Mike’s last sentence says it ALL! Thanks and good job Mike.
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The comment “Not true’’ to my original post is irresponsible, if not pompous. My example used “rods” of the same CONSISTENT dimensions, not longer and / or shorter. The “lever arm” effect, concluding that a longer rod will detect thumps and restrictions at the hook better than a shorter rod is obvious, hence a moot point and certainly not the entire picture of what an angler actually “feels” of w
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Congratulations to Michael Danek for his fine article on TNF (True Natural Frequency) in the last issue (26-5) of RodMaker magazine. Although there are those who contend that the only “feel” of what is going on below the surface is due solely due to thumps and restrictions at the hook (fish strike, bottom contact ect.), I contend and am confident that a rod with a higher TNF will transmit those t
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Alan, Tom offers good advice concerning giving the wood a “solvent bath” (DNA). I would do it for almost any wood, just to make sure and for the piece-of-mind. While Tom’s suggestion of Tru Oil and Roger’s of thread epoxy are certainly very good, I have become very fond of PermaGloss for finishing wood projects, not only rod building related but other smaller wood and composite projects as well.
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Jonathan. One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor! Rods can be as ornate or simple as the builder decides / prescribes. As you, I prefer a more “subtly elegant” rod versus the more in-your-face flashy examples. Basically, I do not add anything to a rod that is NOT required; butt wraps are not required but guide wraps are = so I concentrate my artistic efforts on the guide wraps (inlays, fades,
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Ryan, McMaster Carr sells gray ScotchBrite pads but only in a box of 20. But once you use them, you’ll find MANY other uses other than just rod building.
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Colin, Pictures are just not enough to accurately describe the severity of the gouge. Any nick or gouge in the surface of the blank will cause a stress-riser at that point! There really isn’t anything you can do about it at this point so my only suggestion is to fish the heck out of it and enjoy!!!
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One man’s benefit is another's befuddle. I spend too much time on my builds to even consider laying them down on the abrasive deck of a boat. My main point was that thumbing / directing the line back onto the spool for even line-lay is made MUCH easier with an offset butt guide, spiral OR conventional! But again, to each their own.
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Yet more fuel to support that there are numerous ways to spiral wrap a rod (and that each builder, myself included, considers his or her method the best). With all due respect, I totally disagree with Richard’s statement “There is one rule, however, that bears remembering! Always have the transition rotate to the side with the reel handle! If you lay your rod flat on the deck or other flat surfac
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Steve, Very good advice / tips from Norman and Tom, especially the white versus black sanding residue!
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Ryan. To answer your question, A PRAYER! It is unlikely that you will be able to save one or the other; but then, I don’t know your attention to detail. If it is over a large area, you may be SOL. If smaller areas such as limited to guide wraps, mildly heat and scrape the unsightly epoxy and replenish with new (admittedly easier said than done). Good luck!!!
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While I am uncertain which knot for which particular purpose Bob is referring to, the FG knot is by far the best braid-to-leader connection = smaller, stronger (distributes load over a larger area), but it can require more time to tie than other knots; a small price to pay for the ultimate knot!! Other knots certainly have their place for different applications, and rightfully so. All the differe
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Enlighten me! With a NON-level-wind reel, what is the difference if the line is stacking to one side or in the middle of the spool? Unattended, the line IS going to stack somewhere dependent on the butt guide placement. In either case, the angler will have to direct / guide the line back onto the spool for even line-lay onto the spool. My spiral method with an offset butt guide makes maneuvering
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Thanks Norman. If all those Vickers values are from the same source / test procedures, that is very important and useful information. It is reassuring to learn that my go-to Alconite is within the upper end of the scale / test samples.
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Again, I agree with Tom,”things have to conspire to make this happen, however, so I don't see this as any sort of drawback particular to spiral wrapped rods in general”. That is so true! Guides on top (conventional), guides on the bottom (spinning), guides transitioning from top to bottom (spiral wrapped) have no influence on “line-stacking” onto the reel spool! The positioning of the butt guide
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Spiral wrapped rods are a God-send, NOT a gimmick!!! They eliminate rod torque / twist which in turn eliminates wasted energy for / from the angler attempting to keep the rod in an upright position under load. In the heat-of-battle, most anglers do not even realize how much of their effort and strength is being wasted on countering the rod twist of a guides-on-top arrangement, and when fighting
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Jason, Are you looking for a temporary plastic cover to protect the cork until the customer removes it, as with many store-bought rods, or a (semi) permanent plastic cover? If the latter, Michael’s suggestion may be a good one or McMaster Carr carries it. I use a short piece of the McMaster Carr clear heat shrink tubing in lieu of a butt cap on many of my FW builds with cork, CF or birch bark gr
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Tony, I totally agree with Tom and Norman = there is absolutely no reason to underwrap the guides on a rod that light = too much extra weight. I doubt the original was! Additionally, I agree with Norman in replacing the old heavy guides with a modern replacement. If you would like to keep the original look of the guides, consider Fuji LY for a COF or NGC guide train. But why not employ KRC with
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Colin, While I may not be as experienced as some of the veteran rod builders on this site, in the 50+ years that I have been fishing, all of the plugs as you described which I’ve seen are soft, compressible foam, not rigid foam such as reel seat arbors or composite foam core material. Therefore, that suggests that such foam plugs are simply intended to keep debris out of that rod section. I used
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Rob, For what it's worth, a PROPERLY DESIGNED AND FABRICATED ferrule, weather a internal spigot, external sleeve or presently-common tip-over-butt (TOB) design, should not require any lube / wax / what-have-you to make it function properly!!! If such is needed, then it is merely putting a bandaid on an open wound and subject to questioning the integrity of the ferrule fabrication from the onset
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Spencer is basically correct although Soller Composites will color their CF / Aramid hybrid sleeving as well upon request. For all intents and purposes though, the colored woven sleeving is CF with colored FG.
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With all due respect, although Kendall states very valid points, this will be your first build while learning a lot and most likely making a few mistakes. Building a kit does have merit as well. Sure, you could spend $500.00+ on all the top-notch components but if it isn’t assembled properly or visually appealing, you’ve spent a lot of money to be disappointed. I’m confident that most builders wi
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Tom, Contrary to what many might say, there is nothing wrong with masking tape arbors, IF DONE PROPERLY. The process has been successfully employed for many years. While present-day foam / graphite arbors may be the best regarding weight, thin tape arbors (< .25in) allow the builder to produce an arbor of the exact size without the need of turning the OD of the foam / graphite arbor. As long
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I never forget to install the pull-through loop; yea right. The sign of a true craftsman is one who can transform a mistake into something beneficial.
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Joel, As Robert said, “welcome to the addiction”. And congratulations on finding the best rod building forum on the internet. It contains a good mix of veteran builders, those new to the craft and everything in between, all willing to help if you simply ask. You stated, “I know this will not be a cheap or easy endeavor”. It is as cheap or expensive, easy or difficult as you make it!!! Go at it
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That-a-boy Dale. With anything purchased from Soller Composites, you WILL get what you pay for, along with probably the best selection of fabric type, color and size choices available. I am very interested in viewing the fruits of your labor! GOOD LUCK!!!
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Dale, Consider the following cliches; “you get what you pay for”, “let the buyer beware”, “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is”, “don’t cut off your nose to spite your face”. If the CFX is 1 ? 3 the cost of the 820 / 824, that should send-up red flags! Just because others may use the CFX has nothing to do with its properties and qualities. And as I mentioned, Soller also has a pletho
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John, As if the DC777 wasn’t already good enough, you and Roger acknowledged customer requests and evolved it to yet another higher level. For those incapable of fabricating their own rod lathe, the DX777 will shine amongst all the other variants. I wouldn’t expect anything less from you guys!!!
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Reggie, While I have not inexperienced the drastic dimensional differences in roller guide sizing that you suggest, simply ask the intended supplier what their ‘sizes’ actually represent for your particular application / build. If they cannot afford you with a proper answer = look elsewhere. I am very fond of All American Roller Guides and Steve and / or Laurie Gustlin will answer ANY question
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Dale, You should be able to purchase 1-quart kits (epoxy and hardener) from many suppliers. As Tom mentioned, you’ll probably have to spend more than $50.00, but a quart kit should produce at least 30 average sized grips, probably more. And the epoxy is unlikely to go bad. For my truly structural laminates, I have trusted PTM&W for over 30 years and the hardener is available in pot lifes of
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