Oops!

Broken quiver tip in need of attention

Last time I was out fishing, I broke one of my quiver tips while moving pegs. It was not the end of the world as I had a spare with me. Once I was home I thought about the next action to take. Should I just throw it away and buy another one or maybe I could repair it. A post on MaggotDrowning.com generated lots of suggestions as to how to repair it while other favoured just buying a new one. In the end I opted to repair it.

Heat up the tip ring and Pull

My first thought was to simply cut it down to the second ring. Then somebody on the forum mentioned that it would be better to cut off the second ring and replace it with the tip ring complete with its shaft. The ring will just pull off once it has been lightly heated. I used a gas stove lighter and it slipped straight off much easier than I expected.

Now I knew I had separated the tip ring successfully I cut down the tip by rolling it over a wooden strip and applying light pressure with a scalpel until I had cut all the way through, leaving a nice clean end.

Roll and cut several times...

...to produce a clean end

The tip end was offered up to the new tip but it was obvious that it was not going to fit without some attention. The shaft had residue of the original glue still in place, reducing the clearance and preventing the new tip sliding in easily. The shaft was re-bored using a 3/64 inch diameter drill fitted into a pin chuck.  This can be achieved without the chuck, if you don't have one, by rolling the drill bit between the thumb and forefinger.

Removing the excess glue from the tip-ring shaft using a 3/64 inch drill bit.

After the old glue is removed the tip will slide onto the cut down tip with ease. A test fit confirms this and now it is ready for assembly.

It fits!

The tip is glued on using Araldite (or any other make of epoxy resin adhesive). Only a small amount is all that is needed but the minimum amount that can be squeezed is much too much. Just like Mr Colman (as in mustard), Mr Araldite must have made more money on what was not used than what was!

Mixing the epoxy resin glue - thoroughly!

The glue is applied to the cut down tip using a coctail stick and the tip is pushed home. Ideally a small amount of glue should just be visible at the joint. This will help to seal the joint against the ingress of water.

The tip has been reattached

Before the glue sets, make sure the rings align perfectly otherwise the line will bind and performance will be severely hampered. Once the glue was dry the tip was repainted in a bright colour - I chose a bright yellow so It is instantly distinguished from the full quiver tips at a glance. I also scratched of the rating  so not to confuse in the future. Once the paint was dry, the tip was given a coat of clear nail-varnish (Don't tell Sue!) to protect and seal it.

Perfect alignment

The repaired tip ready for use.

Now I have an odd tip that may, or may not, prove to be useful. I decided to buy a new quiver tip but discovered that the best price I could get for a genuine Garbolino tip was around £10. I then realised that if I bought a new rod it comes with three tips and it costs less than £30! It was a no-brainer I ordered a 9ft picker/feeder to compliment the 8ft and 11ft rods I already have.

Ralph.