Hello,

I am currently building a Shakespeare Ugly Stick for my son. This will be my second rod build. The Ugly Stick has a rough surface due to the way the rod was made. I own an Ugly stick and it is much smoother than the blank. My question is, what is the appropriate finish to apply to the whole rod?

Thanks,

Ken

If you have one of the Howald Process type rods or even just an unsanded blank, simply applying finish of any sort is not going to get rid of the ridges you have on there now. You would have to sand them down in order to get a smooth surface finish. That's a lot of work and can be tricky but if you are certain you want to do this come back and say so and we'll try to get you started on the right foot.

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Tom,

Thanks for your reply. I assume the rod is of the type you describe(Howald process). It looks as though the rod is spiral wound. So if you would, please explain the correct way to finish this rod. I have a home made lathe that runs from 30 to 6000 rpm, depending on which power takeoff I use.

Thanks again,

Ken