What to do about a bent rod?

[Glaucus]

Approximately 6 inches below the tip of one of my spinning rods there is a slight bend. Just noticed earlier. No idea how it happened as I'm easy on my gear and store them properly. Is there anything I can do about it?

 

Abu Garcia Vengeance rod.

[riverbasser]

I love it when my rod gets bent. . ?

 

I've honestly never had one do this, had guides be off center. Abu has good customer service. They might replace it for only shipping cost

[Glaucus]

56 minutes ago, riverbasser said:

I love it when my rod gets bent. . ?

 

Took me way too long to get it.

[Kidflex]

Nothing. Just fish it. A lot of rods have a slight bend in them. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

No blank is arrow straight. It won't affect a thing. 

[Glaucus]

2 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

No blank is arrow straight. It won't affect a thing. 

Mostly worried about casting accuracy. My other hobby is billiards, and if you have a bent cue, you're in trouble. Probably a false equivalency on my part, eh?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

7 minutes ago, Glaucus said:

Mostly worried about casting accuracy. My other hobby is billiards, and if you have a bent cue, you're in trouble. Probably a false equivalency on my part, eh?

Ya a rod is really just a lever plus you fish it on multiple planes. Accuracy is more affected by release point, length and action plus the hundred variables. 

[FrankN209]

13 hours ago, Glaucus said:

Approximately 6 inches below the tip of one of my spinning rods there is a slight bend. Just noticed earlier. No idea how it happened as I'm easy on my gear and store them properly. Is there anything I can do about it?

 

Abu Garcia Vengeance rod.

Can you post a pic of how bent it is?

[Glaucus]

25 minutes ago, FrankN209 said:

Can you post a pic of how bent it is?

[Armtx77]

More of a bow IMO and most likely, not an issue long term.

 

Im OCD on stuff like that. I would send a picture or two off to Abu Garcia and see what they think.

 

You can always try a Metric Crescent Wrench. I have been told they work well on matters such as this...I jest, I jest.

[grub_man]

I see you got the left handed dock skipper version.  That bend makes the lure curl around behind the dock pilings when working the left side of the dock.  You need a right handed dock skipper version to work the other side of the dock.

 

In all seriousness, the rod looks fine.  Rod builders will debate to no end what to do with the natural curvature of the blank as well as the blank's weakest axis.  There are many opinions, each with its own logic, but physics rules the day, and the rod is going to seek its configuration of lowest potential when loaded.  The truth is that you can build the rod on any axis you want.  The torque from the forces being applied to the guides by the line will dictate the way the rod flexes and twists under load.

 

If I were building on that blank, I would have rotated so that the tip pointed up instead of to the right resulting in a built that looks straighter.

[Glaucus]

3 minutes ago, grub_man said:

I see you got the left handed dock skipper version.  That bend makes the lure curl around behind the dock pilings when working the left side of the dock.  You need a right handed dock skipper version to work the other side of the dock.

 

In all seriousness, the rod looks fine.  Rod builders will debate to no end what to do with the natural curvature of the blank as well as the blank's weakest axis.  There are many opinions, each with its own logic, but physics rules the day, and the rod is going to seek its configuration of lowest potential when loaded.  The truth is that you can build the rod on any axis you want.  The torque from the forces being applied to the guides by the line will dictate the way the rod flexes and twists under load.

 

If I were building on that blank, I would have rotated so that the tip pointed up instead of to the right resulting in a built that looks straighter.

Thing is, I can say with 100 percent certainty that I did not buy it like this. I examine rods thoroughly before purchasing, and I check for abnormalities frequently. 

[Crankin4Bass]

I have an Academy Ethos HD cranking rod I just received in the mail that has a tip just like this. It fishes fine but the OCD part of me does not like it. I'm in Massachusetts so it's not like I can go to a local store and swap it. It got it on sale for $56 and they shipped it 2 day fedex for free so I'm hesitant to complain. This is why I hate buying rods online. I'm tempted to heat up the tip with a heat gun and clamp it between two 2x4's and see what happens. Probably a bad idea...

[bigbill]

I’d fish with it, it wouldn’t bother me.

 

but try to get it replaced if it bothers you.

[burrows]

If it really bothers you take it to Walmart and exchange it. I have one of those vengeance rods there decent!

[FishDewd]

I often transport my rods in my car, but they are too long to fit in the back seat the rear seat does not fold down. So what I do is slide them beside my passenger seat so the tip rests in the floor boards and allow the handle to rest against the back seats. Sometimes when I remove them they have a temporary minor bend to them that goes away after a few minutes. Maybe you can try that, but put it in there so that it bends the other way and leave it for a few days? No idea why your tip did that though to begin with though.

[Glaucus]

I went and checked out these Vengeance rods at the store and each and every one of them has this bow to the left or the right. I don't know if it was a bad shipment or just the way they are.

[Boomstick]

4 hours ago, Glaucus said:

I went and checked out these Vengeance rods at the store and each and every one of them has this bow to the left or the right. I don't know if it was a bad shipment or just the way they are.

I have seen Vengeance rods that are straight. I'm guessing that shipment was forced to sit crooked for a while or something.

[Glaucus]

1 hour ago, Boomstick said:

I have seen Vengeance rods that are straight. I'm guessing that shipment was forced to sit crooked for a while or something.

There's a serious flaw in them, then, because you can't tell me other shipments aren't abused. I looked at other rods and only these were bowed, every one of them the same way either left or right. Also, if it was the way they were shipped, why are some bowed one way and the others the other way? They are all the same either left or right. If it's the way they were shipped, pathetic rods to bow when even the cheap 15-20 dollar rods aren't. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Graphite will not take a set like that. It's completely normal. 

[Beetlebz]

Personally I'm not a huge fan of it aesthetically. Bottom line is it's normal and the rod is fine. I have had a few that were noticeably bent in one direction or another, never made a difference. If it means that much to you call abu direct and ship it back. It's not going to explode.

[grub_man]

The rods are perfectly normal.  Perfectly straight rod blanks are very rare indeed.  As has been mentioned, a little curvature is perfectly normal.  The direction that the curvature goes is going to be determined by the first person to start work on a blank in a mass produced rod.

 

Enjoy the rod and catch some fish with it!

[Boomstick]

19 hours ago, Glaucus said:

There's a serious flaw in them, then, because you can't tell me other shipments aren't abused. I looked at other rods and only these were bowed, every one of them the same way either left or right.

Maybe it was a bad batch from the factory, I have no idea I'm just saying I have seen many that are straight or at least straight as far as the eye can tell and not bowed like yours so it doesn't apply to all Vengeance rods.

 

So it be worthwhile to get a replacement through warranty.

[Brad in Texas]

Assuming you are going to keep the rod, I think what I might do is dedicate it to specific presentations. if the tip is more or less down, and I think that is what your photo shows, it'd make a nice rod for flipping and pitching. As regards overhand casting, no, I think it'd be compromised. As you pull the rod overhead and back, it will want to rotate one way or the other putting a slight torque on the rod. At least this is how I visualize it.

 

I am not a rod builder but I recall a great article a year or so ago that mentioned that blanks are not perfectly straight and how this particular builder was able to find the "bias" and set the rod up to align for best performance with its imperfection.

 

The essence of what was being communicated was that many rod manufacturers don't do this, just grab a blank and no consideration of its orientation in building it out occurs. 

 

But, I don't think it should be visible and next time I go into a big box store, I'm going to look at the rods and see if any show obvious bends. I don't recall ever seeing one but it has me wondering!

 

Best of luck!  Brad

[d-camarena]

Yesterday i noticed my lews tp1 was really bent, it was a 6 pounder