Chapman 500 - "Styles" Of Restoration

[Gilbert]

Without wishing to cast nasturtiums on any of the foregoing , i think my 500 makes a dreadful float rod . maybe Chapmans altered the tapers on later rods - mine is '50s . so i have it with low bells , a threaded tip and the 7 rings of the 600 . it's a great "tip" rod and has a lot more power than my James Avon which is a completely different animal and is very happy chucking a float.
G

[Damflask]

This is my 'restored' 500 in all of its OTT pomp.
It's an eBay purchase from a while back. It must have taken a lot of work to do all that.
I love it!

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[Wallys-Cast]

Very nice Simon, some time and effort gone into that revamp.

Wal.

[Damflask]

It says 'Paul Bray' on it.
Ps. The two DP's you did for me, are up there with the greats also!

[Barbelbonce]

Many thanks, all, for responses.
Hi, Gilbert: I'm no gardener....but what are your specific worries about the 500 being a dreadful float rod? What doesn't it do?
My thinking has always been that I will fish it with a heavy float, as I do with my bridge-rung 500DL, thereby, hopefully, avoiding the need to give it to much welly on the cast. (I found a much earlier thread which described doing so resulting in a broken 500...Ah, yes; Catfish.017, below, so NOT "much earlier"!).
I don't think the 500's straight tapers have ever changed, but there may be differences in batches due to the setting up of hand-planing forms?
I love my 500DL as a tip rod, so I have changed the tip ring on the "new" one to a straight stand-off, to match the colouration of the Aqualite butt ring. I don't need two threaded tips....I think! But I have a full set of full open bridges and ditto of low bells, each with their matching Aqualites, ready, should I wish to switch back from high bells.
Damflask: my brain has stopped working, not unusually! What are DPs? Dennis Pyes? - or should that be pies...?!: -cue Moley!!
Mike

[Gilbert]

Hullo BB

what it doesn't do is flick a float . you have to use rod speed rather than tip speed. yes , i think there is a risk of a busted rod . - I've dunnit , many years ago.
i have a 12ft Suredale (with a spare shorter tip)among others that will take care of float fishing in a much nicer fashion. horses for courses , and cane rods don't have the breadth of ability that some of those black rods do, so why compromise ? just get another rod out of the bag .

[Barbelbonce]

It's fairly common for rods to be bought by collectors and put inside a rack and never fished with again. I can sort of sympathise with this because who'd want to break something so rare...and so expensive!
Then there's the school of thought that a rod should be unrestored and left in its original condition.
Another thought is that it should be re-furbished to as new condition, but lately this seems to be taken even further and people ask for a rod to be finished to a very, very high standard indeed...way beyond what the manufacturer could or would ever have achieved.

I can see the argument for all three ( or four, if you will) ways. Each has it's merits, each has its pitfalls.

I found this when looking for something completely unrelated.

It's from the Sage Nobby, on 29 August 2012 (very nearly 10 years ago!), in the thread "Re: Captains of west croydon split cane rods" in the section viewforum.php?f=93

This post might also go in the more recent string: viewforum.php?f=28 ......How to copy??

Mike

[Gilbert]

Many thanks, all, for responses.
Hi, Gilbert: I'm no gardener....but what are your specific worries about the 500 being a dreadful float rod? What doesn't it do?
My thinking has always been that I will fish it with a heavy float, as I do with my bridge-rung 500DL, thereby, hopefully, avoiding the need to give it to much welly on the cast. (I found a much earlier thread which described doing so resulting in a broken 500...Ah, yes; Catfish.017, below, so NOT "much earlier"!).
I don't think the 500's straight tapers have ever changed, but there may be differences in batches due to the setting up of hand-planing forms?
I love my 500DL as a tip rod, so I have changed the tip ring on the "new" one to a straight stand-off, to match the colouration of the Aqualite butt ring. I don't need two threaded tips....I think! But I have a full set of full open bridges and ditto of low bells, each with their matching Aqualites, ready, should I wish to switch back from high bells.
Damflask: my brain has stopped working, not unusually! What are DPs? Dennis Pyes? - or should that be pies...?!: -cue Moley!!
Mike

Further to...... yesterday i was able to compare my 500 v/s that of a pal of mine .there is roughly 10 years between the 2 rods , mine being the elder .
the ferrules on both are completely interchangeable so not much if any difference in taper , but mine is a far more powerful blank. --so little difference in taper but a lot of difference in the cane .

[Hoppy-Doffton]

I love my 500s and I have one that needs new rings. Can anyone please tell me the type of rings that Chapmans use on them? Are they low bells?

[Olly]

You do have a choice - high or low - they both work. The t/c is 1lb - same as the 600 - and Chapman's Shelford float rod at 11ft.
All having - without looking - variable tapers.