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Post 15 Jan 2020, 23:34 • #1 
Sport
Joined: 12/04/11
Posts: 72
Location: US-MI
Picked up a nice Heddon 7&1/2 ft glass Black Beauty trout action rod. There is an annoying very small looseness (almost imperceptible until the rod is assembled and put through the casting motion) where the female ferrule is attached to the butt section. The original wraps are nice and I hate to remove them to re-set the ferrule. Does anybody have any tricks that might work in solving this problem? Any suggestions appreciate.


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Post 15 Jan 2020, 23:46 • #2 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 11/06/17
Posts: 2498
Location: South of Joplin
The ferrule is fully wrapped?


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Post 16 Jan 2020, 03:05 • #3 
Administrator
Joined: 01/10/06
Posts: 7811
Location: Holly Springs, NC
Bill Sonnett wrote:
Picked up a nice Heddon 7&1/2 ft glass Black Beauty trout action rod. There is an annoying very small looseness (almost imperceptible until the rod is assembled and put through the casting motion) where the female ferrule is attached to the butt section. The original wraps are nice and I hate to remove them to re-set the ferrule. Does anybody have any tricks that might work in solving this problem? Any suggestions appreciate.

Which type of ferrule do you have? Most 50s era Heddon's have the type in the photos below (former eBay photos - but sadly not my rod). Do you still have any of the black color on the male ferrule slide? Can you post photos?

  1. Patience. Clean the ferrules thoroughly - both the inside of the female and the slide on the male. I use mineral spirits and Q-tips. Keep scrubbing until a fresh Q-tip comes back clean. Mineral spirits shouldn't damage intact varnish. You could use denatured alcohol, but be cautious to keep it off the varnish. Avoid acetone, rubbing alcohol, and other hot solvents - they can damage the rod finish.
  2. How do the ferrules feel now? Some ferrules fit better after cleaning.
  3. Still loose? Rub just a little paraffin wax on the male slide and see if that tightens things up.
  4. Patience. If paraffin isn't enough, beeswax is the next step.

These are probably old aluminum ferrules. They will not take kindly to the resizing tricks done with nickel silver ferrules. No squeezing or resizing. No tightening in a drill chuck. Forcing the ferrule could shatter it.

The Heddon Black Beauty rods are elegant. The orange tipping on the black main wraps is really nice on the old school glass blanks.


Tom


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Post 16 Jan 2020, 07:44 • #4 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
If the ferrule fit is loose, jgestar has it covered. I took the question to mean the ferrule isn't secure to the blank. So inspect carefully to determine which. If the mount to the blank is loose--well, I think you know the answer. Those colors are easy to match. Do both, not just the one that is loose now. I think you know why. Of course clean up the ferrules and check their fit as well.


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Post 16 Jan 2020, 08:28 • #5 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19077
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Steve's right, time to bite the bullet.

And congrats on finding a great rod - it's worth putting in the effort.


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Post 16 Jan 2020, 09:54 • #6 
Sport
Joined: 12/04/11
Posts: 72
Location: US-MI
The ferrule exactly the black one shown in the above photograph by jgestar. The ferrule is apprppriately tight when joined. The slight looseness is only felt when the tip section is installed but by carefully feeling the ferrule there is a very slight looseness at the base of the female ferrule where it joins the blank. Guess I'll have to bite the bullet and remove and remount it. Does anyone know what effect heat will have on the black finish? I also have a 7&1/2 ft Heddon Superlative Bass action that was cataloged only in 1955--excellent+ condition.
Thanks, gentlemen for your help


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Post 16 Jan 2020, 11:34 • #7 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19077
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Bill, I can tell you paints have a Much wider range of thermal stability than glues.
Most glues begin decomposing at 170F, and some paints are stable beyond 1000F.
I would guess the ferrule paint could stand up to anything the glass blank could handle.


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Post 16 Jan 2020, 19:33 • #8 
Administrator
Joined: 01/10/06
Posts: 7811
Location: Holly Springs, NC
Oops. I thought the looseness was in the ferrule slides. My mistake.

These aluminum ferrules don't have much give. Once the black is gone from the male slide, loose fits are common. On the other hand, the rest of the rod may be ugly, but if the male slide is still black the ferrule fit is likely still good.

These ferrules have a water stop. That eliminates dripping a super glue from inside the ferrule. You may be able to drip very thin Zap-A-Gap into the ferrule joint after removing the wraps. If that doesn't work, you haven't lost anything. The Zap-A-Gap wouldn't survive the heat needed to remove the ferrule anyway.

I photographed the ferrules of an 8'6" Heddon Pal #30. They appear to be anodized. The outside was coated with something varnish-like. Whatever it is, it is breaking down. You can see the bumpy surface on the outside of the female ferrule. The second shot shows the black anodize remaining inside the female ferrule.

This rod is missing 3 of the 10 guides and the rest are all rough. The finish is coarse. But there is a lot of black remaining on the male slide. The ferrule still pops like a miniature bottle of champagne. Rebuild time...


Tom



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Post 16 Jan 2020, 20:16 • #9 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
People used to pull metal ferrules off of rods all the time. You could go into a hardware store with a sporting goods department in fishing country and find a tray full of them. A stick of ferrule cement was part of the tackle kit. If there were wraps on the blank just below the ferrule and up over the blank, this was a good reinforcement that might prevent a ferrule from being pulled off as easily, but it still happened, and the wrap uncoiled with it. A telltale gap at the winding is an early sign, or that slight click. Five minutes to glue the ferrule back on and back to fishing. A new wrap that evening at home or camp with a swipe of varnish, lacquer, shellac, or nail polish. Metal ferrules were imminently repairable/replaceable, because if users didn't pull them off, they wore them out.

Cleanliness and push-pull reduce wear. Grasping the ferrule itself and pushing/puilling for assembly and disassembly reduces the likelihood it will, literally, be pulled loose. But they still work loose.

Many available glues will attach the ferrule more or less permanently. Not a good plan with a damage/wear prone component that is simple to replace. Thermoplastic cement and an overwrap are the way to go.

As for that particular ferrule, I don't know. If they are exceptionally wear prone, corrosion prone, or score easily (aluminum?) I would be glad it loosened up to prompt me to replace it with a better one. For authenticity if it is in sound condition, I guess I would stick with it and be careful with it. I wouldn't stick it on there for good.


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Post 23 Jan 2020, 10:46 • #10 
Sport
Joined: 12/04/11
Posts: 72
Location: US-MI
I want to thank everyone for their advice as I was really dreading this repair. It was actually quite easy, simple heated up the ferrule with a candle and slipped it off. Cleaned it as well as the inside of the ferrule and applied some ferrule cement. It is now as solid as a rock. I have replaced or reset ferrules on several cane rods and always dread the well-hidden pin, particularly hard to locate on Heddon rods in my experience.


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Post 23 Jan 2020, 11:46 • #11 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19077
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
way to step out, bro


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Post 23 Jan 2020, 11:56 • #12 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/23/05
Posts: 4966
Location: US-MT
Yup, very good.

"The dread is worse than the doing" a wise man once told me


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