Hi Guys!

Another member was generous enough to sell me a yellow one piece Fenwick 84-5 blank. My plan is to ferrule the rod into either three or four sections and build it out as a pack rod for north Ga and NC trout fishing, or maybe occasional duty as a redeye bass rod. Overall, the blank is in good condition. The original markings are starting to rub off so Ill need to coat them to preserve them. Additionally, there is a small blemished spot about 13” down from the tip of the rod. It looks like it may have been partially crushed in this spot. Please see photo. It will likely be finished out with a home turned two digit fenwick style grip, a wood insert slide band real seat, and classic thread color choices. Ill be fine if it turns out anywhere between a 4 and a 7 weight.




At this point, my goals are to gather recommendations about ferruling this rod into 4 sections and if that is a reasonable goal, as well as recommendations for how to repair the damaged area in the tip if any repair is necessary. I have placed an internal stent before and that job seems to have been a success. However, it was in one of the mid sections on the rod not the very tip.


When it comes to repairing the damaged spot some of the ideas I have considered are – applying Super glue or some other product to that spot and letting it wick in, or placing a guide foot over that spot so that it gets wrapped, or placing wraps and epoxy thread finish over that spot sans guide foot, or attempting to install an internal stent in that spot. The stent seems like the surest repair, but the rod sure is skinny in that spot. Im not sure what the effect on the action would be like if I placed a stent so close to the tip. I do have material that I think will be about right for placing a stent there if that is the way to go. If I decide to place a stent to repair the damaged spot, Ill probably also choose to ferrule the rod into four sections. This will give me better access to place the stent since Id end up cutting the blank about 9” below the blemish. Thanks for reading and for any advice!

Picketpin,
Thanks for the response. Oddly enough, the blank is fairly stiff overall, and this is especially true in the vicinity of the bruised spot.

I gave it a wiggle along side some other 7 foot fenwicks (all production rods) and it seems a good bit stiffer though that may just be a result of not having guides wraps or thread on it yet.

I just finished sectioning the rod into 4 pieces. I left an allowance for 2" spigots (stick out length). I made a mountain of a mole hill about how hard sectioning the blank would be. About half an hour of careful work with a tape measure, a jewelers saw and some 400 grip sand paper did the job well.

Now I have a better idea of the dimensions for a stent if I place one. Based on the ID and OD of the blank at the female end of the tip section and the OD at the point of the bruise, I think Im looking at a stent in the neighborhood of 0.108" in diameter. I just so happen to have a tip section from a CGR rod that matches these dimensions. Ill work on getting it stripped and ready tonight, then Ill probably need to throw in the towel for the night.

Edit: I got a little carried away and got the stent fitted to the bruise. Based on my measurements of the blank I had a rough idea of the diameter I needed for the stent. I found a spot on my donor rod about 0.010" larger than that, and cut donor rod in that location. I then sanded the area towards the butt end of the donor piece aggressively so it would not interfere with the inside of the fenwick tip section. This allowed me to use the whole rod section to poke the soon-to-be stent in and out for careful test fitting and gentle sanding. Adter I was satisfied with the fit, I marked the donor piece with painters tape to show the depth that the donor piece needed to be pushed into the fenwick tip. Then, I cut the last inch or so of the donor piece off to become the stent.

Now all I have to do is apply epoxy to the stent and use the remainder of the donor piece to push the stent in until I reach the blue tape. I couldnt find any 30 minute epoxy at the house so this job will have to wait for tomorrow.



For anyone who is curious, the butt of the 84-5 measures 0.427" and the tip is a 5. Ive already ordered a reel seat from Ray Lee.

BB
You're off to a great start. Glad you got the stent fitted. The stent will add mass to and increase the stiffness of the tip section. Might make the two mid sections lighter and softer by comparison. Interested to hear from you how it turns out, the action, and line weight that makes it sing.

Good job on the cutting. I had a “spare” FL84 2pc that I made into a 3pc, using tobacco glass for ferrules. Doesn’t look too bad and does make it easier for traveling.

I'm embarrassed that blank has TWO bad spots. I'd be happy to refund your $$. Message me if need be.

Glass is a weave of fabric, and they ooze glue through it to make the blank originally. So oozing epoxy (I usually use superglue) through questionable spot is usually a good repair.

Looks good.
Doesn't really matter, but I wouldn't wrap the whole length of spigot, that's a lot of thread, and everything weighs something. And by all means put guides in the ferrule wraps, kill two birds with one stone.

Keith, thanks for the advice on ferrule wraps. Ill try to keep them minimal and wont sweat placing guides over them.

Roy, thanks for the photos! That seems like a cool project. Im a sucker for multi section rods. Even if Im just riding in a car, a two section rod can seem cumbersome.

I made a little bit of new progress on the rod. I turned the grip and got the reel seat glued on. At this point Im waiting for a few more thread color choices to come in the mail. Ill keep you guys up to speed!



Hi guys! My work schedule has been 6x12 for a while, but I finally finished this rod up and took it out for some yard casting. While I cant tell you what it would have cast like as a one or two section rod, I can certainly say that it is a limber 4 section rod with no obvious casting issues. I cast it along side my FF70-4 and FF756-4, Id say it is more similar to the FF70-4 but a tad lighter and quicker. A DT6 peach was a little heavy, but a rio gold 5 felt about right. I suspect it will cast well with any of the half line weight heavy wf5 lines. By raw luck, the thread wraps all but concealed the stent repairs. The last photo shows both stents, but youll have to look for them. The 3rd section is about a quarter inch shorter than the others, I took some material out to tighten up a ferrule and make some gap adter the epoxy set. All in all, I think its a structurally sound and fairly handsome small stream 5 weight pack rod. Mission accomplished. Hopefully I can update you guys soon with a few fishing photos.