QuestionI was taking apart my bamboo rod and wasn't paying attention. I pulled on the bamboo section instead of the female ferrule and the bamboo started to pull out of the female ferrule. I stopped as soon as I felt it slip but can that (should it) be repaired (pull out the bamboo from the ferrule and reglue)? What course of action do you recommend? Thanx.
AnswerHi David, Sorry for the delay in responding.
The male and female ferrule sections are held in place with glue on bamboo rods. On many vintage models there may also be small pins driven through the ferrule and the bamboo crosswise to add extra support in holding the ferrule in place. The glue can dry out and shrink and lose its ability to grip the ferrule and hold it to the rod section. This is not uncommon, especially with older rods. If there is a pin in place, the ferrule can loosen and move but still remain attached to the rod via the pin.
It sounds as if your rod does not have pins which makes it simpler to fix. If you did have pins, you would have to use a small punch to ease the pins out before removing each ferrule section. On your rod, the glue has dried and the ferrule is sliping off the rod with no apparent sign of a pin. Are there thread wrappings on your rod that go over part of the ferrules? If so, these will need to be replaced as well. If the thread wraps do not overlap the ferrules, they probably do not need to be distrubed.
The solution is to remove the ferrule, clean the inside of the ferrule as best you can, clean the excess old glue off the bamboo, and re-glue the ferrule. You use hot melt glue designed for ferrules, tiptops and arrow fletching to attach ferrule sections to bamboo rods. You can find this type of glue in sticks at some sporting goods stores and any rod building components vendor. A hair dryer should generate enough heat to melt the glue.
Do not overheat either the bamboo or the ferrule as you can discolor them with excessive heat. It is best to use the proper glue. An ordinary arts & crafts glue stick has a lower melting point and can cause the joint to fail in summer heat or loosen when the rod is carried in your car or car trunk. A glue the has too high a melting point can make it difficult to remove the ferrule should you need to have it repaired later and could cause damage from being forced to use higher levels of heat to effect the repair.
Super glues and epoxies will hold but are difficult to remove without harming the bamboo or ferrules. There is also a danger of the wrong type of glue building up pressure within a relatively confined space and doing real damage to the bamboo and the ferrule in a mini explosion. Keeping the excess glue off the bamboo and/or cleaning it up after the ferrule is set is also much more difficult with the wrong types of glue.
If you know or can find a local rod buidler, I sugeest taking the rod there for the repair. Odds are, if one ferrule is loose, then most of the ferrules will need to be re-seated with new glue and you can get them all done at one time. It is not a difficult repair for a rod builder. If there are any wrappings that must also be replaced when the ferrules are re-attached, they can be done and the finish applied to match the remainder of the rod.
If you wish to try it yourself, contact me at
[email protected] and I will walk you through the steps. You will need the proper glue and a few items in addition to a heat source.
Thanks for the question, this was a good one. Joe
