Well ... time came to make a decision. The choices were :-
a) Just keep the rod on my wall.
b) Removing the guide left nearest to the tip, replace it with a tip guide, and fish it 6 inches short.
c) Investigate the possibility of having it restored by a professional.
d) Have a go at a first restoration project myself.
I think the rod deserves better than alternatives a and b, and being on a pension alternative c would need a lottery win ... so ...
The Gods of the angle help me ... I'm going to have a go myself.
I have found that Chapmans website says they have Allcock's Record Breaker tip blanks available for just over £50, which the say they are 42" long with a taper from .240 - .100. Having used my vernier on the broken tip I find it's .239 - .119 at the point where it was broken at 36 inches, which seems to match very well ... so I'll be on the phone tomorrow morning to see if they can send me one (along with a tip guide and a hook keeper).
Deciding to re-use the guides that are on the rod already, I started to remove those on the tip section this morning. The guide whipping as well as the spiral whipping that runs the length of the rod appeared to be black, apart from some bright red highlights spaced along the length.
That was until I turned over what I'd taken off the guide whipping and found it to be a startling turquoise blue/green ... and scraped the treacle varnish off the spiral decoration and found it to be a deep gold yellow.
With the red spacing details ...
... this must have looked quite gaudy when new ... to my taste anyway. I think I'll go for a more understated finish ... but we'll see.
I'll try to keep you informed as the project progresses.
)
