Possible Priory rod of Bournemouth The Throop any ideas ???

[Lovatt]

I was going to go fishing today and strip the rod on Monday but seeing as it was such a lovely day I decided to strip the rod, taking pictures as I went along for this show and tell. To start of with I used a generous amount of Nitro Mors paint and varnish stripper, seems the new formula is not quite as good as the old stuff we used to have before new EU guidelines came in to effect, however its not bad, as it still does a pretty good job it.

Afterwards I cleaned the cane with white spirit to remove any paint stripper residue and then proceeded to scraped the cane clean and super smooth with the back of a Stanley knife blade taking care not to remove the power fibers - that's a bloody good tool for the job too .

<I Recommend a cup of tea or coffee, around about now >

After stripping cleaning and scraping the cane, I rubbed each part with fine 000 grade wire wool and then sanded each part with 600 grit wet and dry paper, the rod is now super smooth to touch and has a nice light color. I have decided not to give the rod a coat of Teak Oil as I normally do to nourish the cane before varnishing as that may change the color of the cane making it slightly darker and I want this one to be as light as possible.

Stripped it Original rod thread color and rod rings.jpg

During the stripping, I discovered the thread would have been a nice Blue color the varnish was that old it has turned and looked yellowy black in color, the rings you see in the picture below are the only ones it had and I am guessing the rod may be from the 1960s.

Original thread color and rod rings.jpg

Now the rod is stripped and ready for the nest stage however before moving on, I would like to show anyone who is interested the taper and node spacings for this rod, I used my digital calipers to measure the rods sections in 5" increments seems they weren't made to super accurate tolerances so I have given a three figure reading in Imperial using the highest values taken during the measuring stage, I could have given an average but didn't think it would be of any great importance.

12 ft Cane rod taper in 5 inch increments

Butt Piece from the metal collar
.552
.541
.525
.514
.502
Middle Piece from male ferrule
.455
.429
.404
.388
.368
.343
.332
.317
.311
.296
Tip Piece from male ferrule
.285
.261
.231
.207
.185
.164
.166
.149
.127
.112
Rod tip

Below are some pictures I made measuring the Node spacings to show the node pattern and method used during construction for this rod as I believe it varies between manufacturers, like American or English made I wonder how much wasted cane they had, it must of been a bit of a challenge looking at the raw cane and aligning all those nodes.

Node Spacing Diagram butt piece.png

Node Spacing Diagram Middle pice.png

Node Spacing Diagram Tipp piece.png

In a coup[le of days I will remove the female ferrules give the rod a couple of coats of varnish, clean then re bronze and re glue the ferrules on to the rod, in preparation for whipping intermediates and rod guides, I'm thinking High Bells life rings, some nice Cherry colored Agatine butt and tip guides red whippings and intermediates maybe two turn black tippings, or shall I keep it simple and just go with red? I hope you are enjoying the article and please feel free to comment or give your thoughts and any helpful tips and information, it certainly a darn good hobby.

Regards Trefor

[Lovatt]

Today I removed the old ferrules rubbed them down with wire wool de greased them with acetone - nail varnish remover from the 99p shop works a treat, re bronzed them with Birchwood Casey Brass black, they are looking a lot better, I have done a good job of it, word of caution - my girlfriend was worried and wondered why she had found nail varnish remover under the kitchen sink I told her it's a man thing don't worry about it, she understands

Re bronzed ferrules.jpg

After re bronzing the ferrules I gave the rod one thinned coat of Ronseal clear Outdoor varnish for the added UV protection, the last coats of varnish will be yacht varnish to add a more water proof and durable finish. I'm thinking six coats of varnish in all should be enough for the high build and depth of finish I am looking for, fingers crossed. I have made a dip tube from waste pipe but decided to use a brush today, I'm wondering how much it will cost to fill it up, litre for litre varnish costs more than petrol or diesel.

I will have to let it dry for a day or two before I rub it down in preparation for another coat then the whippings intermediates and rod rings can go on. Be back in a couple of days when I am ready for the next step.

Regards Trefor

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

Super stuff. I really need to get some of that ferrule darkening gear, the rod I'm just about to start on has the brightest chrome ferrules you ever did see!!!

[Nobby]

I don't think Birchwood-Casey will work on chrome....at least it didn't for me. Snape's magic potion did when it was newly brewed but even that shied away from chrome in time.

You could cheat and mix some matt clear varnish with a bit of black from the same maker so that they blend OK. I have done this in the past and it really looked much the same..doesn't rub off either.

You can tell it's a varnish not a stain as it flows into grooves and sits deeper there so it goes a bit darker, but you really have to look for it.

[Lovatt]

I'm no expert far from it, but I have bronzed a few ferrules with results I am happy with and the color can vary, these ones have turned a nice blue gray color. The ferrules I have just done were a little tricky and took two attempts, I am now satisfied with the finish I got when I used medium gauge wire wool and not the super fine 000 grade I also used Astonish oven cleaning paste.

These ferrules were originally bronzed and the finish was rather worn due to their age, I rubbed them down so the new bronzing would take to the brass, during the process I discovered the ferrules had been lightly chromed or had been treated with something that looked like a chrome finish.

I guess that would of given the ferrules a really high luster or sheen to the bronzing when they were new, whether Birchwood Casey's Brass black would work on that or not I don't know because I opted to remove it and rubbed the chrome finish off down to the brass, thankfully it was not to thick and came off quite easily, decreased with acetone and rinsed with clean running water. when the ferrules are bronzed and dry they may be a little powdery so I gave them a gentle and light rubbing burnishing with my finger, then I gave the ferrules a thinned coat of yacht varnish to protect the bronze finish, Varnishing or applying lacquer seems to enhance the depth and color, I recommend it.

You can do the same or use a suitable lacquer, that Rustin's stuff looks good and would cost you about £4.20 for 125ml from Eb_y, If you decide not to rub the chrome finish off I suppose you could try Birchwood Casey's extra strength super Blue, or Perma blue liquid prices vary from £9 -11 pounds with free postage, Brass black which will cost you £11.20 with free postage for 3 fl oz, you can get these items from a gun shop or Eb_y.

Here's a link to a shop with competitive pricing, It seems to go a long way and I am due to get some more soon as I'm nearly run out, don't forget to wash your hands afterwards.

Next post in a couple of days

Regards Trefor

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370893617303? ... EBIDX%3AIT

[Reedling]

Love the way the rod is going Lovatt and those ferrules are rather good. I look forward to the rest of this post and leading to completition of your rod, and I bet you cannot wait to wet a line with it.

[Lovatt]

I said a couple of days but decided to add a picture of one of the bronzed ferrules

The varnish is dry to touch but not hard so have to wait for it to harden, see how the varnish or lacquer will enhance the color and finish of the ferrule.

Re bronzed and lacquered ferrules.jpg

Time for a cup of tea, back in a day or two...

Regards Trefor

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

I don't think Birchwood-Casey will work on chrome....at least it didn't for me. Snape's magic potion did when it was newly brewed but even that shied away from chrome in time.

You could cheat and mix some matt clear varnish with a bit of black from the same maker so that they blend OK. I have done this in the past and it really looked much the same..doesn't rub off either.

You can tell it's a varnish not a stain as it flows into grooves and sits deeper there so it goes a bit darker, but you really have to look for it.

I'll give that a bash. Cheers!!!

[Lovatt]

You're welcome,

It worked for me it should work for you too, it will help anyone who's interested if you let us know how you get on with it, what you have chosen to do and how you done it.

Today the first coat of varnish has been rubbed down with 1200 grit wet and dry paper then cleaned with a plain cotton cloth soaked in white spirit to give the first coat of varnish a key for the second coat of varnish to adhere to it.

A second coat of varnish has been brushed on and is looking pretty good it has a nice depth of color and and has brought definition to the canes nodes and grain, I just have to wait till that's dry for the next step.

Varnish and brush.JPG

You have probably heard the expression watching paint dry; well I chose to do something else instead, I have prepared the rod rings as I want the whippings to sit closely together with no gaps in between the thread rows, doing this will help the thread ride up the guides feet and give a nice even finish, all the rod rings should be prepared in this way unless you are happy with them and the way they are when you buy them. I'll be using Hopkins and Holloway, vintage agatine butt and tip guides with a set of hard chrome high bell rod rings in between.

Prepared ring feet.jpg

New set of rings .jpg

The ferrules are now dry and I will be re fitting and gluing them on to the rod in a day or two, as I may go fishing tomorrow depending on the weather, next post soon

Regards Trefor

[Lovatt]

It had been a quiet weekend and with spare time on my hands I decided to re mount the rods ferrules and think about which whipping thread to use. The ferrules have been epoxied on to the rod and will be left to cure for 24 hours to obtain maximum strength and rigidity, I have used braided nylon cord to bind the ferrule crowns in to position while they dry.

ferrules glued on.JPG

I have some silk and nylon threads which I have been collecting for a while now and I'm wondering what colors to wrap the rod in, I do like the Black and silver twist and have recently finished a rod in Red and silver twist. This time I think I'll wrap the rod in either Lime Green with black intermediates or Green throughout possibly with fine black tippings, we'll just have to see how it turns out when I have started the whippings, for those who are interested, stay tuned to see a color change, I may have to buy some more thread if I haven't got the shade of green I am looking for.

I have some sample sticks that were made to test the whipping thread wraps, some with and some without sealer to compare finishes, they have all been varnished.

Thread Colors.JPG

I'll Be back in a couple of days when I start to whip the eyes on till then tight lines.

Regards Trefor