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LL Bean, Timberline Rods
Post 26 Sep 2021, 17:11 • #1 
Sport
Joined: 05/18/20
Posts: 47
I just received a 6 foot LL Bean/Timberline rod - I am guessing it is an equivalent to the Timberline Cascade model. It had tape on the butt end. When I removed it, the grip was fine, but there wasn't anything like a butt cap, etc., on the end of the rod - just the end of the blank showing at the end of the grip, but flush. If anyone has one of the Tennessee gripped Bean/Timberlines, is there supposed to be a butt cap or a cork plug or something at the butt end of the rod? Or, like mine, just flush cork with the blank in the center?

Thanks

Joe



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Post 26 Sep 2021, 17:21 • #2 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19076
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
it certainly looks like there's glue in the cork from a glued butt cap


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Post 26 Sep 2021, 21:27 • #3 
Sport
Joined: 05/18/20
Posts: 47
It does seem that there was something there, but I can’t tell for sure exactly what it was without seeing someone else’s.

If anyone has a picture of the butt end of their rod that they could post/e-mail, I would appreciate it.


Last edited by jmq4 on 27 Sep 2021, 15:18, edited 1 time in total.

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Post 26 Sep 2021, 21:51 • #4 
Administrator
Joined: 01/10/06
Posts: 7811
Location: Holly Springs, NC
Joe,

Could you post photos of the entire rod? That might help someone find it in a catalog. For instance, see this earlier thread.

Usually the rod butt is tapered cork on the LL Bean/Timberline spin rods, but there aren't many photos for comparison. It's possible that someone sanded down the taper to replace the original reel rings (the catalog photo linked above implies shiny aluminum rings, not black). Perhaps a plastic butt cap popped off leaving the cork underneath discolored.

What does the front of the rod grip look like?

I would remove the last two cork rings and replace them with large ones, then sand the new rings down to a taper again.


Tom


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Post 27 Sep 2021, 11:26 • #5 
Sport
Joined: 05/18/20
Posts: 47
Thank you both for your replies. Ill try and get pictures posted tonight. I am pretty sure that the rings are original, at least they cannot come off of the grip because of the swell at the front and back of the grip itself. Also, the imbedded fiberglass stubs that form the male ferrules (I can't remember the correct term) are yellow glass and not white, and I've seen pictures of both types, so I assume that ring color and the like changed from year to year. I've searched everywhere but haven't seen what the actual butt end looks like in any pictures that Ive found. Ive seen pictures of a rod kit on this site, and the kit includes a cork plug - I assume this is for the butt to hide the blank, but I don't know that for sure. Im thinking mine must be missing one ring, and the plug.


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Post 27 Sep 2021, 12:02 • #6 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
LL Bean has a pretty good archive of info, so an inquiry to them might get you the details you want. A phone call to customer service might not do it, but if you ask the right question or visit the store, you might get somebody interested to track it down.

The spigot color and reel seat/rings hardware might vary from year to year, or even within a production year, especially for a small production item at this time, since they would most likely be from suppliers, whose inventory of parts and materials would vary. Thus, those details might help ballpark it but won't necessarily be definitive, and there might not even be a catalogued photo of that particular variation.


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Post 27 Sep 2021, 16:12 • #7 
Sport
Joined: 05/18/20
Posts: 47
The pictures. The rings do not come off, rather they stop at the last cork ring on each end. You can clearly see where the handle was glued together from 2 halves - total length is 10", each half is 5" - I think that would suggest that no cork is actually missing, but it could also mean that the builder doesn't appreciate symmetry as much as I do. Wondering if there was a thin butt cap on it at one time - honestly doesn't matter, its just curiosity at this point.

The rod is surprisingly light, and pretty fast, surprisingly so, but I don't have much experience with 'newer' fiberglass rods.




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Post 28 Sep 2021, 20:12 • #8 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 05/09/06
Posts: 2517
Location: US
I have a fly spin that I use down in FL and there is no butt cap on it. Just cork.

Image


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Post 29 Sep 2021, 16:30 • #9 
Sport
Joined: 05/18/20
Posts: 47
Thanks for that reply. If I am not seeing things, and that's certainly possible, looks like the butt end of the blank is covered by cork??


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Post 29 Sep 2021, 19:49 • #10 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 05/09/06
Posts: 2517
Location: US
Correct


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Post 29 Sep 2021, 22:37 • #11 
Sport
Joined: 05/18/20
Posts: 47
Fantastic, thank you


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