I'm about to rebuild the first fly rod I ever made. I was not happy with it, and wasn't using it because of the poor job I did. My question is, after stripping the rod and sanding it, there will be some small imperfections in the surface, I can already see. Will a couple coats of rod finish fill these in any? I don't expect the finish to be as nice as original, but I would at least want to make it decent.

Also, I used 5-minute epoxy on the reel seat. What's the safest way to remove it? I want to save the cork handle. Can I just cut it off and make an extension from inside the blank under the handle, using a piece of old blank?

Any advice is certainly welcome and appreciated.

Ummm, I got the info on the reel seat. "Search" works great! ;o)

DON'T CUT IF OFF. wrap the reel seat in a bagie and place it in boiling water untill it heats up. the five minute epoxy should let go and you should be able to pull the reel seat off. if that does not do it heat it them cool it down in a bucket of ice. alternate. that should do the job.

Dave,
Check the Library section for refininshing. Also I would avoid sanding at all if you can. Too easy to sand
to much!

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

DAVE - A very extensive discussion of this very subject on rod blank re-finishing was just Posted (and is now coming to a natural conclusion). Make sure you read it, and especially the Links to the 2 Ralph O'Quinn (ROQ) articles contained therein. Your rod blank - Is it Fiberglass or Graphite? Keep that in mind as you read ROQ. Then bring back your more specific and lingering questions here to your Thread, and you'll be on your way. Pay attention to what your are doing, and think ahead by reading ahead some, and you will be fine, Dave. Check it out: [www.rodbuilding.org] Best Wishes, Cliff Hall, Gainesville, FL-USA+++

Thanks, Cliff. Good info in that thread.

As I'm chipping away at the old epoxy on the wraps, some of it just doesn't want to come loose, specifically the edge that contacts the blank. Is there anything I can use to help the removal?

Dave you can apply a bit of heat from a hair dryer and use the edge of a plastic knife to remove that stubborn finish.

Regards......Doug@
TCRds

Also read Ralph O'Quinn's article in the the library above.

"BULLSEYE" for Doug Moore's/TCRods advice. -CMH+++

Cliff

Went back to the thread you mentioned. Read what Ralph said about the LS.
Now i have to clean off a scrap blank and test it.