Repairing broken rods

An individual called me earlier this week to get directions to my shop. I'm located off the beaten path and it can be hard to find. He said he had a crack in the handle of his casting rod that needed to be looked at and possibly repaired. When he arrived and showed me the rod, the last four inches of the handle were at a right angle to the rest of the rod and dangling by a small bit of graphite. He asked if I knew what would cause a rod to crack like that; obviously still not willing to admit it was broken.

I made few suggestions as to how it could have been broken...like maybe if he fell down holding it, or a tackle box fell on it, or a bear came up and swatted it out of his hand, or it got smashed in the trunk of the car...things like that. He asked if closing the car door on the rod could have done the damage. I said yes. By the way, this is a true story.

The repair was not difficult. The rod has a split grip and the break was in the exposed portion of the blank between grips about 4 inches up from the butt. There was some lateral damage in the form of minor cracks along the blank running toward the reel seat.

I removed the butt cap and located a suitable section of an old fiberglass rod shaft. The taper matched well and I cut out a piece long enough to run from the butt end of the rod up through the reel seat and just under the fore grip. Once this was sized and trimmed, I glued it in place inside the graphite rod blank to reinforce the broken spot and the lateral damage as well. I wrapped the space between the split grips with thread and coated the thread with a low build finish. Problem solved.

It was not possible to utilize an oversleeve on this repair because the uplocking mechanism for the reel seat, which includes the front portion of the split grip, unscrews down over the broken area. Any repair work in that area required minimal addition to the rod diameter to allow the reel seat mechanism the necessary clearance. The internal reinforcement combined with the thread over wrap is sufficient to restore the rod to use. The work will have virtually no effect on the rod action due to the rearward location of the damage and repair.

This is the third broken rod I've seen this fishing season and the season is only about 10 days old. Most tend to be tip sections or mid sections broken in a fall or a car door or through some sort of misuse of the rod. Is there any interest in discussing the repair processes for various types of breaks?

Any broken rods you need to know how to repair?

Thanks, Joe

I got an old Zebco that has a minor crack in the lower shaft that stems all the way into the reel seat, it would be better for me to just throw the darn thing away but to me it has sentimental values, I don't know if it is repairable as I'm assuming the crack is more the 6 inches long, with that said is there a possibility to get it rebuild just the lower section with a new shaft, i think shortening the shaft will make it worse or not what it was meant to be in durability and strength.

The short answer is, yes, it is probably repairable. It may or may not be worth the price you would pay to get it repaired. The repair could differ slightly depending on whether it is an older fiberglass shaft or an older graphite shaft. I can't say for certain without seeing the rod, but my guess would be the repair would be in the $25-$50 range and most of that is labor.

It is possible to build a new bottom section. Again, that may or may not be worth the expense involved. New grips, new reel seat, reuse the guide(s), and maybe the ferrule (if it's metal); plus the labor will start to get spendy pretty quickly. I grew up not far from the Zebco plant in Tulsa and these are not typically high dollar rods so here's another option.

Zebco outfits are everywhere in your part of the country. I would probably start by checking all the flea markets, swap meets and antique stores for a rod that matches yours. Pick one that still has good handles, reel seat, ferrules and guides. You may be able to find one for $5 or less. Then exchange the bottom sections and your rod is ready to go.

If this is truly a minor crack, and you can get the pistol grip off to expose the end of the rod shaft, or if you can get the butt cap off and the rod shaft runs through the handle and reel seat to the butt with no obstructions, and if you can find a piece of an old rod shaft that matches the taper, you can glue that piece in place inside your rod shaft to reinforce the area on both sides of the crack. It would be best to at least wrap thread along the outside of the rod shaft covering as much of the area around the crack as you can. This will add some weight and stiffness to the butt section, but should make the rod usable again.

Finding a replacement at a flea market is probably the best way to go. Thanks, Joe

Joe thanx for the tip, yeah, I do agree with you, flea makrket is probably my best bet, if anything that rod will still be kept in the family, thanx again