ROD RESTORATION AND REPAIR

Total Rod Restoration and Repair

Any type of rod restoration work or repair work will be undertaken. Where possible every effort will be made to bring the rod back to its original or customers specifications. New ferrules, whole new cane sections, cane straightening, re-whipping, mending breakages, intermediate whipping, cork handle repair, re-varnishing and new rod rings etc.

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Restoration of a Rare Vintage Tonkin Cane Sowerbutts 8 section 16 ft Roach Rod, Circa 1910

As you can see, the rod is in very poor condition with missing/damaged ferrules, splits in the cane etc, but will be gradually brought back to its former glory.

Heres the almost finished rod. New male and female ferrules were made and fitted to replace the ones that were split, worn or missing then the female ferrules were gunmetal blued and new whipping throughout in keeping with the original style and colour. 2 coats of varnish and its ready to be displayed or even used?

Some other examples of my work.

A Davenport and Fordham Farstrike MK IV Carp rod, circa 1960. Finished to original specifications.

Restoration of an R. Forshaws of Bootle, Goldcrest 13ft Hollow Built Cane Float Rod

Stages through the restoration of a cane rod. As can be seen the rod has seen better days, its faults were, cracked/peeling varnish, loose ferrules on cane, ferrule bluing worn off, eyes rusty/damaged/loose, staining of the cane where the eyes have corroded, whippings frayed/missing, cork damaged/dirty, logo worn off in places, male to female ferrules worn/loose, reel bands worn/scratched/corroded along with butt end.

All the eyes have been taken off along with the intermediate whippings.

The rod is now ready for a total removal of its old varnish taking great care to leave the makers logo etc intact.

Varnish totally removed and rod rubbed down in stages from medium to very fine wet and dry abrasive and wire wool. The largest female ferrule was a loose fit on the cane due to glue becoming brittle over the years and shrinking, this ferrule was removed and then set back on the cane with epoxy cement making sure the ferrule is in line with the cane. Male and female ferrules are cleaned up ready to be blued. Makers logo area very carefully rubbed down to blend in with new varnish and any missing or part missing letters re-written in indian ink, cork handle restored and finely rubbed down to remove dirt etc without loosing any of the corks diameter. Reel Bands and threaded end of butt cleaned up and given a brushed aluminium finish.

After cleaning the male and female ferrules and removing any exterior scratches and dents they are then chemically blued to give that as new look. I can do different colours for the ferrules from light straw through to black. The rods beginning to look the part now. Next step the intermediate and decorative whippings.

The blank canes are given 1 coat of varnish before any whippings are put on the rod and when the whippings are in place they receive 2 to 3 coats of thread sealer which can be either PVA based which keeps the original colour of the thread after varnishing or NITRATE CELLULOSE based which tends to darken the original thread colour. The photos show the intermediate whippings in place along with any original decorative whipping around the logo/butt area. The next step is the ferrule end whippings and the placement and whipping of the rings and the hook keeper. Then 2 coats of varnish and she's ready to fish with.

Here is the finished rod, as good as new and ready to fish or hang on the wall. The rod has been restored to original condition, using original materials and keeping to the original positions of the eyes and whippings.

An early Allcocks 'Lucky Strike 'split cane float rod.

This rod came with no eyes, whippings missing, poor handle, warped cane and damaged ferrules. The rod though had a good Allcocks sticker and sound cane throughout, it is ready for its coats of varnish.

A Poor condition but rare Chubbs of Edgeware MK IV 'Special' Carp rod.

This rod came in poor cosmetic condition but with sound cane, another opportunity to bring back to life a rare and classic rod! Stay tuned for the transformation!

The End Result!

Heres the finished article. The original colour scheme of the whippings are kept along with the original ring positions and intermediate spacings. A top quality rod ready for another 50 years on the bankside!

A Gold Label Allcocks Wizard Restore

This Gold Label Allcocks Wizard came to me in pretty poor shape, all the rings were missing, the whippings had been cut off, the aluminium fittings had badly corroded and the logo was 50% missing, ferrules were loose on the cane and rod had a severe set. Surely this rod cannot be saved?

Now for the transformation, the rod is awaiting its logo and coats of varnish. This rod now  looks better now than when it came out of the shop!