Sylvathorn

Re the fumed silica in the epoxy rod varnish @Ed., (I haven't previously haven't used this rod varnish before, I will let you know how it goes) I'm hoping that it has sufficient adhesive properties to secure the reel seat successfully while having a much lower release temperature. Love what you did with the Ugly Stik, extension Ed. I did similar with a SnyderGlas MT484 but I was lazy and used 800mm of 25mm alloy tube covered in heat shrink, gives me an overall length of 9' 9" matched it with an Ambassadeur 5500C baitcaster

I'm thinking that's possible @Junky, thanks for the "@" tip, much easier. If he is the @Ed. I'm thinking of, we knew each other quite well many moons ago.

An alloy gimbal, believe it or not Junky all the gimbals I have removed to date have been plastic/nylon, but with alloy heat will always be an option, to try to soften the adhesive. Need to be careful not to overheat and weaken the rod. Being a gimbal you can use the shaft of a screwdriver to assist twisting, that way you will know if it's releasing. You get to keep the gimbal that way. If they used something like a 5 minute epoxy it should be OK, but if they've used a super strong epoxy it could require a lot of heat and weaken the fibreglass. If heat doesn't work you might need to use the Dremmel similar to removing the reel seat. You will need to be careful with this option as you will not have the gap between the gimbal and the rod walls.

Sylvathorn is just my username Ed. - closest I could get to Silverthorn (from the song "Vincent" by Don McLean) and yes surname starts with K. The reel seat is made of a light yellow metal, brass perhaps? not sure. Hmmm... boat building .... does your surname start with B?

Hi Junky, here are the pics of the reel seat removal, in the third pic there is actually a screwdriver wedged under the seat to try to show the gap, but it didn't show up too well. I was lucky with this one, from that point, with it cut on both sides I was able to prize it off by hand - didn't have to apply heat at all cheers Misha

Hi Ed., thank you, good to know. I'm not going to be adding it to Epoxy glue, but to a 2 part epoxy rod varnish (that has a work time of 30minutes at 25c, to thicken it and then use it as an adhesive .... will let you know the results. I've removed the old reel seat, will upload pics in a min.

Another thing Ed., I'm currently experimenting with adding Fumed Silica to my epoxy rod varnish to replace the 5 min epoxy - should give a longer working time and importantly a lower release temperature. Will advise how it goes on my next reel seat.

Agree Andrew_P, the Fuji HD seats are a great choice Junky.

Very well said Ed., you have detailed the replacement process very well and thoroughly! I would be using very similar methods. One thing to note is that when using epoxy, I normally use 5 minute rather than super strong epoxy as if it ever needs to be removed and replaced, the release temperature of the epoxy is considerably lower with the 5 min.

Oh, and by the way, I love the Gary Howard rods - absolutely worth saving!

Not difficult Junky k,a little time consuming perhaps, just work backwards ... from the back of the rod. Remove the butt cap or gimbal and the Hypalon/EVA, then (carefully) cut through the old reel seat (I have a Dremmel Moto Tool that I got back when they first came out in the late 70's with cutting discs that I use for this, so I can easily control depth of cut - like the 1mm angle grinder discs), then simply rebuild it working from the reel seat backwards. Similar to what I will be doing with Margie's Mega Metallic. Withe the reel seat, carefully cut through both sides, creating two halves, then heat and lever with a flat blade screwdriver or similar. Be patient, don't over heat, you don't want to stuff the rod blank underneath, Just heat and lever, then heat and lever again. be patient, it won't take long! Then clean up underneath and replace the reel seat, hypalon and butt. A little time consuming, but I find it effective. Hope that helps

nice work Ed., I used to do the same thing, hand roll the thread, then hand roll while the varnish dried (while watching TV). Nowadays I use a power dryer, but still roll the rod by hand doing wraps, prefer it that way - I'm a dinosaur I guess - I don't even use the thread tensioner, I prefer the feel tensioning by hand, although that gets a bit difficult when tensioning three threads at the same time when doing Tiger Wraps.

Didn't know quite where else to put this .... one of the rod repairs I received this week. It must have been very cheap, but he must really like the feel, to want to repair it - 3 guides and a tip needed. When I went to strip it back, I realized that the underbind was painted on ....

haha, true! Apparently a lot can't read the time either, if it's not on a digital clock and apparently a lot don't know how to tie shoelaces. And; handy to know if you live in the city, they can't steal your car if it's not automatic as they can't drive a manual !

Like that old Jarvis Walker Shoalhaven .... I'll post again when I have finished the wooden butt

Nice work Andrew_P, you'll have to show us the complete rod when it's finished

very true Andrew_P, the cleaning up can take a lot of time, sometimes more than the build itself. I've already spent a couple of hours cleaning up on the Sabiki rod ... but then again Margie's rod shouldn't take much time cleaning up at all. Also there is a huge satisfaction in restoring an old rod, especially if you consider it a classic, to what it once was and hopefully could be again!

takes a bit - when the colours are close in shade in either light or dark, I use a magnifying headset

oops, 15 - 24 kg

And of course Margies soon to be glamour stick - prob run her Thunnus on it.

the 15 - 24kg Popper

The Sabiki rod begins

Well, I now have three project rods on the go. (The Jarvis Walker is now finished aside from restoring the wooden butt.) The 15 - 24 kg two piece popping stick is progressing. The Sabiki rod has started. and now an old Wilson that has a nearly identical curve to my FT67's (Wilson may have made it on the SnyderGlas mandrels they aquired when they bought them out) - this one is for Margie. She decides on all our designs and which colours are used - and as this is hers, she wants metallics! All will have to fit in between the repairs - I currently have 6 on the trot and another 4 due to come in. Sooo, I think I will be busy .... none less, I will post pics and updates as we progress.

Oh, and that was in the Fifties.

We used to have fresh from the cow milk when we could, a local a couple of miles away had a few cows, we used to barter eggs for it - we had lots of chooks. Also had powdered milk, a bit, but fresh was best. Sorry, I can't remember it in a blue box or tin though.