So I have rod that the zoom sections are not quite as snug as I would like… anyone have any tricks to making a better fit for the zoom rods? I know I’m not the only person with this problem. I will say it isn’t that the rod isn’t fishable it’s just more a personal preference
For o ring zooms, twisting to seat seems to improve seating.
For friction zooms the same is true.
With wear on either you can try adding a layer of quality head cement to the contact area. Do one layer at a time, dry thoroughly, and test. Do not rush the process.
3 Likes
Awesome! Thank you so much I will definitely be giving that a try!
Just becareful you dont build it up to much. The sections can become stuck and it maybe very difficult to retrack.
If the loose sections are at the front of the Zooming blanks, try rubbing on a healthy coat of candle wax or ferrule wax to increase the male blank diameter to see if that is the problem before going for a more risky fix. If you get too much wax on the blank, no worry because the female section will just shave off the excess wax. Smooth things out with heat and friction from your fingers before sliding the joint Home is a good idea. Wipe the shavings away with a soft cloth and see how things work.
If the problem is at the butt end of the rod, replacing the o-rings on the butt plug may be in order and effective. Home supply stores and auto supply business have o-ring file cabinets with little drawers of o-rings filed by size. The sizes often get mixed up, so it is best to do your own hand fitting without paying too much attention to size other than getting you in the ballpark. Clear taking your rod into the store with the Customer Service Department first ,and they will often lead you right to the o-ring file. For what this is worth. I believe the Fuel Grade O-rings sold in Auto Supplies are more durable than the generic ones in hardware stores. You can probably get a life time supply of o-rings for what it would cost to have them shipped to you, they are that cheap individually…Karl.
1 Like
Thank you very much! I will definitely have to give that a try!
I used to use a sticky substance called “Tough Skin” on my hands for football and on my feet for 1-3 meter springboard diving competitions. Carefully treating the problem area might help and it can easily be removed with rubbing alcohol. A lot of baseball players used this when I was young.
I also had a Winston graphite fly rod female ferrule area break on a 3 pc. rod. I cut off the broken area and carefully added epoxy. I had to mic the thickness and do some sanding with 600 grit paper and it works fine. Maybe this might work? The best of luck. Let us know what happens with your repair project.
I used to use that stuff when I played baseball and I agree that would be a good safe sticky way to try and fix it!
I think one thing to be cautious of with wax or anything sticky is that getting dirt and debris mixed in and stuck could also do damage to the rod.
3 Likes
That’s true too I didn’t think of that, maybe the orings is the way to go
If it was oring connectors, yeah that is a way to go. Is it an old rod or a new one with bad tolerances?
It’s a new rod
That seems wrong. Which one?
How true, good thinking Gressak.