How to Repair Bamboo Fishing Poles
Unlike fiberglass and graphite rods, bamboo fishing poles are a product of nature and much more fragile than man-made materials. As such, there are some repairs that cannot be made, like slamming a car door on a rod section and snapping it. Bamboo poles have been made in two, three and four piece sections and breaking any one section except the rod tip, makes the rod useless. The following are some repairs that can made to make the rod functional again.
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Things You'll Need
- Rod tip and ferrule cement
- Very fine sand paper
- Razor blade
- Invisible rod winding silk
- Piece of thread
- Clear rod varnish
- Small paint brush
Instructions
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Common Repairs
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1
Re-attach and re-glue rod ferrules that hold sections of a rod together. One of the most common repairs made on a bamboo pole is re-gluing both the male or female rod ferrules that come loose with age. Simply use a razor blade or very fine piece of sand paper to remove any remnant of old cement from the rod section. Use a small paint brush to apply a thin coat of ferrule cement to the male or female end and slide the ferrule over it. Do not apply glue to the inside of either ferrule cup. Let dry for a least 24 hours before connecting the rod sections.
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2
Re-attach and re-glue the rod tip guide if it comes loose. Follow the same procedure as in the previous step. Make sure to align the rod tip guide with the other rod guides when re-attaching it.
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3
Replace the rod tip section if it becomes broken by having a qualified rod maker make a new tip. This can be done by sending the rod maker the rest of the rod so the size and action can be matched to the original.
Invisible Wrap
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4
Apply what is known as an "invisible wrap" to prevent further damage to a bamboo pole that has a cut or slight fracture on one of the sections. Take the tag end of invisible rod winding silk in one hand and with the other hand wrap it tightly around the damaged area several times until you can release the tag end without the wrap coming loose. Make even side-by-side wraps until the damaged area is covered. Do not wrap the silk over itself.
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5
Make the winding silk hang down below the invisible wrap. Take a small piece of thread about two inches long and form a loop with it. Place the loop on top of the wrap so that it extends evenly on both sides. Make several wraps of silk over the loop.
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6
Hold the silk with one hand cut it off from the spool. Take the cut end of the silk and put it through the loop. Take the tail of the loop and slide it out of the invisible wrap, leaving the end of the silk secured under it. Trim off any excess silk.
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7
Take a small paint brush and apply clear varnish to the invisible wrap. Allow 24 hours to dry.
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Tips & Warnings
Several rod making supplies stores can be found online that will have all the items necessary to make repairs.
References
- Photo Credit bamboo image by fotografiche.eu from Fotolia.com
