Let me preface this:

I have never built a complete rod before. I have wrapped guides, repaired tip tops, and replaced broken-off tips in the past, and I have a rod wrapping jig that will hold single colors. I understand the processes.

Now,

I love going thrift-shop hunting for spinning reels and old fishing rods. I got sick of my plastic, non-repairable, spinning reels getting gritty or cracked from sun and use, and so I bought a few sub-5$ junk table special spinning reels with metal bodies. One of them, a Daiwa A-160RL, was attached to a broken Shakespear Denso-Lite fishing rod, for 4.99. The reel was in good shape, but dirty, so I bought it. The reel cleaned up beautifully.

Now, the handle on the Denso-Lite was smashed, I cleaned it up a bit and this is what I was left with:

[i.imgur.com]

[i.imgur.com]

[i.imgur.com]

Not sure if it shows or not, but in that last photo there is a single strand of fiberglass that has delaminated for about 1".

I know this is not a particularly valuable blank, but it is a handy size at 56" length. I can not find modern blanks, fiberglass or graphite, this short. Is it worth rebuilding this rod, knowing that it has some laminate damage, or is there a place with inexpensive 56-60" ultralight blanks available? This blank is 56" long, 0.303" at the butt, and .093" at the tip. The intended use would be as a day trip creek and river rod, so short and light and easy to cast under trees on a creek bank.

There are plenty of short ultralight blanks available at very resonable price, GetBitOutdoors.com, Mudhole.com, Jannsnetcraft.com, etc. You can also cut the butt off longer blanks. Since the rod has no sentimental value, I'd go with a new blank.

But I would go longer. Short ultra lights are very poor for casting distance and hook sets. I'd go at least 6 1/2 feet.

But that is personal preference.

Jacob,
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you like it, that is all that really matters = go ahead and (re)build it. From your last photo, the only “single strand of fiberglass that has delaminated for about 1"” I see may not actually be FG from the blank but rather a stray thread; if it were FG from the blank, I would think it would be a straight splinter. If you are in question, place a guide there (it looks like there already was) and wrap over it to strengthen the area.
As for the rear handle / grip, a rod only 4’8” does not need much of a rear grip and since it appears the butt of your palm will not extend past the threads of the seat, consider simply installing a short fighting butt or split-grip butt cap to your liking. If you want a formal sized rear grip, find an appropriate scrap blank piece or thin-wall aluminum tubing (McMaster.com) with an ID the same or slightly larger to slip over the .303in stub of the blank protruding past the seat threads. Although the rear grip is not likely to experience much force, with a blank OD of only .303in, the ID will probably be close to .25in which may prove to be too small / weak to insert some kind of extension INTO the butt of the blank.
A nice, thin coat of PermaGloss will make the blank look like new. But PG is very “hot” so test in an inconspicuous spot to make certain it will not lift (decals) what is under it.
Good luck and keep us posted.

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

After doing some more reading and research, I agree. trying to rebuild this blank is not worth the trouble.

The hope is for a creek rod, so casting distances aren't going to be super long anyway, and bonus points if it fits across the back of the pickup cab in one piece. I plan on almost a fly-rod looking grip, approximately 5" of cork handle behind the reel seat.

I've found the MHX S6010 blank at Mudhole, which seems a reasonably good match in graphite. I'll keep looking for a fibreglass option, as it will be several more weeks before I get a chance to actually set up and do this-I run a machine shop and will be converting over to being a machine shop instructor this fall.

At the very least, remove all of the guides and tip, sand off all of the decals, put a coat of PG on it and then decide. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the beauty of that old fiberglass.

Jacob, I built a 5'6" rod about 3 years ago for stream fishing and found a really good blank that I cut to the required length. Rainshadow IMMWS62MXF. It's super sensitive and extremely light.

My main concern with the old rod would be breakage. I would flex the heck out of it to see if it breaks or splinters. If not, perma gloss and go for it. I am a sucker for a good deal and if you can make it work, by all means, do.

For a glass option, take a look at the Rainshadow SPG601 5’ blank.

At one point I think it had an even lighter brother in the SPG600 if you want to try to track down one of those.