Rebuilding An Old Rod?

[jason41987]

at some of these auctions ive been to, ive been finding great deals on rods and reels.. like when i got a working abu garcia ambassadeur 6600c from 1977 for $4.. i also got a nice little st croix rod with it as well.. however its a heavy action rod for large fish.. but it got me thinking.. could i buy up some of these dirt cheap casting rods (i dont use spinning gear anymore).. and strip off all the eyes, remove the real seat, the grip, strip off all the paint and take it back to a blank, then repaint, install brand new eyes, a new reel seat, fabricate a new cork grip and build an entirely brand new quality rod from it?

 

now, that said.. what are some of the brand names i should keep an eye out for when looking for blank donors? which should be avoided? and is it still possible to find a good metal casting reel seat or am i better off with a graphite model?.. i think first im going to try this with a good all-around rod, maybe a 6'6 medium or medium-heavy.. and im also thinking of finding a two-piece rod so i can mount all my eyes forward of the joint just so should anything go wrong with the grip or reel seat they can be replaced without having to cut all the eyes off

[papajoe222]

You're talking a lot of work on what may be a damaged or abused blank.  Removing guides, although tricky, is easy in comparison to removing a grip and reel seat.  I woud suggest leaving that task alone and just clean up the cork with either a powdered kitchen cleanser with bleach and a toothbrush, or some extra fine sandpaper or steel wool to lightly remove the grime.  As for guide sets, a good set of Fuji guides won't set you back much.

When it comes to which rod or blank to look for, decide according to your needs as far as action and stick wilth name brands. Shimano, Lamiglas, St.Croix, etc.

[jason41987]

well the idea is to look at these rods.. find one thats still in good working order with little to no signs of any real abuse.. real seats, if platic i could just cut off with a dremel so long as i take care not to cut into the blank.. im confident i could strip it all down to the blank.. but do these rods really ever show much sign of wear as in twisting or bending out of shape?.. seems to me these old rods look just as capable as a brand new one so long as the eyes and seat is still good

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

This depends on what if anything your time is worth. Most of the rebuilds I do are for sentimental reasons. It's more cost effective and you get better end results just building from scratch. An exception might be if you ran across a blank with certain action and power characteristics that you just can't seem to find, which is still questionable in this day and age. Grabbing some rods for cheap and replacing a few guides, tip tops etc sprucing up the handle if necessary makes more sense than complete rebuilds imo.

[jason41987]

well, i think it would also be fairly cheap for practice too, before buying more expensive rod blanks.. im not worried about a little extra work, i rather enjoy it, gives me something to do in my spare time..

 

but heres another question.. in the image below is that of a reel seat of a rod i got when i purchased a set of stuff from an auction (where i got my $4 ambassadeur).. and this rod was in it too.. put the abu on the rod and i really liked how the line lined up with the first eye, but they dont make reel seats like this anymore.. why dont they? is there a major flaw in this design or is it just something that kind of phased out?.. besides its more low profile position, i think its interesting that the rods can be removed from the seat by unscrewing a nut.. so it could allow a variety of different actions and lengths of rod to be made to fit the seat.. what are the downsides though?.. the rod thats on it now is a pretty heavy, rather short st croix rod.. too heavy and too short for most my fishing

 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Modern "Blank Thru" construction is more powerful and sensitive and new reels are already low profile. Something similar may still be available if you look around. Repeated tightening and loosening of the ferrule nut may invite a loosening fit and eventual breakage. If I were to use that today I'd put a short glass "Ugly Stick" style blank on it and throw square bills, inline spinners and top waters

[jason41987]

well, my most used reel is my abu garcia ambassadeur, not a low pro baitcaster which is why i was considering re-using this particular reel seat.. however, i may just be better off using the new 1977 model ambassadeur i got at the same auction on that rod with the bait clicker as a catfishing combo.. i did figure it may be possible for this rod blank to pop out of the reel seat if it was pulled hard enough

 

but anyway.. so long as the rod isnt broken, chipped, or scuffed then it shouldnt function any different than a new blank, it would just require more prep work to de-construct it?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

It depends on what it is. A new blank is likely lighter and just as strong due to the new materials and technology, but an older undamaged blank is fishable if it has the power and action you want. Catfishing wouldn't be among my choices for pistol grip rod.

[jason41987]

well, so youre saying the used rod would work just fine for the power and action its designed for, just newer ones are lighter for the same power?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Generally speaking, yes. Modern blanks tend to have faster actions and be crisper or faster recovery. To see what I mean shake an older rod and watch how long the tip oscillates before coming to rest. Usually much longer than the newer materials. A fair number of fly fishermen search out older rods for the softer actions. Bass casting/spinning not so much. Again though it really needs to be looked at on a case by case basis.

[jason41987]

many of the rods im finding dirt cheap are less than 10 years old though..theyre just used is all

[LMB KING]

That's very good your doing that. If i have a rod that is broken, I will save it for future projects, or you can buy old cheap rods and reels that you can fix up or use for accessories. That's smart and wallet friendly. Keep it up and continue to fix up your own reels and rods. I'm doing this as well. 

[Kevin22]

By the time you buy a 10 year old $10 rod and strip it down, rebuild it, and get it to where you want it you are going to have just as much in it as you would just buying a cheap rod at walmart. You aren't going to find any <10 year old good rods for $10. If you do, just sell them and make a few bucks to put towards a great rod. I've got a garage full of rods I will sell you for $10 each, all less than 10 years old, all junk. 

 

I'd rather have a good blank with cheap guides than great guides on a worthless blank.