My Rod Restoration Project

[watatoad]

Budgie don't be daft, it's not your fault. There are far more important things in life than this and anyway without your help I wouldn't have got this far, part of learning is trying and failing.

 

This morning I experimented with heating up the epoxy, first by dunking the Araldite syringes in a cup of hot water and then once I'd mixed a quantity leaving the mixing pot in a saucepan of water kept warm by my small burner device (see what I mean by making things difficult for myself, hadn't thought of heating the blank).

 

This worked to a degree, the epoxy was very runny but soon cooled and thickened once I applied it to the whipping, I had a bout 20 seconds before it went gloopy again. It also accelerated the curing process and after about 10 minutes my 'slow' curing Araldite was well on its way to setting. A bit of a failure that idea.

 

I’ll try the hair dryer method on the test piece (haven’t got a spare blank) but it looks like a method which needs to be right first time. For that reason I might revert to lots of coats of Humbrol, easier to control.

 

How about trying it on a landing net handle? Should not hurt the handle.

 

I use the araldite in tubes rather than the syringe type, don't know it that makes any difference.

Edited May 23, 2010 by watatoad

[Rusty]

I use the araldite in tubes rather than the syringe type, don't know it that makes any difference.

 

That crossed my mind as well Watatoad but I've run out of thread (all the mistakes caused me to use 100 yards!), however, as usual Budgie's words of wisdom have helped enormously.

 

I’m not confident enough to do a whole section in one go so I’m having to do one whipping at a time with plenty of rod twiddling while it sets.

 

An interesting side effect has become apparent which I should have anticipated …but didn’t.

 

Pics to follow once I’m sure the epoxy has set well enough to not run.

Edited May 23, 2010 by Rusty

[watatoad]

I find it takes at least 24 hours in warm weather to be sure you wont get a run and much longer 3 days before it really begins curing. I always leave mine a week.

[Rusty]

Cor blimey what a day of ups and downs it’s been. Good job I enjoy fishing as a pastime, I’ve got used to such fluctuations in fortune.

 

After Budgie’s advice it was back to the test piece to try out the hair dryer method. The heat made it much easier to work the epoxy and I even managed a pretty good build (probably too much). I couldn’t get the hang of neat ends to the whippings but I had a plan for that. For now I was pleased to get any sort of presentable finish;

 

 

The epoxy soaked into the whipping and made it translucent, it’s more apparent in the next photo where the ring legs are clearly visible. I thought this was a nice effect but forgot that my rings where whipped onto a dark blank;

 

 

Full of confidence I jumped in at the deep end and applied the epoxy to the rod. First was the tip ring, if I messed it up I could remove the ring and start again. On went a blob of Araldite and horror of all horrors the whipping lost its nice red finish and turned into a sort of dark maroon. I was in no position to do anything about it so ploughed on with the heating and twiddling until it was as good as I could achieve. I found that in this weather about twenty minutes of rotating whilst walking around the garden was enough time for the epoxy to set sufficiently to not run. On a colder day it’ll need more time.

 

The result is a bit uneven and I can still see some threads (albeit with a token covering of epoxy) so not a total success by any means but generally pleasing;

 

 

At this point I consulted my wife about the difference in colours. She reckoned the maroon whipping was far more classy that the red one and when I pointed out that the rod had originally been finished in red she said “so what?”……I couldn’t argue with her.

 

On to the next ring down, doing one whipping at a time. I was still trying to create the “collar” of epoxy at the whipping ends. This was difficult to achieve with any accuracy and I didn’t really managed it so I resigned myself to masking the next ring. Another ok finish but still a bit lumpy, these aren’t runs as such but where I hadn’t applied the epoxy evenly and couldn’t compensate with the hair dryer;

 

 

I had to make decision now. Was I happy with the finish I’d achieved so far or should I stop, remove the epoxy finish and start again, I’d only done the tip ring and one other whipping so it wasn’t too late to stop. It wasn’t perfect but I decided to carry on.

 

That decision was almost vindicated with the next two finishes, the keeper ring and the reinforcing whipping on the butt section. Again the result is uneven but sort of ok, a nice domed finish I guess comes with practice;

 

 

 

The sunlight brings out the red thread colour nicely but in anything but bright conditions the whipping is a lot darker.

 

The butt ring was the last one I did today and the worst by some margin. I don’t know what happened here but for whatever reason it’s crap, the pic is very flattering. I masked off the whipping ends but didn’t manage to apply epoxy up to the tape so there are bear bits on the blank collar, I may be able to trim this back once it’s set. The white marks are in fact lots of tiny air bubbles which appeared from nowhere, one minute I was happily manipulated the epoxy with the hair dryer and the next minute these appeared.

 

 

I think I’m quite happy with the outcome and as long as I can finish the rest of the whippings in a similar way then the refurb will be a success. The high build technique is one that needs a lot of practice to get consistently good results, I haven’t achieved that but on a positive note the rings are firmly fixed to the blank.

[Sportsman]

Hi Rusty

For an initial attempt that is very good, you should be well pleased with that.

If you wanted to preserve the original colour of the thread then you need (surprise surprise) to use colour preserver. This is actually thinned PVA adhesive. If you want a completely translucent effect the you thin the epoxy with a few drops of acetone and use white silk. The runny finish soaks in and the thread disappears

This is a split cane fly rod with white silk and black edging..

The other thing it does is stop the dreaded air bubbles by sealing the thread.When the epoxy soaks into the thread it displaces air trapped in the thread. On a light build type varnish which doesn't go off too quickly the air bubbles travel to the surface and release, with the araldite you were using it probably didn't have time to. Hence the bubbles appearing out of nowhere.

I always use colour preserver but on my last refurb job I used black thread and decided I didn't need colour preserver on that and lo and behold the whipping on the but ring has hundreds of tiny bubbles.

You can also get thread that doesn't need colour preserver (NCP or No Colour Preserver) This won't darken when you apply the finish but tends to have a slightly duller appearance.

Remember that it is the thread that holds the guide to the rod, the epoxy just seals and protects the thread so make sure that the thread is covered particularly at the edges. The other point to watch out for is where the ring's feet create a tunnel under the thread. If this isn't sealed then water will get underneath and eventually the epoxy will turn milky and start to lift.

Now you have lost your virginity, here's to the next one

Edited May 23, 2010 by Sportsman

[watatoad]

Cor blimey what a day of ups and downs it’s been. Good job I enjoy fishing as a pastime, I’ve got used to such fluctuations in fortune.

 

I may be able to trim this back once it’s set. The white marks are in fact lots of tiny air bubbles which appeared from nowhere, one minute I was happily manipulated the epoxy with the hair dryer and the next minute these appeared.

 

I think I’m quite happy with the outcome and as long as I can finish the rest of the whippings in a similar way then the refurb will be a success. The high build technique is one that needs a lot of practice to get consistently good results, I haven’t achieved that but on a positive note the rings are firmly fixed to the blank.

 

The bubbles can occur when you mix the epoxy...just like beating and egg or a batter you are whipping or folding in air with practice it will improve. Even if it's not perfect in your eyes its a damn good restoration. I think you are being over critical of your workmanship.

 

maybe a little less heat could help.

 

You can avoid some of the bubbles when you are heating and rotating the rod by gentle tapping if you spot one... but you need eyes like a hawk to do it, I have a friend who balances his pot of epoxy and his rods when he is applying epoxy on a washing machine he says the vibration helps reduce the bubbles.

Edited May 23, 2010 by watatoad

[Rusty]

Thanks for the encouragement Sportsman/Watatoad but having just been into the shed and had a good look without the flattering qualities of bright sunshine they are all pretty poor finishes. I’ll post some pics in similar light to previous posts and you’ll see what I mean.

 

I’d finished the butt section, the whippings will have to come off again but the good news is that I should be able to re-varnish the blank and regain the starting point. The tip section only has the tip ring and one of the whippings of the next ring down finished so again not too hard to recover the situation. The mid section hasn’t been started so nothing to do there.

 

On reflection I should have stuck to the ‘little & often’ approach. The high build method definitely works and is a relatively quick way to a glossy finish but I’d need to do twenty ‘test’ rods before I’d be confident about doing mine.

 

Oh well, I’m looking forward to the 2010/11 season now so it’ll go back in the loft until next year, it’ll still be there.

[Worms]

It's looking pretty good to me Rusty.

 

I use yacht varnish but then again I'm a bean-pole man. For sealing the silk before varnishing I use cellulose dope applied by finger!

[watatoad]

The araldite seems to have caused you a lot of problems:

 

This stuff wont:

 

LITE FORMULA

 

Rod Wrapping Finish

 

FLEX COAT

 

Professional Rod Building Supplies

P.O. Box 190

DRIFTWOOD

TEXAS

78619

U.S.A.

 

EDIT:

http://www.guidesnblanks.com/category.php?main_cat_ref=13

END EDIT:

Edited May 24, 2010 by watatoad

[Rusty]

The araldite seems to have caused you a lot of problems:

 

Yes it did Watatoad.

 

Having calmed down a bit and considered what could have gone wrong I think I put too much epoxy on. On the small tip section whippings it wasn’t too much of a problem but on the butt section I ended up chasing the epoxy about with the hair drier, a bit like following the Severn Bore. The finish doesn’t really show in the pics because the bright sunlight shines right through the epoxy but they were very uneven, not a nice domed finish.

 

Anyway for the moment I’ve left the two tip section whippings on. The butt section rings have been stripped off and I’m in the process of removing the blank varnish (with a distinct feeling of déjà vue).

 

Once I’ve re-varnished the butt section and re-whipped I’ll decide how to finish the rod. I do like the high build finish, just need to do a few more of them to get a feel for how much epoxy to apply.