I recently finished building a point blank 73MXF, and used Gen 4 low build on the rod, and did 3 light coats. After the epoxy had dried for over 24 hours, when I put a little stress on the first two guides (Fuji KL-H 20 Titanium SiC, and a KL-H 12), they appeared to flex a little away from the blank, and the epoxy moved with it. Right where the guide turns from the Foot to the frame of the ring,
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I'm getting ready to start my next rod build: a 7-1/2' 4WT I'm outfitting with black guides and clear wraps. Anyone have any tips on restoring the color of the guide foot after dressing it? In other words, I expect my guide foot dressing to remove some of the black finish that'll be visible under clear wraps. Is it as simple as touching it up with an India marker or something else? My only co
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Hello all, This is my first post here but I've been reading & learning here for some time (years). I'm not new to rod building (built my first rods in the early 90's) but have only built maybe 10 or so. I recently decided to repair a Lamiglass IC 70 MH Inshore Classic that broke cleanly about 2' down from the tip. I followed the repair instructions from Ralph O'Quinn in the library here.
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I noticed on commercial built rods that manufacturers extended epoxy pass the start of their thread wraps so it sort of ramps down onto the blank. I like the looks of squared flat wraps so on my rods I always use the start of the thread wrap as sort of a straight edge and never go pass the thread wraps EXCEPT for where the guide feet and tunnels are. (I don’t have a high rpm turner for applying f
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Making a few rods for kids -- I just wondered if there was a process for adding a coat of colorant such as glitter or color-shift powder to carbon fiber grips (using cfx grips). Use rod finish (Diamond II, etc.), mix in powder and go? Thank you
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A good friend of mine has asked me to build a spinning rod as a gift for his son who is graduating high school. He has seen the rods I have build and I keep my builds pretty basic. At most I may add a trim band but I am more about function over flash. He asked me to do something a little more decorative for his son since it is his graduation gift. The blank is natural with clear coat and he decid
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So I tried silk first time and I'm hoping the white blends in better as epoxy cures. I actually wore gloves tonight thinking I need to do everything I can to keep the thread clean. But I'm thinking I may have introduced some dirt.
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I've been obsessing over a couple of projects and the current step includes trying to get the epoxy on this switch rod to lay flat over the base wrap. I've been to a point where I was calling it a done deal but knowing the base wrap, when viewed in certain lighting, had waves in the epoxy, well, it bothered me.. I had posted this pic the other day but it will serve here as my example of wha
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Hey all, I was looking back through some posts and was hoping to gather what yall do instead of foregrips. I imagine there's a balance somewhere between short light foregrips and whatever amount of thread/epoxy it takes to not use a fore grip as it pertains to finished weight and sensitivity. I think the biggest thing is blank feel on spinning rods, much easier with no foregrip. Don you u
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I’m working on my very first build - a cheap kit that had everything for 20 bucks. I decided to see what some different techniques felt like adding some flare to the wraps. Single/double inlay wasn’t too bad, spiral inlay with size D and smaller than A felt alright, spiral with A and smaller than A was tough - plus at that time I decided to give hand tensioning the thread which worked better in o
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While Ghost or Invisible Wraps may certainly not be the norm for most, some of that may have to do with unsatisfactory results from previous attempts resulting in wraps that did not live up to their name, invisible. After my first attempt, which proved to be quite disappointing, I sought advice from the knowledgeable members of this site; I am so glad and thankful that I did! I cannot remember th
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Ok, so I'm sure the first question might be why? It's a rod I've used for several years and it's beginning to show its age. One eye is damaged and needs replaced. When I first learned about rod building and the importance of the spine. I decided to check my store bought ones. Shocker, this one isn't on spine. There are other issues and I'm sure it would be more cost effective to pitch it and star
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I recently ordered both size 4 Fuji KT running guides and size 4 Fuji L running guides in preparation for a build I am currently working on. The model KT is the official KR Concept running guide, while the model L is the running guide designed for the original Fuji Concept system. Looking at the two size 4 guides side by side, a few things stood out. The KTs look bulkier and heavier, with thicker
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I've posted a couple times before but never have made an intro. Recently realizing it's ok to post pics here I thought I'd throw a few out there of a switch rod I have just finished. My Name is Bob and I'm from the Yukon Territory Canada. This rod is my 11th and if I had to pick what I have the most trouble with it would be the epoxy. Seems it's a fight every time but I'm slowly getting more c
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In the search that I ran here, I got a related topic that I posted 4 years ago and the next most recent after that was over 10 years ago. So, I am inquiring as to what the most current opinions might be for the best thread to use for “invisible wraps”. I cannot read the name of the Japanese silk (YLI?) that I purchased 4 years ago. While it worked, it just wasn’t quite as clear as other invisib
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As the title implies, I am interested in learning more about the significance of the “tone” an individual blank emits when struck or tapped on its side or dropped on its butt. It is very intriguing to me after learning about it a few months ago here on this site; and it has been mentioned a few times since. Apparently it is nothing new = some responding veterans claim to have been using the proce
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I've searched the forum but have not found any suggestions. I'm building on the above 8'3" blank that is rated at: PE 2-4, 45-100g lures. I'm building it as a CASTING MODEL rather than spinner, and think that 11 guides should do it, plus the tip. The guides are Fuji double foot KWs from sz. #16 down to #8s. Anyone build on this blank as a casting model. I'm looking for a starting point
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I'm replacing all the wraps on a G Loomis spinning rod (SAR1084S) that has been heavily used by a local guide. All the wraps are cracked. The question is, how can I clean up this blank without sanding and recoating it? I've wiped it with denatured alcohol 3 times and acetone twice. It's getting better but it is still funky. Just keep wiping it down, or does anyone have a secret sauce to spee
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I was reading the thread about some ideas for nylon thread colors on a dark blank, and silk thread was mentioned. It made me curious. I am looking at a site that offers Kimono silk thread. They have some beautiful colors available, and I really think I want to give them a try. But I need to know some things first. My first questions are .... the thread this site offers is 100 wt. How close is
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I’ve looked for answers to this, but have not been able to find it. I put finish on a cross wrap the other night and had some bubbles that I wanted to remove. I use my alcohol burner to flame the finish and noticed what appeared at the time to be color from the thread leaching into the finish. This may not be the case, but the black color seemed to be coming directly from my diamond wrap and spre
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First time for everything... Coated a rod yesterday morning and just pulled it down only to find it's still tacky long after it should be. This was my finish coat. What are my next steps? Just re-coat?
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Latest build places guide about on the ferrule. First I have encountered this. Have not paid much attention to how other rods have been wrapped in this situation. If I wrap as usual I will have about 1/4 inch gap between my ferrule wrap and guide wrap. Do I do that. Or wrap it all as one. I typically do a trim wrap on both ends of the ferrule and a trim wrap on the guide wrap. If I do as one wra
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I made a rod and coated the guides with just one coat of Perma Gloss. I really like the look of just one coat, Except for a slight sheen, it looks like you've applied nothing on the wraps yet they are locked in place. Is one coat enough? I did go back and make sure I had some more in the foot areas to prevent water intrusion. That stuff is the bomb, so old skool.
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I was intrigued with Pete Holloway’s “Easy Spiral System” article in the last issue of RodMaker magazine. While I have developed my own method of producing spiral-wrapped rods which work extremely well, somewhere between the simple spiral and the 0-60-120-180 systems (but NEVER a 90* bumper), utilizing the actual blank under load to determine the rotational positions of the transition guides seem
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Just finished an inshore rod. Northfork composites SW 703. Would appreciate suggestions regarding what to use to coat my signature. Tried epoxy and flex coat in the past and didn’t like the results. What are you using? Appreciate suggestions. Al D’Addario
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I'm interested in trying some Fuji T-KTSG single foot guides on a med-heavy saltwater rod. I'll be spiral wrapping the rod. I'm not concerned about the guide frames failing but I am a little worried that the guides may pull out of the wrap. I always use a Forhan lock with single foot guides but this single foot guide splits and has 2 "legs" that cradle the guide ring. I'm thinking I
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Some fishing rods are prettier than others but I rarely have seen objective proof that one rod out-performs another. Is this due to a lack of actual difference or a lack of curiosity?
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Do any of you coat them with anything after you have filled them down to prevent rust mainly in a saltwater environment? I have one rod I built that the guide feet rusted on.
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Hello all, I'm trying out the KR Guide System for the first time and I've noticed something when using the GPS for KR Guides. I don't seem to have a selection for 40lb braid which is what the customer for will be using with this rod. The options that GPS gives are 20H, 10H, and 5.5M for 15-20lb braid (the largest I could select). If I selected 10-14lb mono (closest line size diameter to what th
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I'm working on handle options for a couple ice rods I'm working on. I wanted to use a composite reel seat but all the arbor options I'm finding are pre-drilled too large. I prefer not to use tape as I feel it ends up dampening the feel of the rod. So here's my question, has anyone ever experimented with filling the space with a rigid closed cell expanding polyurethane foam? I've seen pre-made
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