Not that crazy, Herb! My process is nearly the same as yours, except I pour boiling water in a jar that both bottles fit in and stay upright. Everything else is the same, and 4 out of 5 builds only require one coat of epoxy. I also make sure my rod room is around 75 degrees. I haven't tried this with other brands...this process works every time with TM-no need to experiment!
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Pac Bay
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Thanks for the replies! I was way overthinking and over-worrying about this! I did a combination of what both Roger and David suggested...I dry sanded on my lathe using 320, then wet sanded with a bucket and 400 and 600 grit. Turned out awesome, and took about 30 minutes for the first blank, and about 20 minutes for the second. Good call on the particle mask-wasn't nearly as dusty as turning
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I just received the Delta blanks I ordered from NFC in December, and plan to sand them smooth. I've read every post I could find on how to do this and think I have a pretty good idea, but just want to confirm before I get started. I plan to start with 400 grit, and finish with 600. Both wet and dry sand, using a block. It's my understanding that these ridges are leftover resin, and while my g
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I've ran into this same situation before. Instead of a surface to pack the thread against, start your thread wrap with a little more tension than usual, make 5 or 6 wraps, then pack your wrap slightly between the blank and the check. Return your thread tension to what you usually use, and complete your wrap. Once you apply epoxy over the wrap, you won't see the gap.
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I'm not familiar with the blank you mentioned, but as an avid catfish guy, I prefer a mod-fast action over moderate. 50% of the catfish I catch are less than 10lbs, 35% are in the 10-30 lb range, and 15% over 30, with only a few each year over 50lbs. I prefer the slightly faster action for these smaller fish in the majority. I'd ask your client where the majority of his caught fish land on the
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12/2 and 12/21 and nothing yet either.
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I recently built a rod for a buddy on a two tone Rodgeeks blank, and he's asked me to build a rod for each of his sons. One chose dark green metallic for the butt section, and gold metallic for the tip section, the other gold for the butt and pearl white for the tip. From the picture on Rodgeeks site, the gold appears more like "old" gold...making matching components a nightmare! These
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I was leaning towards the Pro Wrap Deep Blue, or Sulky Metallic blue. I'll give Rodgeeks a shout.
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Looking for metallic blue thread to match Rodgeeks blue metallic paint...can anyone help get me close? If not a match, a complimenting blue metallic thread? (Hard to tell from photos!) Thanks in advance!
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Thanks, guys. I hit it with a scotch Brite pad and it shined right up!
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I'm building a trolling rod, and liked the look of Batson's texalium tubing for a handle, but it's not as smooth as I expected, nor as glossy (not sure I chose the best adjectives, but I was expecting the feel of graphite tubing, and the shine of polished aluminum, as the photos seem to illustrate). I don't dislike the look and feel enough to coat with epoxy, just wondering if a coat or two of P
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Search for trim bands on YouTube...several videos there.
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I thought as much...thanks!
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I'm building a trolling rod for walleye, and the reel my buddy plans to use is a Penn Warfare size 30. The reel is pretty beefy compared to my baitcasters, so I could use some help choosing a reel seat. I know he'll never be throwing casts with it, and he holds the fore grip and bellies the butt when retieving. Should I still use a casting seat with a trigger, or a size 18 or so spinning seat?
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A buddy in Minnesota asked me to build a trolling rod for walleye. Looking for a two piece, medium power, moderate action blank around 10' in length. Can anyone steer me in the right direction? Thanks!
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Still a rookie myself...coming up on 2 years and 3 dozen rods. Took a few rods to get a perfect finish, and a few after that to get consistently perfect finishes. Higher speed has made all the difference for me as far as clean lines and keeping the coats as thin as possible, but my first 2 dozen were finished with the same dryer you're using. Thin coats is the answer, and as level as possible.
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I have the same issue. I modified my thread carriage and installed a thread tension rod so I could move down the blank and turn by hand while still maintaining tensionon the thread as I back up. If I'm hand turning a guide from start to finish, I use large hair bands and loop over the rod at the supports and attach to the wing nuts. This provides enough tension on the blank to keep it from bac
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As a rookie, I'd be completely lost without all the input from this forum!
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Steam worked! Thanks a million for the help!!! Paul...can you elaborate on the bottle adapters you referred to, or maybe the issue of Rod Maker I can find the information in? Thanks again, guys!
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I'm working on a rod with an EVA fighting butt. I put at least a 1/8" layer of masking tape over it before I put it in the lathe, and thought I was being careful not to over-tighten, but apparently I did, as the jaws left minor indents in the EVA. It's been a day since I removed the tape, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. This is a donation rod for an event on June 24th, so I
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I know Get Bit Outdoors sells it.
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Thanks, Tom. I gathered that PG wasn't going to be the best overcoat for the Magic Marble over carbon fiber, so I'll keep my practice runs on EVA until I get a feel for it...simple economics! Thanks for your input! Your video on applying PG to carbon grips really made it easy to make them pop, and your input saved me a lot of grief!
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Thanks for the feedback, guys!
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I just ordered some Magic Marble paint and some EVA to test it it on. I've watched every YouTube video I could find, but have a few questions for anyone who has used it before that weren't covered in the videos I've watched. On EVA, what, if anything, should I use to seal it? I'm going to practice/test on black EVA using red, white, and blue Magic Marble...will those colors hold true on the b
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Going to try epoxy over cork (or maybe Perma Gloss). Should I use cork sealer first?
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Thanks, Tom! It certainly is nothing like the other epoxies I've used, and I think for the inlays I'll stick to that for the depth, but the PG looks nice on my UL, and it certainly has a place on my shelf. Thanks again!
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I'm working on my 19th and 20th build...the latter being an ultra light rod bought on clearance and built to the minimum for personal use. I posted a question a month ago concerning snake skin and feather inlays, and one of the replies suggested finishing with Perma Glosss. I'm still in the "try everything once" stage of rod building, but am confident enough to test PG on my bare bone
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X10 to Drew's comment. I'm on my 17th build, and each one gets better! While I can find imperfections, no one else is likely to notice. Put those efforts into the next build!
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I did just what you suggested, Roger...before I read your post! Definitely easier to apply at the faster speeds, with nice lines and a thin coat without the need to let it sag and wick away the excess. Looking forward to my next finish! Thanks again for all the input!
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