Broken Rods

[GTN-NY]

So what do you do with your broken rods? 
Is there a use for them?

[MN Fisher]

I use a couple broken ones (1 spin, 1 cast) for spooling line on reels...that way I don't have to 'fight' a 7'+ rod in my workspace.

[FrnkNsteen]

4 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

I use a couple broken ones (1 spin, 1 cast) for spooling line on reels...that way I don't have to 'fight' a 7'+ rod in my workspace.

Good idea. I usually clamp a piece of stepped dowel in my workbench vice to hold the line spool, then hold casting reels in my hand while loading, so no need for a rod, but a spinning rod cut off above the first eye would be handy!

 

I don't break many rods, but I did have one get smashed under the support rod of the trolling motor recently. I will cut it off and use for loading spinning reels!

 

Thanks!

 

[king fisher]

I use them to take up unused space in my house, along with boxes of lures I am saving for the same purpose.

[MickD]

Rodbuilders can use broken rods, especially glass ones , for making repair sleeves for other broken rods.  If you have a favorite, and the break is suitable, it can be repaired and will fish almost the same as it did before repair.  I know there are those who don't believe it, but I have repaired many, and some of them I've had CCS numbers both when new and after repair, and the numbers do not change.  Yes, there is a slight addition of weight because of the repair, but the rods still fish well.  The repair procedure is here: https://www.rodbuilding.org/library/repair-oquinn.html

[MN Fisher]

11 minutes ago, MickD said:

If you have a favorite, and the break is suitable, it can be repaired and will fish almost the same as it did before repair. 

I wasn't worried about these two - the spinning was a 1st gen Ugly Stick, the casting was an ancient Berkley Enforcer.

[newapti5]

It makes a good back scratcher. Soft touch.

[Choporoz]

I keep thinking I'm going to use one for a lure retriever somehow.  But haven't gotten around to it.  I've also wondered whether builders couldn't reuse guides or handles of broken premium rods.

[Will Ketchum]

I had a fiberglass rod break once at the metal ferrule and I was able to dig the piece out of the ferule, cut off some of the broken end of the rod and sand it down and then glued it back into the ferule. It ended up an inch or two shorter but usable.

 

I made ice fishing rods at times too.

[casts_by_fly]

51 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

I keep thinking I'm going to use one for a lure retriever somehow.  But haven't gotten around to it.  I've also wondered whether builders couldn't reuse guides or handles of broken premium rods.

 

Guides yes.  If the rod has titanium or torzite guides its worth stripping.  Plain Aluminum oxide it isn't even worth it unless you're doing a lot of repairs on odd rods and just want to have a stock of randoms that might match something in the future.

 

Grips, not so much.  They are a lot of work to get off and they are pretty cheap brand new, even nice ones.  if you had something special and the grip was worth more to you than the rest of it then you can cut the blank and ream the grip from the inside.  You can also cut the blank a couple inches above a grip and then insert a new rod blank into it some of the time.  The new blank has to be pretty stiff around the bottom foot so you don't make a pressure point.

[FrnkNsteen]

19 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

Guides yes.  If the rod has titanium or torzite guides its worth stripping.  Plain Aluminum oxide it isn't even worth it unless you're doing a lot of repairs on odd rods and just want to have a stock of randoms that might match something in the future.

 

Grips, not so much.  They are a lot of work to get off and they are pretty cheap brand new, even nice ones.  if you had something special and the grip was worth more to you than the rest of it then you can cut the blank and ream the grip from the inside.  You can also cut the blank a couple inches above a grip and then insert a new rod blank into it some of the time.  The new blank has to be pretty stiff around the bottom foot so you don't make a pressure point.

Well, I don't know who made the grips for the Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth, but this is the one I recently broke and was so disappointed.

 

If someone could put this grip on a new blank and rebuild a rod for me, or tell me where these grips can be gotten, I think I would bite the bullet and do my first custom rod.

[casts_by_fly]

The butt is easy enough.  Custom, but easy.  The seat is going to be harder.  I think that's a downlocking seat that's be totally covered in cork (composite cork in the middle).  It won't be available on the market as is, so it's a custom build.  I'm thinking something like a KSKSS Fuji would get you the back end and the threaded barrel.  The locking nut would need to be fully cork covered.  Between the two you'd need to put composite cork and file/sand to get the right profile.  Rear grip of the seat is no problem.  It would be a bit of work to get it right, but I'm sure a custom builder would get very close, especially if they had your broken one to work from.

 

 

 

the other option would be cutting and reaming like a noted above.  Kinda a pain, but for a one of a kind seat that you love and can't otherwise get it might be possible.

[Choporoz]

1 hour ago, FrnkNsteen said:

If someone could put this grip on a new blank and rebuild a rod for me, or tell me where these grips can be gotten, I think I would bite the bullet and do my first custom rod.

Interesting.  I was devastated when I broke my ETSM.  But the reel seat was the one thing that drove me nuts.  I shimmed reel feet with toothpicks.  I had a builder do something ....not sure what....to secure the reel.  I dealt with self-loosening seat lock nut.   Drove me nuts.  But I still loved that rod. 

[Jigfishn10]

If the line guides and tip top on the broken rod are in good condition then I would take those off for repairs on other similar rods I own.

 

The reel seat and lower half section of the broken rod can be used to re-spool reels. 

 

Other than that, landfill. I tried using sections for repairing broken rods, but haven't had any luck restoring them. The repaired ones work, but not the way I'd like them.

[FishTank]

When I was a kid, no joke, we used them for tomato stakes.

 

I would see no use repurposing a broken rod now a days, unless it has a broken tip that can be fixed. 

[RDB]

3 hours ago, Choporoz said:

I keep thinking I'm going to use one for a lure retriever somehow.  But haven't gotten around to it.  I've also wondered whether builders couldn't reuse guides or handles of broken premium rods.

Perfect as a lure retriever.

[DaveT63]

A couple years ago at a local fishing show, there was a guy that cut broken rods off just above the reel seat or the cork foregrip.  He then inserted the business end of a flyswatter in to it and epoxied that in place.  He called it "The Fly Rod".  I love the one I have, most comfortable handle I've ever had on a flyswatter.

[FrnkNsteen]

1 hour ago, Choporoz said:

Interesting.  I was devastated when I broke my ETSM.  But the reel seat was the one thing that drove me nuts.  I shimmed reel feet with toothpicks.  I had a builder do something ....not sure what....to secure the reel.  I dealt with self-loosening seat lock nut.   Drove me nuts.  But I still loved that rod. 

I had heard that about those rods from others, but never had that issue myself. I had four of them and none had that issue. Must have gotten lucky that the reels I used had enough bulk to the reel feet to tighten up. I belueve I had Daiwa Regal Z on one, two had Pfleuger Presidents and one a Daiwa Fuego.

 

My wife knocked the MH version in a lake and we couldn't recover it, the one that broke was one of two 6'3" M, and the last is my favorite;  a 6'9" ML I use for Wacky.

[GTN-NY]

2 hours ago, Jigfishn10 said:

If the line guides and tip top on the broken rod are in good condition then I would take those off for repairs on other similar rods I own.

 

The reel seat and lower half section of the broken rod can be used to re-spool reels. 

 

Other than that, landfill. I tried using sections for repairing broken rods, but haven't had any luck restoring them. The repaired ones work, but not the way I'd like them.

How do you take line guides off?

[fin]

This time of year we have these huge red spiders that build webs right outside doors, so if you walk outside at night, it’s like facehuggers from Aliens. So I keep an old broken rod by the door that I probe the doorway with before going out.

 

10 minutes ago, GTN-NY said:

How do you take line guides off?

Hair dryer, I think.

[Choporoz]

1 hour ago, FrnkNsteen said:

I had heard that about those rods from others, but never had that issue myself. I had four of them and none had that issue. Must have gotten lucky that the reels I used had enough bulk to the reel feet to tighten up. I belueve I had Daiwa Regal Z on one, two had Pfleuger Presidents and one a Daiwa Fuego.

 

My wife knocked the MH version in a lake and we couldn't recover it, the one that broke was one of two 6'3" M, and the last is my favorite;  a 6'9" ML I use for Wacky.

I've still got a spinning and that reel seat has been decent (with a toothpick or two).   It is the 6'10"MF that I loved until I broke it, but the seat drove me a bit nuts.

[GTN-NY]

35 minutes ago, fin said:

This time of year we have these huge red spiders that build webs right outside doors, so if you walk outside at night, it’s like facehuggers from Aliens. So I keep an old broken rod by the door that I probe the doorway with before going out.

 

Hair dryer, I think.

good idea about using for spider webs

[A-Jay]

If I can trade it in and perhaps 'upgrade' I'll do that.

If not, most of my stick now come with a decent or better than average guide train,

I may salvage them off the blank for later use.

Especially the tip top.

I used to save the handles to help re-spool line

but I have an actual line spooling station for that now. 

Beyond that, I do like @FishTank's tomato stake idea. 

A-Jay

 

[ne_dan]

1 hour ago, GTN-NY said:

How do you take line guides off?

Alcohol burner and a razor blade is what i use 

[Jigfishn10]

2 hours ago, GTN-NY said:

How do you take line guides off?

On the opposite side of the guide you can carve the epoxy and thread wrap down to the blank and you can pretty much pull the rest of the wrap right off. Guide should pop off from there. No need to be fussy, it’s a broken rod.

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

I used to save the handles to help re-spool line

but I have an actual line spooling station for that now. 

The Spooling Station 3000?  

 

j/k

 

How do you like it? I was thinking of getting one this winter.