, Issue 1, Page 16, "Ferrules, Repairing Plug and Spigot Types" by Ralph O'Quinn.

Vol-5, Issue 3, Page 22, "Ferrule Lapping" by Bernard Elset".

Vol-13, Issue 1, Page 22, "Ferrule Fitting and Restoring" by Tom Kirkman.

Vol-22, Issue 3, Page 22, "Ferrule Refitting" by Tom Kirkman.


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Ok, thanks again for the help! Thank you for going through the trouble of finding all the issues covering the topic.