“Golden West”
Unknown maker, circa 1940-1950.
Restoration – Specifications – Rod Taper – Taper Chart
Background
This rod was listed in 2008 on Ebay as a Fred Divine “Golden West”, a model only made in 1923 before becoming marketed in subsequent years as the “Gloriwest” due to trademark issues with Pflueger. I bought the rod despite serious doubts about its authenticity. The price was right (and a clue).
Upon receipt, the rod was clearly not a high-quality, classic rod as Divine is known for. The wrappings looked like they were done with crochet yarn. No form of color preservative was used, apparently, as what turned out to be bright green and claret threads had some time in the distant past become a muddled mess of bleck. However, the bamboo was solid and it appeared to have some potential as a fishable 8 ½ foot trout rod.
Before buying and several times afterward, I scoured the Internet to unearthed any other fly rods with the “Golden West” name. The label suggests a Japanese origin, but the woodwork actually turns out to be pretty good. It’s yet to be seen whether it’s of any quality.
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Restoration
In December, I tore into my first rod “restoration”. Not knowing what it might have originally looked like, it’s mere guessing and a bit of freewheeling. Klean Strip KS-3 was used to strip some sort of indeterminate finish. I was unable to raise the decal with heat and stripper to remove finish over the top of it quickly dissolved the bright green ink. It did raise the label, though. Too bad the coloring didn’t hold up.
Most of the guides were bent or otherwise unsalvageable. The ferrules are all straight, chrome-plated, and glued. They aren’t pinned. All three feel solid, if not altogether snug. I’ve only gingerly joined and flexed the rod, noting no clicking. The smaller joint comes apart with a bit of a pop. The larger is looser.
As shown above, the reel seat is a cheap metal one. Thankfully, it was already loose and didn’t take much to remove.
This rod is odd in that the butt (>0.400”) is larger than normal and the tip (~0.102”) is smaller than production tiptops (~2.6 mm).
Specifications
Below follows notes on the rod.
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Segment I (butt) |
Segment II (mid) |
Segment III (tip) |
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Some very minor separations, perhaps original lack of precision in fitting. Plain, straight ferrule, chrome, glued, not pinned. Rod seat removed – was loose. Thin chrome-plated metal. Winding check is solid; chrome “Chinese hat”. Overall length: 33 ½” Reel seat tenon: 4” length, 41/64” diameter. Cork handle: 6 1/16” –upper segments loose Winding check: 3/16” long, 7/8” diameter Length from winding check: 23 1/16” Ferrule: 2 5/32” in length Node spacing: 9, 9 ½, 7, 8 ½, 8 ½, 9” |
Some very minor separation. Plain, straight ferrules, chrome, glued, not pinned. Some bamboo chipping at the small (female) ferrule, on opposite sides. There appear to be nodes at these points that may have caused trouble in trimming the ferrule station. Overall length: 33 5/32” Male ferrule: 1 23/32” Female ferrule: 1 31/32” Node spacing: 12 ¾, 9, 10 ½, 10, 7 ¾, 13” |
No separations. Plain male ferrule with 1 step, as with the other male. Tip top removed due to roughness. Newer, stiffer guides were on this section. Overall length (w/o tip top): 32 3/8” Male ferrule: 1 3/8” Node spacing: 11 ½, 13 ¾, 9, 10, 10 ¼, 11 ¾ |
Rod Taper
|
Segment |
Distance from
Butt (inches) |
Distance from
Major End |
Diameter |
Length |
Average Diameter |
Notes - All
measurements in inches |
|
I |
10 1/4 |
10 1/4 |
0.395-0.400” |
10.250 |
0.3975 |
|
|
I |
12 |
12 |
0.407-0415 |
12.000 |
0.4110 |
|
|
I |
14 |
14 |
0.392-0.393” |
14.000 |
0.3925 |
|
|
I |
18 |
18 |
0.362-0.363” |
18.000 |
0.3625 |
|
|
I |
24 |
24 |
0.326-0.332” |
24.000 |
0.3280 |
|
|
I |
31 3/16 |
31 3/16 |
0.287-0.292” |
31.188 |
0.2895 |
Base of ferrule |
|
I |
31 13/69 |
Ferrule base |
0.323” |
31.189 |
0.3230 |
|
|
II |
34 1/16 |
Ferrule edge |
0.310” |
34.063 |
0.3100 |
Joined, from seatless butt; Length of the ferrule = 1 23/32" |
|
II |
34 4/63 |
|
|
34.064 |
0.2775 |
|
|
II |
36 11/32 |
4 |
0.276-0.281” |
36.344 |
0.2785 |
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|
II |
42 11/32 |
10 |
0.258-0.268” |
42.344 |
0.2630 |
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|
II |
52 11/32 |
20 |
0.233-0.239” |
52.344 |
0.2360 |
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|
II |
63 19/32 |
31.25 |
0.189-0.199” |
63.594 |
0.1940 |
Base of ferrule |
|
II |
63 22/37 |
Ferrule base |
0.225” |
63.595 |
0.2250 |
|
|
III |
66 1/16 |
Ferrule edge |
0.217” |
66.063 |
0.2170 |
66 1/16" |
|
III |
66 4/63 |
1 3/8 |
0.183-0.185” |
66.064 |
0.1840 |
Joined, from seatless butt; Length of the ferrule = 1 3/8" |
|
III |
68 42/61 |
4 |
0.181-0.184” |
68.689 |
0.1825 |
|
|
III |
74 42/61 |
10 |
0.153-0.156” |
74.689 |
0.1545 |
|
|
III |
84 42/61 |
20 |
0.124” |
84.689 |
0.1240 |
|
|
III |
94 42/61 |
30 |
0.110-0.111” |
94.689 |
0.1105 |
|
|
III |
98 |
Tip |
0.101-0.103 |
98.000 |
0.1020 |
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Taper Chart
