# Push pole from pole vault tubes



## yobata (Jul 14, 2015)

I have 2 ~14' sticks of fiberglass pole vault poles (from a trash pile of a local high school) - their ends are broken. I know that I can cut the end sections and use a ferrule to make a (lets say) 19' pole, but I'm not sure what to do with the inside - *should I leave it hollow or fill with 2 part 2# foam?*


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## krash (Jan 9, 2007)

Leave it hollow... I have thought of a diy pole from vault poles, just never found a source. My ex-boss had a kid that vaulted and he went through poles either out growing or damage.

Most expandable foams expand outward and its not easy to control the rate of expansion, it would not simply expand and push the excess out the ends.


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## trekker (Sep 19, 2015)

Sounds like a very cool project.


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

fill it with beer.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Not only does the foam push off the ends but it can blow out the center as well.

Just leave it hollow.


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## fjmaverick (Sep 18, 2015)

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Blazer-Int...-Round-Orange-Fiberglass-Rod-381ODM/202498049


Maybe? I have a stiffy hybrid which can be found pretty cheap.


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## yobata (Jul 14, 2015)

fjmaverick said:


> http://m.homedepot.com/p/Blazer-Int...-Round-Orange-Fiberglass-Rod-381ODM/202498049
> 
> 
> Maybe? I have a stiffy hybrid which can be found pretty cheap.


I have a 14' and a 12' section. Both have broken ends so I will prob cut off 8-10" off each end... And the best part is that they were free! I'm hoping that they are strong enough, but considering that they are made to help people vault I'm sure it will be fine. The outsides are a little rough so some sanding / fairing will be needed --- or maybe I can wrap a coat of 6oz fiberglass and epoxy


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## Bryan_G (Sep 22, 2014)

That's awesome. I would start simple and put an end on one of them and give it a shot. 

If you do end using a ferrule, I might cut a few feet off of each. In a 14' boat you don't want 28' poll, but 14' would probably still be too short.

I have also heard of people putting heat shrink on them for grips etc. You should be able to buy it pretty cheap per/foot on ebay or something. I used flexible epoxy/appliance paint rattle cans to repaint mine last year. It worked great, but it's starting to wear off already. I'll probably try it again, and put on several coats this time. It's easy enough to do.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

My dad made three 16' pushpoles a using old polevault poles back in the early 90's. They work great. Ours are hollow and they are still in use. We beat the snot out of them, so don't be nervous about them being delicate. They have a gel coat, so they are UV protected and water doesn't seep in over time like the unsealed off-the-shelf FG tubing. The only problem is that if the color is hideous (ours are bright yellow, which isn't great if you are duck hunting) no paint will stick to the gel coat. We had to bury them deep in the grass so the birds wouldn't see them. Measure the ID of the poles and get the ferrules from Anytide or MaxGain. 

Nate


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