Vintage 1940's Boo Fly Rod Restoration.

[cshold]

Never did a fishing rod restoration.
To date I've rebuilt the reel seat & cleaned the cork.
The vintage reel just needed dusted off and lubricated.
I really don't think it was ever used.
I have a new set of snake line guides and a spool of proper color silk wrapping thread ordered.
Also doing some repairs to the rod tube and cleaning the cotton rod section sleeve.

[6pt-sika]

I had one old Horricks and Ibbitson redone that my parents gave me . The revarnish and rewinding set me back like $150 about 20 years ago and that was more then the rod was worth but they gave it to me then so I had it redone . I've got a Granger that needs to be totally redone but I don't have the scheckels for that one at the moment . My little Walt Carpenter 6 1/2' rod needs the second tip repaired , straighten a set in the other tip and for it all to look right a varnish job .

I applaud you if you do it yourself , but that's not something I wanna deal with . My Carpenter rod cost me $650 when I bought it new in the late 80's but the cost of a new tip and the rest from Carpenter exceeded what I paid for it by a couple hundred bucks when I called him about it ten years ago , might even have been longer then that .

[Griff]

Lookin' good!

[cshold]

Thanks guys.
It's really just a low priced, low collector value South Bend model 346 9' rod.
If I mess it up, no great loss.
I just enjoy doing projects like this.
I don't think the fish know the difference between an $80.00 rod and a $3,000.00 rod anyway

[Blaine]

I've never worked with boo, but I've made some sturdy, albeit redneck looking, repairs on broken tubular glass rods.

[M. M. Wright]

I still have a couple of split bamboo rods laying around somewhere along with a half dozen or so reels, mostly automatics but doubt I'll ever use them again as graphite rods have just taken over. My 14 year old son and I fly fish most of the time we are fishing. It's like gravy for the soul. Whether we catch bream or bass doesn't matter to us, it's just the time spent on the water.

[2571]

"I don't think the fish know the difference between an $80.00 rod and a $3,000.00 rod anyway "

Told my business partner I'd help him make a fly rod. Instead he dropped $5C. Busted it first time he took it out.

[JerryB]

Looks like that rod needs to take a trip to Michigan up around Grayling on the Au Sable or the Manistee River.

[EdinCT]

Looks like a good project to keep you out of trouble. I only fished a Bamboo rod once, it was a Madison and I caught a small brown trout and a small mouth bass. It was a slow action rod and I was nervous has heck it would be damaged but its owner wanted me to try it out. I also had a huge coon come down right to the edge of the small river I was in just after sundown. I was thinking I can't beat him off with this like I would with my Sage if he has rabies !

[MrMurphy]

That's why you bring a pistol...

[Blaine]

That's why you bring a pistol...

I once shot at a big coon while squill hunting.....He hit the ground hurt, and mad as hades...Since it was a single shot 12 H&R, it was interesting kicking him away until I could load the gun again....

[cshold]

Restoration complete...
Just have to set the reel up...

[Blaine]

Restoration complete...
Just have to set the reel up...

That's all well and good, but where are the trout? This post is worthless without trout.

[1894]

Very Nice

[1894]

Dumb question about the boo rods . If the tip section is split for a foot or so , that makes it not worth the trouble of doing anything with the rod except make kindling out of it , correct ?

[TWHBC]

Dumb question about the boo rods . If the tip section is split for a foot or so , that makes it not worth the trouble of doing anything with the rod except make kindling out of it , correct ?

Define the split? One of the segment's has split along the glued joint, or has an actual segment of the bamboo split separate from the joints that were in the original rod manufacturer? What caused the split, climatic changes in storage, physical damage or stress? Glue quality varied a lot when many of the older bamboo rods were made and if a delamination of the original joint it might be possible to restore, but may also change the action due to the new glue responding differently. All of the glue joints might be suspect, with the tip showing signs first. Quality of the original rods varies a lot with the name rods having been made with better bamboo, better milling, fitting, and matching of the joints, better glues, etc. But the glue quality
in the older rods is very dependant upon climatic conditions of how the rod was stored and fished or treated during use. Lots of time and money can be spent repairing and restoring rods, and as with firearms, sometimes the quality, rarity, etc. of the original determines what and who might do the repair. Is the rod worth the dollar outlay, or is it simply a sentimental wall hanger? Not a lot different than todays graphite; materials, mandrel design, designer talent, and finally manufacturers QC, determine quality. Sorry for going on, but many years ago used to mess with bamboo, though wasn't in the upper or maybe even middle class! Saw a lot of the upper class though.

To the OP, looks like a nice job, show some trout when possible ! ☺