DIY Rod Ring Replacement

[Neil Kirk]

I have lost the ceramic centre out of one of my rod rings on my GTI and have got as far as removing the damaged ring from the rod

I am reasonably proficient at DIY and am intending to whip on a replacement ring. I sourced a suitable Fuji BSVOG ring (the originals are Seymo but very similar) from GuidesnBlanks together with another 3 spares just in case. I was very surprised to be able to buy these for only £4.38 including postage - I had previously looked on ebay where the going rate seemed to be about £10 per ring.

I know how to do the whipping but what should I do to remove the old varnish and get back to the blank (unground with pronounced ridges). In my very inexperienced view I was thinking to tape off the area I want clear and use nail varnish remover to soften the varnish and scrape it off with a knife.

Once the whipping is done I understand there is something called 2 part flexcoat which is tricky to get right and really needs the affected rod joint rotated slowly for a long period.

I want to do it right so any advice would be much appreciated

 

[John Newman]

I have cracked the liners in the past and had just the liner replaced by a chap that does repairs for the local tackle shops. I realise it is too late if you have already removed the ring but worth noting for the future or possibly get the liner replaced with it off the rod to keep the rings matching.

 

[Haydn Clarke]

If you want to go down the route of making your own rod turner rather than buying one then disco mirror ball motors work well. They rotate at approx. 5 rpm which is just about the perfect speed for rod drying. When I was restoring lots of cane rods a decade or so back I made up a three rod unit, as well as a single one. You’ll need to fashion some sort of chuck arrangement - I made mine up with a spray can lid and a small piece of guttering. It’s a bit of faff for a single guide repair but once you’ve made it then you have it forever.

 

[Richard Isaacs]

I have lost the ceramic centre out of one of my rod rings on my GTI and have got as far as removing the damaged ring from the rod

I am reasonably proficient at DIY and am intending to whip on a replacement ring. I sourced a suitable Fuji BSVOG ring (the originals are Seymo but very similar) from GuidesnBlanks together with another 3 spares just in case. I was very surprised to be able to buy these for only £4.38 including postage - I had previously looked on ebay where the going rate seemed to be about £10 per ring.

I know how to do the whipping but what should I do to remove the old varnish and get back to the blank (unground with pronounced ridges). In my very inexperienced view I was thinking to tape off the area I want clear and use nail varnish remover to soften the varnish and scrape it off with a knife.

Once the whipping is done I understand there is something called 2 part flexcoat which is tricky to get right and really needs the affected rod joint rotated slowly for a long period.

I want to do it right so any advice would be much appreciated

I assume as you’ve removed the guide, the whipping is also removed and you just have bits of epoxy varnish left over at the edges?
Solvent won’t do much to it just gently pick them off with your blade And afterwards give the whole area a good light scraping to ensure it’s all removed. Should come off relatively easily now the guide and whipping are off. Your next whipping will cover any light mechanical marks you make so long as you don’t dig the blade in to the carbon.
Don’t use heat if anyone makes that suggestion for this. There’s no need and it’s too risky for just a bit of edge epoxy. Dry and cold and carefully it will come off

 

[Ralph Harris]

I have lost the ceramic centre out of one of my rod rings on my GTI and have got as far as removing the damaged ring from the rod

I am reasonably proficient at DIY and am intending to whip on a replacement ring. I sourced a suitable Fuji BSVOG ring (the originals are Seymo but very similar) from GuidesnBlanks together with another 3 spares just in case. I was very surprised to be able to buy these for only £4.38 including postage - I had previously looked on ebay where the going rate seemed to be about £10 per ring.

I know how to do the whipping but what should I do to remove the old varnish and get back to the blank (unground with pronounced ridges). In my very inexperienced view I was thinking to tape off the area I want clear and use nail varnish remover to soften the varnish and scrape it off with a knife.

Once the whipping is done I understand there is something called 2 part flexcoat which is tricky to get right and really needs the affected rod joint rotated slowly for a long period.

I want to do it right so any advice would be much appreciated

I recently started building rods for myself and found lots of good you tube videos covering this but I still learnt a lot more by actually doing it. These few tips might help.
I used the U-40 two part mixes and found them good.
I made a rod turner with a microwave turntable motor, cheap on line. If you feel confident about doing wiring this may be a possibility. As Haydn previously suggested 4-5 rpm is good.
I left the rod spinning for 6 hours the epoxy was dry enough then not to slump.
Tiny, almost invisible hairs from the thread you use cause problems. The epoxy builds up around them and you will get a lump in your finish. Make sure the threads are cleanly removed. They can be burnt off but be careful, the thread on your perfectly finished whip will be under tension a fraction too much heat and the threads snap.
Be careful not to put too much epoxy on, the epoxy has a surface tension, on tip rings where the blank diameter is small the epoxy even when put on flat, will bulk up into a droplet rather than be flat so don’t be tempted to overload with epoxy.
Hope this helps

 

[Neil Kirk]

I have cracked the liners in the past and had just the liner replaced by a chap that does repairs for the local tackle shops. I realise it is too late if you have already removed the ring but worth noting for the future or possibly get the liner replaced with it off the rod to keep the rings matching.

A very good point ...but too late for me unfortunately!