How did you let me escape without at least a dozen of your favorite blue rod blanks? Here I was dragging folks over to look at them and - I guess I just forgot to stick a bunch of those beautiful "wrong color" 7' medium action blanks in my pile of stuff. I never even realized it until a few minutes ago when I was sorting through my "loot". Of course I did manage to grab every last All Star 806 that you had as well as those lovely honey colored composite trolling/standup rods so I can't be too upset.
I just put a coat of Andy's finish on the "scrap wrap" that Sean (from NERBS) gave me for the local thread ladies. How nice that was to work with! Now all I have to do is finish up the burl cork handle on the Lamiglas 'Stitchin' Rod' & post some photos of that for Todd Vivian's "reference model" (LOL)>

Ken, it was a pleasure to meet you!! Let me know how the local thread ladies like those nice Madeira colors.



Sean Endres
North East Rod Builders
New London, CT

Sean,
I just covered it with THREADMASTER. I've got to say this is the best finish I've used in a very long time. It's got a really familiar smell to it - not offensive but one I've smelled before but a long time ago in some finish I got from a shop in New York that went out of business on me. The penetration, leveling and bubble release are pretty darned amazing. For such a light finish it's very cohesive (molecule to molecule) which really cuts down on sagging and it goes on in one very smooth coat. Definite winner! I'm sure the "thread ladies" will be amazed at what YOU (and the other NERBS) do with thread.

Ken - Manhattan Custom Tackle finish? If so, "Grumpy" Phil went out of business right before I started Rodbuilding. He had a death in his family and shut it down (the shop was on teh second floor on Broadway & 21st street). He ran out of his shop in Bushwick Brooklyn, blowing everything out on @#$%& as "Grumpy Phil". The name fit.

I saw my first butt wrap at his shop, a Spaced Star, and purchased my copy of Custom Rod Thread Art from him as I was on my way up to see my wife's brother who almost died after getting electricuted fixing an AC in a building in Manhattan.

Ken,
It's not the same finish, as ThreadMaster is a relatively new formulation, but it could be a similar chemistry, thus the familiar smell.


Andy Dear
www.lamarfishing.com

Billy - Yes Manhattan Custom Tackle. They had two different finishes. One was a 'normal' epoxy (the one that sorta smells like Threadmaster / but is not) and another that was at two part but highly flammable. I remember trying to 'flame' their second formula (which had no warning on the labels). I lost all the hair off the back of my right hand when I got a butane lighter right up next to it "WHOOSH" flammable!

Andy --- No it is not - not at all the same. Threadmaster is much, much easier to work with than anything I've tried thus far. I'm wondering why I only bought a 4 oz kit and what I'm going to do with the quarts of other finishes. Also wondering why I didn't take a whole box of those beautiful blue
"bad color" 7 foot medium blanks along with half a box of the 6'6" models.