any one use west system epoxy
thank you Jim

I have use West System Epoxy over the years for many purposes that have all worked very well.

I have not used any of the West system Epoxy for rod building however.

I have used West system epoxy for laminating, for adhering fiberglass, for large structural construction and it has always been an excellent selection of products to do those jobs that I have asked it to do.

For any rod construction, I have used 5 minute, 10 minutes, 15 minute, 30 minute and 1 hour epoxy of various brands over the years and it has always performed very well for the use.

For any sort of cork ring gluing - not to the blank - I use titebond III. To glue wood parts together, I use Titebond III - as long as it is not the bond to the rod blank. For any gluing to the rod blank, I have always used one of the various cure times of epoxy for excellent results.

If I am going to glue rod ring onto the rod blank and also together at the same time - I will use 30 or 60 minute cure epoxy, so that I can glue up all of the cork rings, the rod seat arbor, the rod seat, and the fore grip rings - all with individual pieces before the single mix of epoxy glue sets up. I prefer the use of a single mix of epoxy to glue things together since there is only a single glue set time and a very uniform and complete cure of the glue is made, and one does not have to worry about gluing another piece of a rod, up to a piece of the rod that has already been glued in place with the glue already set.

This is the same principle that water dam builders use when they start the pour of a water dam. The entire concrete pour is continuous so that the new concrete pour is being poured on top of cement that has not cured. This insures a void free very strong uniform joint throughout the concrete dam. The same principle applies when I do a single epoxy glue mix with many individual pieces of cork ring, reel seat and seat arbor that are all used in the single assembly of a single fishing rod.

Be safe

thank you, I use all the items you mentioned

I have used West Systems for many years. For rod building, it is my go to for laminating carbon over foam grips.

Any of their standard epoxies are excellent adhesives for all around rod building tasks. To my knowledge they do not offer a top coat thread epoxy.

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Fred, Are you using one of Rileys foam core Molds, If so how much foam do you use per pour for a full fill? I have the 6lb foam I just need the total ounces or close, this would be after I mix it. Thanks very much! If you can help. Jaa

Hello Jim & Jay.

Sorry Jim I have not used the West Products since the 70's doing fiberglass, I'm Sure they have changed a lot since then.

As for Jay, my notes say 28g. of part A in a plastic cup then pour 28g. part B (Don't take the cup off the scale while measuring).


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Thanks Bob, Just what I needed, I ordered the silicone pvc mold in early 2016 with some carbon fiber, Just now getting to play with it, No Directions came with it. Thanks again Jaa

Jay - sorry for the delayed response. I don't pour my own cores. I cannot justify enough molds when I need grips for a bunch of rods, just easier/cheaper to order cores.