Mission accomplished. My 6# is an Orvis 9-1/2' impregnated bamboo made in 1959. I have fished it a lot but had a couple of the guides come off. I also have a couple of no name / cheap light weight bamboo rods that I should have started with for practice but I am not looking to use them so I went for the repairs on the Orvis. May I suggest that one start this type of endeavor before you need bifocals and medications for hand shakes. I am happy to report that the operation was a success. Guides are mounted, rod is usable and you can not tell which ones are the replaced ones without examining them. If anyone is considering doing this, let me know, I have a few suggestions. The cheap ones should have their varnish replaced but I am also scared that I might manage to un-glue them as well. As you might imagine, the closer to the tip, the smaller the diameter and the more delicate the operation and the cheap rods are a smaller diameter the whole way. Does not make me want to jump into them yet.

Good job. I got my start by buying old Montague and South Bend split cane rods off eBay & stripping them down. Those guides are no joke trying to re-wrap. Once you've finished the first rod refurbishment, it makes you realize what a thing of beauty a split cane rod really is.

You can certainly be proud of your Orvis rod. The serial number is on file at Orvis in Vermont. They can tell you who the builder was.

JR

JR, I have owned it since 87 or so but in 2016 I decided to see what Orvis could tell me. I emailed them the the serial number and got a reply that day or the next with the description, the year and the names of the men who made it. Way cool. The previous owner had put his name on the tube cap and on the side of the tube engraved #7 or #8. I have now bought a Cortland 444sl or a #7 sylk line to try it out (manana. I have tried various "wrong" line weights on my graphite rods but had never tried anything but a 6# (which is what Orvis says). I had not paid much attention to what was scratched on the tube. Now I will try...

I remember when graphite came out everyone was going off on the ability to use different line weights as though it was new and a miracle (see the monk in old Zerox commercials). IIRC when I took my son fly fishing (Steelhead with guide on the Trinity in N. CA) I gave him my 5# with a 6# line on it so load easier... probably did not have anything to worry about anyhow. I fished my Sage #8 and our guide did briefly cast my Orvis #6 to see how the bamboo felt.

What do you recommend for striping? I am figuring very fine sand paper, like 400 or 600, not sure about 200. I am scared of dissolving glue with strippers. The one I am going to do next has no writing on it so I don't have to work around that. I should weigh it but it seems to be no more than half the weight (oz or grams) of the Orvis and maybe even less on mass as even the butt is as skinny as the top couple of feet of the Orvis. I tried to use the weight - deflection method of determining the line weight and it did yield a 6# but when I get the chance I will try others.

You are correct in that you do not want to put any solvents or stripping compounds on a split cane rod to remove the varnish. 400 or 600 grit sandpaper and steel wool work very well in this process. I have also used emory boards to spot-touchups.

You know that the Orvis rod does not need to be varnished, right? The impregnation process leaves it impervious to water. I built several fly rods from 'Partridge of Redditch England' blanks several years ago. They were impregnated blanks. I have only one of these still in my possession, and I've only lawn-cast the rod a handful of times. The impregnation process gives a split cane rod a little more stiffness and backbone.

As you're rebuilding your projects, if you need replacement ferrules, snake guides, tip tops, or modern Struble reelseats, PM me, and I'll hook you up! I have lots of new, old stock stuff!

JR