O.k. rod builders.  I am considering rod building as a furthering of the tacklemaking that I have been doing this coming winter.  I now have two rods, a spinning and a casting rod that are broken.  Neither of the rods have any broken guides or seating, they are broken on the blank part of the rod.  Is the cork good?  I would assume the guides would still be good.  How about the reel seats?  Any information would be appreciated.  Thanks.

If you are careful, you can save everything.  Cut the thread and finish from the guides with a razorblade and use your fingernail to peel it off of the guide feet.  It may help to warm the thread finish with a hair dryer to soften it first.  Cork can be tricky but needs to come off so you can get the reel seats off.  Cut the blank about 6 inches from the cork... boil the cork and handles for about 10 minutes to weaken the epoxy and push (hard) down against the floor, the cork and seats should break free.  The "be careful" part of that is because the cork will be very soft after boiling and will tear easily.

And when you have your components off, save the scrap blanks, you will need several pieces of them to make your tapered reamers when you start building rods.

ominousone,

One more point to watch when using the boiling water, the cork will be soft agreed but the same glue that was used to set the cork grip is also the same glue that holds the rings together. You will have to watch that the cork rings don't separate when you try to remove the grip.  Not to mention that every pour that has been filled the filling will soften come out, and you will have a pitted mess.

That is why most builder's that I know and myself included, won't even mess trying to remove the whole cork grip, instead will purchase or turn a new grip for the next rod. The boiling water trick is best used if you have a foam grip that needs removed.

I would also purchase a new seat for your next rod as the seat for that particular rod probably isn't going to fit the next blank you build, and, I'm quite sure that you can't get it as clean as a new one on the internal surfaces after removal and will scratch the blank trying to re-fit it to another blank.

Just my .02¢

Good Luck!      

I agree with Reelmech, if it were me, I would start with new cork and reel seat.

A buddy of mine recently broke a rod he built so he salvaged everything for the new blank of same model and measurements... worked like a charm and he didn't have the $$ to start over so it was good for him and fit exactly on the new blank.

so basically, there's absolutely no reason not to keep the guides.  The reel seat is questionable and I'd have to boil it to get it off the blank, and the cork is very questionable.  I think I'll go with just getting the guides off and toss the rest.  

You can make reamers from the pieces of blank some epoxy and some grit.  They will help fitting the new cork when you build your rod.

flechero,

A buddy of mine recently broke a rod he built so he salvaged everything for the new blank of same model and measurements... worked like a charm and he didn't have the $$ to start over so it was good for him and fit exactly on the new blank.

That is the best part of a self built rod you know exactly what the blank's dimensions are and can recreate the rod almost exactly. But if you have an old broken production rod and have to by a blank, matching the old blank will be tough, therefore the need for new seats and cork.

ominousone, what is the brand and model of the rods you want to strip? That info would help figure out what you need to replace and with what. It will also help in telling us what kind of guides the rods have on them....

Tight Wraps and Straight Blanks!    

the casting rod is one of the berkley lightning rods

I can't remember what the spinning rod was right now, I'll have to dig it out.  The spinning rod was a fairly decent rod if I remember right (at least in comparison w/ the lightning rod)

If I remember right if the guides are fuji, they will say so once I remove them right???

ominousone,

the casting rod is one of the berkley lightning rods

Is it a med. power, med.hvy. power, fast-tip action, mod-tip action, etc.?

I can't remember what the spinning rod was right now, I'll have to dig it out.

Dig it out and post the info on it.

If I remember right if the guides are fuji, they will say so once I remove them right???

Yes they will but you will need a magnifying glass or jewelers loop to read it, as it is punched onto the leg of the guide.