Mid 60’s Fishing Rod Rehab
 

When my grandfather passed in 72, my grandmother gave me Pop’s rod and reel. It’s a 6’-6” Eagle Claw “Wright & McGill Sweetheart”

The handle had a drop in it that made it cumbersome for me to use. I’ve tried a few times to use it for different types of fishing, jigging, casting, flipping etc. The drop behind the reel seat was ok for fighting fish, but not great for everything else.

It was two piece, one being the handle section where the rod section slipped into a ferrule at the front of the fore grip. Did some digging on the net and came across some tech on adding handle extensions so I could lose the drop and make a straight handle section.

Using that as a guide I removed the ferrule from the rod section. Tip, when heat doesn’t work, shock it in ice water after heating. It popped off like a champagne cork.

There were a couple of choices for the extension material, aluminum or carbon fiber. I used carbon fiber. Sourcing that in an OD and ID I needed was painless. It’s sold everywhere on the net. Most applications in the size I was looking at was for RC helicopter rotor arms in some way or another.

Mating up OD of rod parts to ID of other parts is done by using strips of fiberglass drywall tape to make arbors. Just wrap the blank until the mating part slips on and stays centered. Once cork is reamed to fit and arbors wrapped for the reel seat everything is lathered up with epoxy. Parts are put on as you slowly twist to fill voids. The epoxy I used is thixotropic (non-sag)

I really like how it turned out and I will use it now. I hope Pop would like it too.

Your Pop would/is proud of you honey :hug: :kiss:

Nicely done!

Need to go try it out.:whistling:

Well done! You are most certainly a craftsman.

And yes, "Pop" would be proud.

I know a pretty good trout pond you could put practice in.....



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Somehow, I think they would not appreciate that..

Thanks everybody....my granddad might also be pissed that I monkeyed with his rod :whistling:

I have an older Ambassadeur 6500C reel that I dropped off for repair to pair with the rod. Yes, we still have ONE reel repair shop left around here. Normally I would just do it myself, but I thought what the heck. It needed a new worm gear and pawl for the levelwind. He cleaned, oiled and greased it too for a whole 31 bucks.

I’ve driven by that shop many many times and never set foot in it. He’s got to be in his mid 80’s and still going strong. Hell I might just drop off all my reels in the off season for cleaning and oiling at those prices.

Mike, we do need to test it out, but I’m pretty sure I tore my rotator cuff. I see the ortho Monday. This past Sunday I was about in tears. My shoulders been bothering me a bit lately. That little bit of fly fishing Thursday took it up a notch and then I went flounder fishing with my brother Saturday. All down hill from there. :badmood:

Dang. Yeah, it sucks getting old..

What would you kids know about getting old? :SD2

^ This. ^

I was just being nice and didn't go there.. :whistling:

:roflback::roflback:

First fish on the new old rod.

Sweet