Guys,
I have a source for some funky exotic woods and would like to make a few reel seat inserts for the next few rods. After lathing the wood to size, what do I finish the surface with? These will be freshwater flyrods. Thanks much.
Steve

Steve, I use Birchwood @#$%& True oil on most of my handles. It will depend on the wood you select. Some woods have such a high resin content that they won't take a finsish, or it's difficult to get them to take one. Cocobolo is one of these, but sanding to a very fine grit, buffing and a wax finish is really all that's needed.

Regards,

Ray Jorgensen
[classiccustomwood.com]
ccw@classiccustomwood.com
602 Central Ave. E
Hampton, IA 50441
641-456-4599

Hi Steve! Ditto Ray. You don't NEED to use a varnish, etc., though that's also an option. If you're going the polishing route and want to do more than a few, invest in Andy Dear's polishing system that has a three-wheel buffing setup for your lathe and three polishing compounds--the same ones we use for G&L FlyCraft rods. The results are very beautiful if you sand the insert down to 1600 or 2000 first (I wet sand from 1000 to 2000 then polish).

Another option is to sand to at least 1200 and then put a few thin coats (spray) of spar varnish, sand lightly, a few more coats, sand lightly and finally a few more. Stunning.

After sanding down to 400 grit paper (finishing stokes with the grain on each step), I use EEE wax from PSI while still on the lathe. It brings the finish to an equivalent of a 2000 grit finish in a few moments.

Tony

Thanks for all the suggestions. Doubt I would have figured that out by myself. I'll post pics if they turn out nice.
Steve