304 Fly-rods and Fly-tackle. 



fore we enter on new ground, I should like to ask you 

 one or two questions about mending broken rods. How 

 long should the splice be by which the fragments are 

 united? For it seems to me that a short splice can 

 hardly stand the strain inseparable from use ; while, on 

 the other hand, an excessive length unnecessarily short- 

 ens the rod. 



ANGLER. The question is very pertinent. The length 

 of the splice should be at least twelve times the diam- 

 eter of the joint at the break, perhaps even a little more 

 if the rod is very dense in the grain. It is well in such 

 case to roughen the surfaces you propose to unite, or to 

 score them obliquely and in a criss-cross manner, thus: 



Pig. 76. A, joint; B, splice, scored. 



But these scores should be very oblique and very shallow, 

 or you may divide and so lose the strength of some of the 

 fibres. The purpose is to give a better hold to whatever 

 adhesive substance you use to unite the parts. 



NOVICE. It has occurred to me that the method you 

 showed me this morning is not applicable to a break 

 close to a ferrule, for there is then nothing to form one 

 part of the splice from. What course should then be 

 followed? 



ANGLER. This is either one of the most difficult, or one 

 of the simplest of emergent repairs, according to the 

 construction of the rod. If the rod is united by simple 

 ferrules without dowels, and if the ferrules are merely 

 cemented in place instead of fastened by a pin, then the 

 repair is a trifling matter. And after balancing all I 



