I respect all opinions but would have to question if Shai already knew how to flock grips, weave, do woodturning, balancing or all the ins and outs of stand up, surf and musky rods before reading about them in Rodmaker. I wonder if he really already knew about the true definitions and meanings of modulus, stress, elongation and that type of thing. Did he know how to make a vertical cork lathe, a water break free tool, mechanical mixer, feather inlays, blank extensions and that sort of thing.How about how to correctly fix a rod that has been broken in tow. Or how to make your own multi-piece rods.

All I can say is that if Shai hasn't found much truly new and unique in Rodmaker then brother you are way ahead of me and probably everyone else in rod building. Please share your knowledge with us!!!

Let's not jump on Shai or anyone else. They expressed an opinion. Not everyone will like the magazine. Neither I nor anyone else is ever going to publish a rod building magazine that everyone will like. And that's a fact.

.................

I will not jump on anyone but will make some comments. First is that I think Rodmaker has been very valuable in dispelling many of the more common rod building myths that have been around so very long. How many times had you heard that if you didn't position the spine in a certain way that your rod would twist on you when you fished it? It was Rodmaker that dispelled that notion. What about the Sportsfishing excise tax? It was Rodmaker that was first to give us the real scoop and the correct way of figuring it. How many times did you hear that before you glued parts together you should gouge them with sandpaper. Rodmaker cleared that one up too.

I find a lot that is new and unique in the magazine and more than that, I trust what I read in it because I know the writers are not just rod builders who sat down and cooked something up. No offense to those gifted builders who really know their business but I think many times some of these myths in rod building are coming from people who build rods but are not really qualified to write about the things that they do. Some magazines will print anything that is sent to them. I get the feeling that Tom is pretty careful about what he prints and makes sure that the guys who write it know whereof they speak. What I am saying is that I firmly trust the information in Rodmaker.

I build a lot of rods and have my own ways of doing things and some knowledge on the subject. But I am in no way qualified to write anything technical about rod building. Any publisher would be a fool to print anything I wrote in that vein but I can promise you that some would put it in print anyway just to have something to fill the pages. I am glad Rodmaker is not that way.

Tom,

You are to be commended for holding your tongue and producing a fine collection of material for this magazine.

I have only been a subscriber for less than a year and I haven't found fault with the magazine organization, content or topics. I had only read a couple of issues and I had to place an order for back issues.

I really enjoy the "Fold Out" pages, truly rod building works of art.

The best part of the whole magazine is the lack of advertisements. I can't over emphasize how nice it is not to have to "hunt" for the correct page where the remainder of the article can be found. I get really tired of all the ads in other magazines.

I always read the last article first. I have found this article to be most entertaining and insightful. From there I read it cover to cover regardless of the topic. I have always found helpful insight even if the articles don't apply to my current knowledge base or application of building custom rods.

The contributors to magazine should be commended for taking the time to document their knowledge and experiences.

Keep up the good work

Happy Holidays to all

TMAC CUSTOM RODS
Michael T. Durgan

I monitor this board daily but rarely post remarks. I will make an exception this time. I find the magazine to be outstanding! I monitor and study the comments and resources on the web site. I use this information and find it to be an excellent resource. I build rods as a hobby and struggle to keep up with the knowledge, new ideas and techniques I read in the magazine and get from this board. However, everybody is entitled to their opinion.

This is my opinion: Rodmaker magazine and this web site are excellent!

Not that it matters, but I don't cut articles and skip them around in the magazine. They all run start to finish for easy reading. I also use type and leading that makes it easy on the eyes. As it turns out, both create a publication that is not exactly advertiser friendly, but I have gladly traded advertising space in favor of informational content. I didn't start RodMaker as a money making venture - only as something that this craft had not had previously.

I have never solicited advertising and never will. I'll accept what I can find space for, but the informational contect will always come first. RodMaker is not profitable and never will be, but I'll expand it and make it better as money and time allow.

And still, it won't be for everybody. And I'm fine with that.

................

Every one sure has the right to have their say.
On the other hand, some folks would complain if they were hung with a new rope....Mr.Kirkman, I will take his subscription, who and how do I contact. whops I found it under Rod crafter Mag.

John C.

You gotta be kiddin' me

HAH! i am NOT alone!!!!! hello everybody. i really think it's cool that rodmaker magazine exists, and since i work in the publishing biz (photographer, editor-role past years) i appreciate the work tom puts into its production.

i DO empathize with feelings that there is something lacking. personally, i had heard so many great things about the magazine, and each cover shot i saw (on the back issue order page) featured wonderful fly rods that i signed up pretty fast. although i saw the value in the articles for the overall rodbuilding community in the first 2 issues i received, they offered very little for my burgeoning interest in fly rods. or at least nothing which grabbed my attention (and i read everything down to the finest point type in the display ads).

i just received my 3rd or 4th issue and it's starting to offer articles that i can really use. i'm not doing this as a business, just for myself and friends at this point. as an example, the engraving article really piqued my interest and i appreciated the depth the article offered.

what i would say to the original poster is "give it time." as others have said, you can't please everybody all the time, but hold off on final judgement. look at a few more issues before cancelling, or a full years' offering of information before considering not renewing your subscription.

eric zamora
fresno, ca.

I don't think Shai knows the backgrounds of the people who write for Rodmaker and it's not fair to assume these aren't among the best experts in the field of rod building. I'd also like to know who he-she thinks are the experts that should be writing the articles and what type information they would provide. Personally I find the topics in Rodmaker very in-depth and quite varied in nature. If Shai knows of better writers and better information, I hope he-she (sorry I don't know which for that name) will fill us in.

It's funny that Eric mentions that he would like to see more fly rod info in the magazine. I've heard others say that Rodmaker is only about fly rod building and they wish it would have more saltwater stuff!

Considering that the rod building world is made up of a truly wide and huge variety of people and rod types, I can't really imagine that Rodmaker could ever be more versatile than it is now. There are many articles that don't interest me but I also realize that the articles that do interest me are the very ones that may not interest somebody else. This is a huge audience people and I don't think any of us could do any better in satisfying such a wide variety of builders and rod types.

I hope this is not the start of more problems!!!

Everybody's intitled to their opinion but this sounds to me to be more than a complaint about ROdMaker magazine.

Hope I'm wrong - We and by that I mean Tom does not need those headackes again

Hank

Hi Folks,

Tom, there is absolutely no need for you to defend your RodMaker mag. It is a fantastic gift to rod designing and building. Too many folks are new to rod building and have no idea how hard it was to get info. Many builders would not help others. That still exists but only in very small doses.

I bet they people that complain are the very ones that never contribute.

Keep up the great work and I bet 99.9% of the subscribers are very happy.

Capt Neil Faulkner

Ok i am not trying to talk down about the magazine i was just syaing from what i've seen i'm alittle let down from what i've read is its going to get better. If it does fine goood for you Tom. I wasent forced to subscribe i wanted to. I hope this issue i got is not as good as it gets. I for one dont mind the adds at all i am always looking for parts and other Builders. So tom i dont want my money back i just wanna see it get better. I know you guys are trying i am looking foward to the next issue. I will never cancel @#$%& i've been getting playboy for ten years and all its done is get worse lol.

John,

Sorry, but the next magazine won't be better - it will be exactly the same in terms of size, ads, quality and scope of content, etc.

If you were very disappointed in this one, I really think you should consider cancelling and use your hard earned money to buy another blank or some components or something. I just can't imagine you'll like the next magazine or the one after that. I really don't think it's for you.

Whatever you decide to do is fine with me. No hard feelings.

..........

I respect John's right to be dis-satisfied with anything, including RodMaker. As I said it's not for everybody. And the last thing I would want is for anybody to spend money on something that they don't like just because others believe they should like it. John knows what he likes and I'd rather see him spend his money on something he'll find useful. Thanks for all the kind words.

..........

I meant no offense by my comments and was not attemting to put the magazine down , I appologize , I think I put the wrong words to what I was trying to say . I only meant that it seems like I can come here everyday of the week and get almost exactly the same content that I do from the magazine which I have to wait for.None of the information is bad or worthless , quite the opposite , The articles are very well written and informative , yet here we are again at "well I can just go to the website for that" And yes the last Issue fetured Hiro Tanaka's work , Which is the most incredible thread art I've ever seen but all the same it is in the photo gallery here . Maybe I have not recieved enough issues to truly decide weather I like the magazine or not . I just think it would be nice and to see some stuff in the mag that I won't see here first .

Shai

I really don't think you can get the same info here. Not even close. There were tons of discussions about the CCS on this site and people were making all sorts of assumptions and mistakes that guys who got the articles in the magazine didn't make. Hardly an hour goes by when I don't see someone ask a question here and I think to myself, "They wouldn't be having this problem or asking this question if they subscribed to the magazine."

This is my site so I'm a bit predjudiced in regarding it as a great place to get quality information from a wide variety of knowledgeable rod builders. But I do not think it even begins to compare to the in-depth information contained in the magazine. Not even close. You just can't do in a simple message board post what you can do in several pages and with crisp photographs on any subject. The magazine just has a huge advantage due to the type of medium involved. In fact, I think people who rely soley on message boards and websites for important information are badly shortchanging themselves.

But don't take this the wrong way. You're certainly entitled to your opinion and suggestions are always appreciated. I thank you for taking to time to comment. Many others may well feel just as you do.

............

I'm a fairly new builder - 3 years, give or take a year.

The approach I took was to try to use every resourse available for learning things pertaining to rodbuilding. RodMaker Magazine and this board have been treasured resources for me as I try to "get better" at the craft.

There's no better sources of information and general sharing of information that I've found. Great resources (magazine & web site), in my view.

Stan

I think John C. got what he wanted, its easy to attack someone who will not attack back, as Tom is professional and polite, John C. is like the bloke who hits you from behind. Last I looked we lived in a democratic society, John C. is free to speak his thoughts, our responses to him is just what he wants, for what reasons I don't know. In Australia we have a name for these guys, but allas Tom won't let me post it. John C. I pay four times as much for the magazine, personally I don't want to play with my rod while I look at Rodmakers centre pages, and I reccon you wouldn't like to have naked blokes in the magazine, and this is how the females readers feel. I buy it to learn something can't say I have seen any books, magazines published by yourself, or learnt anything from you.

Regards
Myles Boon
Brisbane, Australia

After reading these comments I'd have to say that neither John C or Shai P are qualified to make these comments about the magazine. We're talking about people who have only seen one or a just a few issues and yet they have cast doubts on something like 8 years of information? When they've spent some time reading a couple dozen back issues then maybe their opinions will carry more weight.

I would suggest both take a hard look at this~

[www.rodbuilding.org]

When I see someone say that Rodmaker articles aren't in-depth or don't go deep enough I immediately think here's somebody who is forming an opinion based on a single or just a couple of issues.

I also think this message board is a great resource but there is no way it compares to the magazine in terms of content. If I had to I could do without this website, but the magazine has improved my abilities and knowledge as a builder by leaps and bounds in just 3 years. I've learned more in those 3 years than the previous 10 or 12. Thanks to the magazine.

I think what Shai is overlooking is that the people who write in Rodmaker and who contribute on this board and on the photo page are the top level in rod building. You can't go any higher. If you're looking beyond these then you'll probably come up empty. Nothing wrong with wanting more or better but I think what you have in your hands now and on this site is the very best available. You just don't know it yet.