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Twist or bust

Dave Taylor

Dave Taylor

Senior Member
One For Bob G or any other rod builders perhaps.
About 25 years ago a good friend of mine had a barbel trotting rod built for him by a well known tackle shop.
About a month after he had purchased it, the top 10 inches of the tip section twisted about 10 degrees for no aparrent reason leaving the top eyes out of line. I told him to take it back, but he never bothered and brought another rod from a different shop.
Because I use to build a few rods he gave it to me and said if I wanted to realign the top 4 eyes I could have the rod.
I can see no discernable fault in the blank and have taken it round to it's full test curve lots of times and it seems ok, but there must have been stress or a fault in the carbon wrapping or curing I guess.
It really is a nice rod except for the obvious twist.
When sorting out unwanted tackle items today I came across it and wondered if it would be worth re whipping the top eyes, ....but would I ever be able to trust it not to break under stress?

dave-taylor-albums-dropbox-picture5343-2015-01-06-19-21-36-skew-1.jpg


Real shame if it has to be binned.
 
Bit weird that one Dave . I don't know enough about carbon rod construction to offer a comment but would be very interested to hear of possible explanations . It does seem a shame just to bin it but personally if I was using it I would be thinking ''when is it going to fail '' [ Please no smart ar*e commments about cane rods !:)] You could consider getting a new top section if you knew the name of the blank manufacturer ?
 
Unfortunately Mike, it only has the shop and builder's initials detailed on the butt section.
I suppose I could check if the shop has any records of that particular build, but it was some time ago and despite the detailing they may be reluctant to own up to a faulty product!
It's just the fact that it's such a lovely trotting rod ( or would be) ,... but I agree that you must have faith in your gear.
 
I'd keep it the way it is and take it out for a trip on a small stream and float catch dace and small chub safe in the knowledge that it really didn't matter it had the twist. In the end the unique with its story attached is more important than things being perfect. Irreplaceable.
 
I personally wouldn't bin it.
Without going into a pile of possible reasons for this, I'd put a few test bends and slight twists in the section to establish/observe if the misalignment is stable/consistent and if you can hear any creaks or cracking sounds coming from the section.
If you are happy with this I'd consider rewhipping the offending guides. Inspecting the section for any visible cracks and defects.
I take it the blank is hollow carbon fibre.
When rewhipping do a view from the top, view from the bottom, view of the feet and eyes and get the best compromise result. Work to this.
Faults due to manufacturing defects usually show within the first few outings of the rod.
Best of luck,
Bob
Test the blank/section again
 
More a thought than a suggestion, would it be better to remove all the eye's and then re-whip them on to the section?

Stephen
 
Many thanks guys.
I remember my mate saying that he heard a light crack from the top of the rod when he noticed the twist. As the pic. is poor I should have mentioned that there is no set or bend in the blank,.. it is as though the carbon wrap was under stress and it 'unwound 'a few degrees.
I shall remove the offending eyes to allow a more detailed inspection.
dt

Ps although the rod is 20-25 years old it hasn't been used more than a dozen times and was not a cheap acquisition.
 
Sometimes if the rod is new then you will quite often hear what I call a settling crack - it's generally the adhesives and whipping finish 'loosening up'.
 
Cheers Bob,... thats reassuring. I used to apply a bit of light heat to the tip eye to loosen it, what's your preferred method?
 
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