Chapmen 500.....Rebuilding thoughts and considerations
Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2020 4:08 pm
Hello Everyone. I've been looking in from the other side of the fence for a while now and thought it was about time that I logged on and stepped on in.
Whilst some of my fishing sees some earlier reels in use a can't say I have any fishing rods that would be considered old or indeed of interest to you guys and girls on here.
All that has changed just recently when I decided I would like a nice cane rod to go with some earlier 300 reels I have dating back to the very early 50's and 60's
Soooo what did I get I hear you asking !?
Well I brought myself a very nice honest conditioned Chapmen 500. Apart from a little varnish peeling off here and there and all but the tip ring fit for the bin its in very good condition considering how old it actually is.
The rod is beautifully straight with very little set evident.
Now I've taken the plunge I would now like to bring it back to it's former glory. So far I have removed all the rings with the exception of the tip. Honestly the tip is as good today as the day it was when it was first put on the rod so this will stay as is for the moment.
Because the varnish was peeling in parts I decided it best just to remove it all leaving just the little bit over the Chapmen decal to keep authenticity.
Now the varnish has been removed I have by enlarge a lovely honey coloured cane remaining with just a few areas taking on a little staining from the corroded rings I removed earlier. Not to much a problem because this is toward the top of the rod.
New rings have been sourced along with a nice red whipping thread very similar to the original red colour used. My thoughts are to rebuild this 500 rod to the 500 Delux spec by adding that extra ring on the top section.
Now for a few questions if I may.
Not having refurbished a cane rod before I'd like to know what my next steps should be and what products should I be looking at to protect the rod and the threads.
1/So now the rod is in a clean bill of health would you now recommended I varnish the cane at this stage prior to whipping on the rings ?
or would you recommend whipping on the rings first and then treat the cane with a suitable product followed by protecting the whipping threads again with something suitable those ?
2/ Cane protection. Firstly what would you suggest for the cane itself ?
I have seen Danish Oil mentioned here a number of times before. Is this something I should still be considering or is there a varnish of sorts I should be looking at instead ?
3/ Whipping thread. I'd like to keep as near as I can the lovely red coloured whip I have on this here cotton reel.
What colour preserver do you guys use on your threads ?
What varnish or top coat should I then use for final thread protection ?
With all the rods I have built, refurbished and modified over the years I just used a basic yacht varnish for the whipping threads. This worked well enough for those rods however with this fine Chapmen 500, I feel it deserves a little more respect and care
Long post I guess and I thank you all for reading through and hopefully now you'll be kind enough to share a few thoughts and recommendations with me.
Thanks All,
Gordon.
Whilst some of my fishing sees some earlier reels in use a can't say I have any fishing rods that would be considered old or indeed of interest to you guys and girls on here.
All that has changed just recently when I decided I would like a nice cane rod to go with some earlier 300 reels I have dating back to the very early 50's and 60's
Soooo what did I get I hear you asking !?
Well I brought myself a very nice honest conditioned Chapmen 500. Apart from a little varnish peeling off here and there and all but the tip ring fit for the bin its in very good condition considering how old it actually is.
The rod is beautifully straight with very little set evident.
Now I've taken the plunge I would now like to bring it back to it's former glory. So far I have removed all the rings with the exception of the tip. Honestly the tip is as good today as the day it was when it was first put on the rod so this will stay as is for the moment.
Because the varnish was peeling in parts I decided it best just to remove it all leaving just the little bit over the Chapmen decal to keep authenticity.
Now the varnish has been removed I have by enlarge a lovely honey coloured cane remaining with just a few areas taking on a little staining from the corroded rings I removed earlier. Not to much a problem because this is toward the top of the rod.
New rings have been sourced along with a nice red whipping thread very similar to the original red colour used. My thoughts are to rebuild this 500 rod to the 500 Delux spec by adding that extra ring on the top section.
Now for a few questions if I may.
Not having refurbished a cane rod before I'd like to know what my next steps should be and what products should I be looking at to protect the rod and the threads.
1/So now the rod is in a clean bill of health would you now recommended I varnish the cane at this stage prior to whipping on the rings ?
or would you recommend whipping on the rings first and then treat the cane with a suitable product followed by protecting the whipping threads again with something suitable those ?
2/ Cane protection. Firstly what would you suggest for the cane itself ?
I have seen Danish Oil mentioned here a number of times before. Is this something I should still be considering or is there a varnish of sorts I should be looking at instead ?
3/ Whipping thread. I'd like to keep as near as I can the lovely red coloured whip I have on this here cotton reel.
What colour preserver do you guys use on your threads ?
What varnish or top coat should I then use for final thread protection ?
With all the rods I have built, refurbished and modified over the years I just used a basic yacht varnish for the whipping threads. This worked well enough for those rods however with this fine Chapmen 500, I feel it deserves a little more respect and care
Long post I guess and I thank you all for reading through and hopefully now you'll be kind enough to share a few thoughts and recommendations with me.
Thanks All,
Gordon.