Been a little bored this morning so started to strip the varnish off the blank of an old rod and can't believe how much there is on there. Took me nearly an hour to do one butt section.

Got me wondering, how much weight varnish adds to a blank and does it stiffen up the action? So without it will the blank be softer?

In reply to Post #1
We're you scraping or sanding.

In reply to Post #2
Scraping with a bits of heat, top section a whole lot easier nowhere near as much varnish.

Looks pretty good tbh

In reply to Post #3
Wouldn't think they were the same rod

In reply to Post #4
Looks good. Are you leaving them unvarnished.

In reply to Post #5
Thanks, yes I think so. Would like to find something fine to run over the blanks, remove any little bits I've missed with the blade.

I will seal around the eyes with some nail varnish and find someone to replace them and the reel seat/duplon in the winter

In reply to Post #6
Ive never built/ rebuilt any rod before - but seems some good tips on here....

Americantackleguiderebuild

TheHandmadefisherman

GuidesandBlanks

Why did you strip them the one on the right looks brand new ?

In reply to Post #6
There are some helpful hints on guides and blanks site.

Also a few fb rod building groups.

In reply to Post #8
Sadly they're not mate, bits of varnish flaking off on both blanks and the reel seats.

The varnished one in the picture was the better of the two, but only because the varnish hadn't yellowed like it had on the other.

Thanks for the links, I've been looking at what goes into building rods today too, does seem relatively simple other than making sure everything is in the right place and lines up.

Maybe a winter project for me.

In reply to Post #11
I wish i had a pound for the amount of times people phone me and say i thought it would be easy . So much easier to fook them up . Thats the reason i dont like varnished or painted blanks .

In reply to Post #12
I'm using them on the weekend so will see if the carbon is still ok before spending anything on them 👍

In reply to Post #13
It will be fine unless you have gouged them with a stanley and that takes some doing , getting the required brand new finish is the hard bit. 👍

In reply to Post #12
Hi mate, quick question, I have whipped some really small 3mm collars on my pod, can you recommend a beginners varnish that I can use?

In reply to Post #15
Old fashioned way clear waterproof varnish thin coats so you dont have to rotate pod for drying . You will need about 6 coats .

Sigh, seems the varnish was holding it together.

oh no

Need to resize your pic mate, sub 600pix largest measurement

There we go, can't resize on phone or I don't know how to lol

Bit gutted this has happened. The first one came up so well, I'd only just started on the second one.

But they didn't sell on the bay recently because they are in a bit of a mess and the only reason I tried this, so nothing lost.

Seems the fishing gods really do want me to buy new rods

In reply to Post #19
Turn the rest of the broken rod into a "donking" rod.

Someone asked me the other day why rod builders charge so much (alot dont by the way . )They have no idea how much blanks cost for a start (they would be surprised not cheap) my answer was .When you pay for a hand crafted job (not only rod building ) You are getting knowledge,experience,study behind it ,tools,service,time,professionalism,Accountability,Accuracy and reliability . Not all about £.

Im surprised you couldnt see that before taking varnish off as it looks to have blown up on that pic , what would happen on a cast if badly fractured ?
Its given you a bit of experience stripping rods anyway 👍

In reply to Post #20
They'll both go in the shed the one that is whole can be a third pub chuck rod if I'm on a social. The other I'll get an eye on the end eventually and keep it for the never never.

In reply to Post #21
I let out a little squeal of shock as the blank folded in front of me. It literally just bent like candle wax as I pressed to scrape the varnish off. The mess in the picture is after I wiggled it a bit so see if the whole lot would come off and it didn't

Reminded me that a set of MK1's I had donkeys ago went in exactly the same place but that wasn't because I was stripping the varnish off!

I was quite enjoying what I was up to, so may have a go at the old Leeda's I've got in the shed next and see how I get on with them. They've been knocked around for 30 odd years so hopefully they will survive me and my fat fingers

In reply to Post #23
Where you using the sharp edge of a stanley blade or the blunt side. Did the edge dig in as you were scraping?

In reply to Post #17
You can repair it easily, and being close to the ring the whipping come up really well.
I've done one that was broken in the middle of the upper section far from the rings.

There's some videos on youtube that shows how to do it.

In reply to Post #24
Blunt pen knife blade mate. It wasn't me putting pressure one. It folded too easy reckon it was damaged for a while just never known

In reply to Post #15
take a look at gorilla glue clear - I use it for my rod whippings (rings & line clips) - is UV resistant, doesn't need curing, & dries fairly quickly. does a really good job IMO