Rod Guides Bent

[jooleyen]

I don't know how the hell this happened, but I went to get my rod from the basement, and 5 of the rod guides were bent. I got lucky I think. I bent them back into place and they seem to be fine now. Do you think they'll be okay?

Thanks-
Julien

[texasbasser]

sometimes they do get bent if they are lent against a wall, but most can be easily put bakc into place... just make sure you dont drag the eyes on the groudn or anything...

[Rebbasser]

Mine get bent taking then in and out of the rod box on a regular basis. Just bend then back in place. No biggie.

[Rodman_Rob]

just be careful to not bend them all the time. some materials can handle bending multiple times better than other materials. I've had guides that I could bend 50 times with no signs of weakness and other guides that I only bent twicde before breaking. Try to keep them at a similar angle in relation to the rod and the other guides and for it to be as straight as possible in relation to the next guide.

[jooleyen]

Whew! Thanks. I got scared. When I saw my bent rod guides my heart skipped a beat.

[Rebbasser]

Jools-even if the guide breaks off they are real easy to replace.

[Bender]

Last fall I bought an All Star Big Boy flippin' pitchin' rod in Orlando and packed it in my hard rod case for the flight home. I got it there and 3 guides were bent. I carefully bent them back but one of them made a cracking sound. I will have to see if it changes the way the rod works more next spring, but it doesn't look good.

[FlyRod]

I have one rod (the one I wish was still available so Reb could have one) that lost a guide about 2/3ds up from the grip. It simple pulled out of the wrap when I dragged the stick out of some cranny. Since the guide, a single-footer, thank God, was intact and the wrap was too, I easily made a repair that has lasted ever since. Here's how...
I was careful to NOT crush the wrap, thereby assuring that I could, ever-so-gently at first, slide the guide foot back into the wrap. Before doing so, however, I applied a droplet of Gorilla Glue(TM) the the foot and slipped it into the wrap. THEN...I slid the foot back out and applied another droplet, finally slipping the foot back into the wrap and pressing it home firmly with NO outward pressure that might loosen or crack the wrap. Last, I applied a THIN coat of G'Glue to the entire wrap. A few hours later I had a virtually undetectable repair that has lasted through many hours of walkin' a Super Spook Jr and fighting at least one GOOD bass (Boerne, Reb, by that dock, remember?)
Patience, Julien, and you can often save the day!
DO NOT use superglues when attempting such repairs. They are too brittle.
So far, Gorilla Glue(TM) has proven to be an amazing product for a number of repairs, even those not fishing-related. Just don't over-apply it.

FR

[jooleyen]

Cool. I was ready to use some Superglue if it broke. Thank God I didn't.

[Rebbasser]

I have used Super Glue to repair several with no problems, but it wasn't the same situation as Flyrod-the guide snapped off. I took an Exacto-knife and cut the wrapping then peeled it off the rod. Glued an eyelet I cannibalized off another rod with super glue and let it set. Then I took some thread the same color as the wrap, wrapped it around the rod and the foot of the eyelet, and then put on several coats of clear fingernail polish. Worked like a charm.