At 3PM on Saturday at the National Rod Builders Show, we'll be having a "Manufacturers Spotlight" presentation. This will allow the manufacturers who have purchased booth space at the show to unveil their latest products and answer your questions in a seminar type setting. Included on the panel will be:

Bill Batson - Batson Enterprises
Roger Seiders - Flex Coat Company
Ralph O'Quinn - Trondak/U-40
Jason Brunner - St. Croix
Joe Meehan - American Tackle
Andy Renzetti - Renzetti, Inc.

This gives us a pretty good assortment of rod building product knowledge and your questions need not be limited to simply those products offered by these companies. If you have ever wondered about the hardness of the various ceramic rings, somebody on the panel will likely have your answer. If you ever wondered about the make up of certain blanks or fabrication techniques, somebody on this panel will have your answer. If you've ever wondered about which adhesives are best for which type assemblies, somebody on this panel will likely have your answer. This is your opportunity to find out what you want to about about the various bits and pieces that we all use in our rod building endeavors.

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If a person doesnt make it to this convention, will there be such a thing as a tape available for purchase of these presentations for a person to buy. I know for myself I cant get the time of from my full time job in order to attend this year.( found out about this to late)

No, in fact you wouldn't want such a thing. Believe it or not, but these type seminars are great in person, but terrible to watch after the fact. Far too much back and forth between the audience and the presenter to "flow" very well on tape or DVD. There are some copyright problems as well.

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Ok, Ray ... which one of us is going to the panel discussion & will take notes? This is an opportunity I'm going to be sad to miss out on - but someone has to "stay at home" (in the booth). I'll just have to try to catch up with these folks at the social

Take a dictation tape recorder with you . Tha'll solve the problem.

Bill in WV

Wondering - The manufacturers panel could be a very rewarding experience. There are many issues that builders have that may be quite difficult to answer "on the fly" in a meeting such as this. I would really give the guys on the panel an opportunity to think for a few moments before replying to some very important issues. Some answers will surely get a "skeptical" response from the attendees. If there was an opportunity for the manufacturers to gather and present some "proof source" data it might make the meeting more meaningful. I am proposing that builders who have issues that they would like discussed in the open forum use this board as a method to submit the question in writing as soon as possible.

My question: Does TiCh plating (deposition) on the surface of highly stressed stamped austenitic stainless steel, i.e. 304, guide frames make the frame more susceptible to chloride stress corrosion cracking. Is the material stock for the guide frames passivated prior to undergoing the bending processes. Passivation involves etching the material with nitric acid to remove the free iron particles imbedded in the metal surface. This process is a standard requirement on most industries where the stainless encounters more than 10 ppb chloride. These free iron inclusions in the stainless steel are the sites that the chloride ions in sea water attack to initiate cracking.

I have noticed a higher failure rate of guides with plating. The titanium guides will solve the problems the selection is too limited. I am wondering if I should be using the TiCh plated guide frames at all. I routinely break the seal of the plating by foot grinding.

Is there any real data on cracking in the industry?

Thanks for any comments that the panel may have. I will be listening.

Bill Stevens

Bill -
Now that you've asked the question... I hope you'll be there to translate the answer for those of us who squandered our youth away from school. I think I followed about half of your question. I think it boils down to "What , if any process do you use on the stainless steel to prevent saltwater corrosion?" --- Is that it?? I too routinely grind away the plating on the guide feet - simply can't be helped. I, perhaps blithely assumed the epoxy over the thread would take care of the problem. Should we be dipping or painting the guides before wrapping?