I really tried using search, but with over 1,000 hits I gave up.

Hoping someone will advise me on how to pick the correct size ferrule pair to replace my badly worn ones (past the chrome and into the brass).

The rod is an older St. Croix 7 ft., 2 piece, in dark tobacco colored fiberglass.

Do I remove the male and female ends and mic the rod OD on both pieces then locate a ferrule ever so slightly larger than my measurements?

I hope to use my heat gun and do a couple of heat cycles then try to gently twist off the old ones while warm. Fingers crossed.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1908#p23280

Note that the set of new ferrules may fit well on one section and be too large on the other section, use thread to build up the smaller section if needed.

It would help if you could post photos of the old ferrules.


Tom

I find a heat gun doesn't get things hot enough, and use a small alcohol torch.. Don't twist at all.

You can use a dremel cut-off wheel too, be very careful

No. Here is the fastest and safest way. Rig a wire pull to the ferrule or leave it assembled and start with the female. Quick high heat from a gas flame to barrel of the female ferrule. It heats, the glue melts and--remember, you are pulling all the while--the ferrule comes off the instant the glue melts. The glue itself, nor the blank, never gets hotter than its melting point. If you use a wire pull, that signals your fingertips that the ferrule is getting hotter than necessary. Stop. Try again.

Quick heat releases thermo plastic cement best. Pull straight as the heat is applied. The ferrule is off before much heat at all gets to the blank.

There should be no reason to twist; that just risks abraiding the blank or twisting the fibers.

You can use pliers or vice grips if you dont care about damaging the old female ferrule. Once it's off, it can be used as a pull--reassemble, shim for tighteness if need be--for removing the male ferrle. Quick high heat. Pull straight.

Heat-release epoxy may take a little more gradual approach. Thermo plastic ferrule cement is easier and perfectly adequate for a repair. It held the one you are replacing on, didn't it? Pick a ferrule style that enables a neat wrap up over the barrel. It's a secondary aid to hold the ferrule, and also provides a signal in the form of a thread gap opening, if the ferrule loosens.

As for sizing, you can get precision measuring devices, but a simple gauge, visual sizing chart, or even a ruler are fine for discerning 64ths.

whrlpool or jgestar, do you know vendors for good quality NS or chrome plated brass ferrules at reasonable price?

Tough question ending in a deep rabbit hole. There aren't as many options as their used to be. Aluminum Size-O-Matic are not available anymore. So you are left with; expensive nickel silver ferrules made for the cane rod market, new-old-stock ferrules from Rick's Rods, a lucky eBay buy, or chrome/nickel plated brass.

First off, read this long diatribe on ferrules still available at the Golden Witch site. As Russ notes several times, figuring out the right size is not easy. At the very least you will need a good pair of calipers. Removing the old ferrule and measuring the bare glass blank will help get the correct size.

Nickel silver - look at Proof Fly Fishing, Bellinger, REC, and the other usual suspects in the cane rod building community. Expect to $50 or more for a pair of ferrules. Also expect to lap the ferrules to fit. Make sure your rod is worth the price and effort. For what it is worth, a well fit set of SuperZ ferrules is a joy.

New-old-stock ferrules (image below) - call Rick's Rods and ask about their NOS ferrules. Rick has amazing things on his shelves. Most of Rick's stock are drawn nickel silver ferrules, which I just love. Ask how much you will need to adjust the ferrules to get a good fit.

Plated brass - check out Jann's Netcraft and Mudhole. Perhaps a few others will show up in an online search. Ask the vendor how they determine their ferrule sizes. Most brass ferrules appear to be step down sizes. Unlike nickel silver ferrules, plated brass can't be 'adjusted' without lapping through the plating. What you get is what you get. These are cheap so buy a couple pairs and use the best set.

Check out Dale Clemens, Fiberglass Rod Making, Everett Garrison's A Master's Guide to Building a Bamboo Fly Rod, or Stuart Kirkfield's The Fine Bamboo Fly Rod: A Master's Secrets of Restoration and Repair for details on installing ferrules.


Tom

Thanks all