Cleaning your ferrules

[Don Andersen]

If your ferrules are getting tight to mount or dismount, a cleaning of the female may help a lot.
Two drops of WD 40 on a Qtip resulted in this:



Regards,

Don

[jimwright]

alcohol will do the same thing and then evaporate.

[Don Andersen]

Hi,

One of things we have to deal with is low levels of Sulphur Dioxide in the atmosphere which enjoys attacking copper based alloys like Nickel Silver.
WD 40 sets up a film reducing contact thereby limiting corrosion.

Regards,

Don

[DaveNJ]

Hi,

One of things we have to deal with is low levels of Sulphur Dioxide in the atmosphere which enjoys attacking copper based alloys like Nickel Silver.
WD 40 sets up a film reducing contact thereby limiting corrosion.

Regards,

Don

Interesting. Would the remaining film also act as a lubricant?

[jimwright]

Could it provide too much lubrication?

[DaveNJ]

Could it provide too much lubrication?

I have no idea, but if it's leaving a residue/film/whatever I would think that's volume being taken up, no? If that is the case and it helps glide, cool. But it sounds like it may attract more dirt. However, I really don't know.

[Don Andersen]

Hi,
I generally wipe the female out with the wet end and wipe the excess out with the clean end.
However, being lazy, I’ve sometimes not been as careful and mount and dismount the ferrule wiping off the male when it has excess on it.
Further, in keeping with my destructive testing, I rarely put my rods back into their cases but place them on the dash or on the passenger seat, ferrules towards the floor after the days fishing is done. I use them for 4>6 days and then switch tips.
The destructive testing has been going in for years attempting to determine what the purchasers will do to rods and what I can learn to make the rods live longer.

Regards,

Don

[alberta al]

Don showed me his ferrule cleaning process a couple of years ago, and I am glad he did. Stuck ferrules are a past thing now.

Thanks again Don!

Cheers,

Alan

[Northern Angler]

Mark Aroner of the Spinoza Rod Company, has an informative video on cleaning ferrules. It can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDZ0vrl ... tion=share. Mike

[DireWolf53]

Mark Aroner of the Spinoza Rod Company, has an informative video on cleaning ferrules. It can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDZ0vrl ... tion=share. Mike

IF it's good enough for Marc...but I'd offer an update and use a bit of std ferrulube (from Silver Trout) in lieu of paraffin.
The stuff is awesome and I don't change my ways easily.

[thegubster]

Mark Aroner of the Spinoza Rod Company, has an informative video on cleaning ferrules. It can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDZ0vrl ... tion=share. Mike

You see that ferrule fit - all the way to seat! Made me just smile!!

That's M. Aroner for ya!!

[DrLogik]

I also clean with alcohol and a Q-tip and leave the ferrule bone dry. Once in a while, if they need it, I may twirl some 0000 steel wool around a Q-tip and lightly clean the female ferrule but that is very seldom. I've lived in the hot humid South and hot dry Arizona. I never lube the ferrules. If they are sticky, I clean them. I've been running them dry for almost 30 years on all three of my bamboo rods and never had any problems at all and the ferrules are still tight and seat all the way.

I guess I fall in the "Don't lube ferrules" group.

[winston59]

Clean dry cotton swab on the female and then paraffin on the male ferrule. The Boo Boy's showed me that one. Thanks Glen.

[Don Andersen]

Hi,

I used to be of the dry fit school till I realized the “dirt” was really corrosion caused by Sulphur Compounds particularly Sulphide Dioxide (S02).
I live in an area surrounded by gas processing facilities which process gases laden with Hydrogen Sulphide to Elemental Sulphur. During this process, Sulphide Dioxide is released. Not much, but enough.

To understand how common S02 is, here is a NASA S02 picture. Industrial areas tend to be higher.
I realized I needed a barrier to reduce the SO2 influence.

https://so2.gsfc.nasa.gov/measures.html

WD 40 was chosen as a filming agent.
I know of others who use very light gun oil.
I don’t do what my father did rubbing the male along the side of his nose to coat with skin oil.
His technique worked for many years.

Regards,

Don

[6tUc05]

Don...

It is Sulfur (Sulphur) Dioxide; not SULPHIDE Dioxide. Sulphides are chemically different creatures.

[DaveNJ]

I don’t do what my father did rubbing the male along the side of his nose to coat with skin oil.
His technique worked for many years.

I love this and may have to try it one day when I'm SOL stream side.

[Capt. Frank]

Don't! Nose grease has salts and other bad things which can harm ferrules.

[6tUc05]

"Don't! Nose grease has salts and other bad things which can harm ferrules."

This is true only if you leave it on the ferrule. If it is wiped off within a day or so of application, it should not harm the ferrule. Corrosion of metal occurs over an often lengthy period of time. Use in an 'emergency" situation should do no harm, provide it is wiped off, preferably at the end of the day.

[Caneghost]

Most of the rodmakers I talk to recommend denatured alcohol to clean both ferrules, then drying them. Do not get it on the varnish! Lubricants will attract dirt and grit they say and will increase wear.

I have a couple of loose ones on older rods, loose enough that the section will turn out of guide alignment during fishing. I used paraffin and recently Silver Trout's Ferrulube. The Ferrulube works well but it was not a good idea on ferrules that fit properly. It made them very difficult to seperate. I clean that or the paraffin off my loose ferrfules after fishing so it doesn't attract dirt, etc.

[thegubster]

... and recently Silver Trout's Ferrulube. The Ferrulube works well but it was not a good idea on ferrules that fit properly. It made them very difficult to seperate.

Caneghost - one or two swipes of pure beeswax on the males work well for those ferrules that are a tad loose as you described too. FYI.
Jeremy.