Fiberglass resin won't bond to lignum vitae? Custom fishing rod handle

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
redfishsc

redfishsc

Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2006
Messages
2,545
Location
North Charleston , SC
I have a stiff rod for bottom fishing (grouper) that I modified--- cut the butt about 6" shorter.

I removed the foam grip and turned a front grip out of marblewood and the butt end out of lignum vitae (ie, I used what I had laying around).

The front grip (marblewood) and the reel seat both bonded quite strongly to the fiberglass rod blank.

But I can't get the LV to stick to the butt end. It sat all night and, this morning, the fiberglass resin wasn't cured- still liquid.

I redid it this morning and added about 50% more catalyst, and it's holding a little better after a couple hours.

Anyone else have this trouble? Any suggestions?

I DID clean the LV well with lacquer thinner before trying. If the third shot doesn't work I'm going to go get a tube of Loctite marine epoxy (grey).
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Sounds almost like the catalyst is bad in the mix. I would think it would get hard as woodpecker lips no matter what it was bonded to it just may not adhear.
 
I have never heard of LV being used on a Rod. Not that it hasn't I just haven't heard of it. The only grips I have used are the foam ones and they are applied with reel seat and grip epoxy. Not sure if there is anything special about that stuff. Sounds to me like a part A part B problem maybe because not much air is getting to it or something. Sure hope you get it solved it sounds like a nice looking grip. but you know how it goes. No picture didn't happen.
 
image.aspx



wood_handles_lv.JPG



wood_handles2.JPG


wood_handles_mw.JPG
 
ironman said:
All i know is that the lv has a natural oil in it and was used for ships bearings so that
may be why. its just so oily
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I'm thinking. Although I've made a lot of pens with LV using CA and Monty's Epoxy and never once had an issue with it.




snyiper said:
Sounds almost like the catalyst is bad in the mix. I would think it would get hard as woodpecker lips no matter what it was bonded to it just may not adhear.
Click to expand...


The catalyst that was used on the butt section was the same catalyst used on the front grip and reel seat. Plus, the stuff leftover in the mixing cup hardens up like woodpecker lips ;).


I may end up having to get that marine epoxy. Bummer....
 
Matt I use Rod Bond on all my rods with no problem make sure the blank is clean along with the inside of the wood grip, try swabbing the inside with alcohol let dry for a minute or two. you want a snug fit along the entire distance.

The rod bond mix doesn't have to be exact but the closer the better as well as making sure it is thoroughly mixed, never found anything it wouldn't bond.
The liquid two part mixes might not hold on something like that particularly if there are any gaps
 
Thanks Roddesigner!

I haven't used Rod Bond (and am trying to avoid buying yet more stuff lol).

Is it anything like fiberglass resin?

I managed to get the butt end holding very strong now. I can tell it's not quite 100% but I tried my best to pull it off, but it wouldn't.


The fit is fairly snug, and I did clean the LV blank out with acetone first.

Hopefully it's done. We'll find out the first time I hook a nice gag.
 
Matt Rod Bond was developed by a company Trondak for fishing rods for use as an adhesive and nothing else is needed with some of the resins a better bond is formed using micro balloons(very tiny particles) that act as a filler.
Rod bond is inexpensive and will last for years worst case is the resin will crystallize pop the jar(open) in a micro wave and in a few seconds it's as good as new, it is available in many of the rodbuilding component dealers on line
 
Last edited:
I have used the Lignum Vitae Wood before, it is extremely oily, before you finish or even sand on the stuff get some acetone and a rag. wipe it on and that will help. You may have to do this several times before any finish will stick
 
I use rodbond for glueing the grips and reel seats to my flyrods. The stuff is great. The oils in the LV combined with any left over residue from the acetone will certainly repell the epoxy causing it too break down. I use acetone to clean my epoxy brushes when building rods, so if there is any in the blank, it will have the same effect. If it doesn't hold on this last attempt, perhaps you could seal the inside of the LV piece with something like CA and then epoxy. The CA should seal the wood inside the tunnel and hopefully your epoxy will stick to that. Just a thought.
 
Last edited:
roddesigner said:
Matt Rod Bond was developed by a company Trondak for fishing rods for use as an adhesive and nothing else is needed with some of the resins a better bond is formed using micro balloons(very tiny particles) that act as a filler.
Rod bond is inexpensive and will last for years worst case is the resin will crystallize pop the jar(open) in a micro wave and in a few seconds it's as good as new, it is available in many of the rodbuilding component dealers on line
Click to expand...


Good to know that. I think (hope) I have this rod finished, the butt seems to be firmly glued in place now. I'm hoping the fiberglass resin wasn't a poor choice but everything seems to be extremely solid right now. The rod isn't used that often, I live several hours inland and only go to the ocean once or twice a year anyhow.

If I make any modifications to any other rods, I'll give the Rod bond a shot.

Thanks!

Matt
 
I think that the natural properties of the LV are such that even if you can get it to bond that it won't last very long. The oil in this wood is such that it can be exposed to salt water for years and not break down or rot, even submerged. You might think about putting your time and energy into another type of wood.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom