Question on old bamboo rod

ROFFians,

A co-worker of SWMBO's brought an old rod of his for me to take a
look at. He is getting back into flyfishing, and wondered if it would
be worth refurbishing to use, or if it has some value as an "antique".

It's a Heddon Deluxe #T80, 8', 6-wt. The finish is crazed in
several spots and two guides are off (although he has one of them).
Other than that, everything seems to be in good order (ferrules look
fine, no noticeable set to the rod, and the rest of the windings look
solid). He also has the rod bag and tube.

I told him that it would be worthwhile to get it in working order
for fishing the rivers and streams around here for bass. (It's the same
philosophy I use for old handtools. Get them in working shape and use
them; leave the "antiques" for the collectors.) But after doing a bit
of research, it looks like the rod is worth more than I thought.

So what is my question? I dunno ... maybe I'm just looking for
ROFFians to affirm that it's worth putting some money into it to be able
to use it. Maybe I'm wondering if he should really just try to sell it
and use the money to buy another rod. Maybe I'm trying to stir up a
'boo vs. graphite discussion. Maybe I'm just bored.


Chuck Vance