Looking at setting a workshop after a couple of years off.

Mostly making Calstars and other heavy fiberglass and composite blanks.

Recommendations on two tools:
1. Air Compressor to blow on the hypalon grips
2. Chop (or other) Saw to cut the blanks to size

Thanks in advance!

Forget both. They're hardly needed.

You don't need compressed air to get the grips on. It's easy when you know how - check the FAQs page for an easy method that works extremely well.

You would never cut a blank with a chop saw, at least not a wood working type blade. A cut-off wheel maybe, but it really doesn't require anything that heavy duty. A Dremel tool with cut-off wheel will do the job. Are you planning to cut all your blanks "to size?" Why not just buy them in the lengths you need?



.......

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Forget both. They're hardly needed.
>
> You don't need compressed air to get the grips on.
> It's easy when you know how - check the FAQs page
> for an easy method that works extremely well.
>
> You would never cut a blank with a chop saw, at
> least not a wood working type blade. A cut-off
> wheel maybe, but it really doesn't require
> anything that heavy duty. A Dremel tool with
> cut-off wheel will do the job. Are you planning
> to cut all your blanks "to size?" Why not just
> buy them in the lengths you need?
>
>
>
> .......


Hi Tom,

Thanks for the quick reply.

I've always used compressed air to blow the grips on when possible.

I'm aware of various other methods but have found in the last 20+ years of rod building
(mostly long-range stuff) that air is the quickest and cleanest method for me.

Usually I've worked with existing shops and made use of the tools at hand.

This time it's my deal so don't care if the tools are a little "Over-Engineered".

I cut the blanks because they are not made in the lengths that I prefer.
Plus, theres always a little "custom" element where the customer may require a different length.

Not looking to change my techniques only trying to find some recommended tools.

Thanks again Tom.
Your opinion is always valued.

- Blair -

I have a Dewalt wood miter saw that has served me very well. Bosch usually wins most of the tool tests, however. Any should work with a cut-off wheel I'd think. Dewalt makes a dedicated cut-off chop saw that I looked at yesterday. For under $150 I thought it looked pretty good. I plan to buy one for other tasks. If it works as well as the miter saw, I'll be happy. If you cut a lot of blanks, and it sounds like you plan to, I can see that it would save you some time.

I have a small Craftsman air compressor unit but frankly am not very happy with it. It might be fine for "blowing" on grips but to be honest I don't mount them that way so I can't really say if this unit would be sufficient or not. I can't imagine it would be considered a high quality tool, but for filling the occasional tire or belly boat it does the trick.

Sammy Mickel could tell you quite a bit about quality air compressors if you want to go that route.

..........

i had to cut the end off a gator glass(i guess it was unfinished and had to cut a nub thing off) and i used a hacksaw with a fine tooth metal cutting blade...i wrapped tape around the part i cut and cut the tape and it worked well

as for blowing the grips on ?????? never heard of that but i use the put epoxy on the blank and slide it down method and that works great and if you dont want to clean up a lot just dont use as much epoxy

I'll take a look at that Dewalt dedicated cut-off chop saw, sounds like its a good candidate.

Just so we are all on the same page with they way I mount grips on rods:

Use a combination of epoxy AND compressed air.
I expect the blank to fail before there ever being an issue with the hardware.

Long-range fishing requires 0 failure rate so everything is "Over-Engineered"

When I'm at my most productive tend to crank out 200-250 rods a year so anywhere I can save time...

Thanks for the comments ALL!

Blair,
Blanks can certainly be cut with a Dremel tool or even a hack saw but it you are going to be cutting quite a few and using either a chop or miter saw I would sure recommend that you get a good diamond blade for the saw. You can use one of the blades designed for cutting tile but a good diamond blade will do an even better job. It will cut through graphite or fiberglass like it was butter and results in a nice sharp edge.
You can also use compressed air to apply grips or use the epoxy technique that Tom recommends but I have found that a much easier and less messy way is to use the double backed tape that is used to apply golf club grips. You can find it at any golf club repair shop and using it the grip will just slide on with very little effort and very little mess. I comes with an activator solution that when applied makes the tape very slick but then the solution evaporates and after it evaporates the grip will never move.

There are several "mini" chop-saws that would fit this requirement, and could be fitted with a variety of cut-off wheels. They run well under $100. I think the blades are about 5" or so.

DeWalt makes a double-tank compressor but it's rated as a "hobby" unit, which is probably OK for the hypalon application but not much heavier stuff. It's better than the "pancake" units sold for inflating stuff.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

Blair get a good saw and blade! Need understood here - cutting 200 glass heavy blanks in three pieces for reamers would take a while with a dremel!

Blair do you install ALL EVA from the back end?

Emory explain please - how do you use the tape with the EVA? Where do you put it?

A fine diamond wheel on a chop saw does work well when cutting the thick saltwater blanks!

I like Sears for air compressors. If floor space is at a premium, the 2hp, 33 gal vertical tank model has a fairly small footprint. Bigger is much better if space is not at a premium or if you want to paint with it.

Bill,
The double backed sticky tape designed for applying golf club grips comes in rolls like masking tape. In fact, at first glance you might think that it is masking tape. I just wrap the blank with one layer of the tape leaving about 1/4" spaces between the wraps and I wrap it about a foot above where the end of the grip will be. After the blank is wrapped with the tape you simply apply a little of the activaor solution to the tape and the tape gets extremely slick. You can then just slide the grip on the blank over the tape with very little effort. After an hour or so the activator solution will have evaporated and the grip will not move. At that point you simply unwrap the excess tape that is above the grip, cut off the excess tape and maybe take a little alcohol and wipe down the blank where the excess tape was.
The advantages of this approach in my judgment are #1. The grips slide on very easily. #2. The activator solution takes a little while to evaporate which gives you plenty of time to easily move the grip around. #3 This approach does not create the mess and necessary clean up that coating the blank with epoxy does.
Golf club grips have been applied with this approach for many, many years and they do not move and get a lot more abuse than any fishing rod handle will get.

Depends upon what else you think you might use them for in the future.
Air compressors are great, but I've always found that no matter which I have that I wish I had a larger capacity one. HVLP and sanders like lots of air. If you have 220v wired up, then you are set to go, and space is your constraint. If not, then 3.5 to 5 horsepower is about it for 110v, though the 5 may draw more amps at 110v than your wiring or breaker are good for. Bigger the tank the better, as it cuts down on the motor cycling. I have a little Quincy 20 gallon portable. Quincy is well known commercially, and is all US made. Can be wired as either 110v or 220v, and it's 3.5hp delivery is more like 5hp specs for other makers. Often wish I had a bigger stationary, but portable has its advantages too.

On a chop saw, again it depends on what else you might find yourself doing. 4.5" angle grinders are pretty hard to beat for the combination of portability, capability, and versatility. The std metal and masonry discs are very cheap. A good diamond blade for one is fairly cheap too, compared to larger diameter blades. Think my Dewalt continuous rim diamond blades were a whole $10 each on @#$%&. My angle grinder is a Dewalt as well, since I trashed the bearings on several cheap Harbor Freight ones. If you really want it to act like a stationary chopsaw, there are stands sold for under $30 that fit the bill..

I had read in Clemen's book about using a nozzle on an air compressor to put on a eva-foam grip but had never really tried it and filed it in the back of my mind (which is a pretty dangerous place to be), but was putting on an eva grip and found as I got to the last 4 inches, the grip simply was not going to stretch enough to mount. Faced with cutting off the grip and starting over, I thought about trying the air nozzle. This was nothing short of amazing and the grip literally fell into place. I then tried several grips with smaller inside diameters and they too literally fell into place. I also think that the epoxy does not get wiped quite as much with this installation method. So I will probably try Emory's method but in the meantime I am going to keep my air compressor real handy.

Emory,,, does it really evaporate to bond, or are fumes just a stinky byproduct? I've avoided air curing adhesives just because I find myself sometimes glueing things where there is no air exposure.

Haven't tried the air thing, but probably should. I have been counter boring a few inches into the end, which fills up with epoxy and creates a reservoir or epoxy when sliding it down. Of course it increases the hole diameter a bit too, where you most want it.
Definitely going to try the air nozzle thing though. Any particular nozzle type seem to work best?

can someone explain how to put the grips on using the compressor? i cant get my mind off of how you would do that haha

You would just be ballooning the grip w bit with pressurized air, and then have an air cushion between the grip and blank. What I sorta wonder is if whether epoxy goes flying and things get messy. Too much air and glue and it surely would. :-) Given the press fit. I'll probably try with very little epoxy
I see 2 methods in Clemens Advanced Custom Rod Building book (now apparently with new reprints at Mudhole).

Dave,
Yes, it evaporates. In the past I have used gasoline as an activator fluid. I did not mention it before because it is obviously very combustable.

The chop saw that Merrick sells for 75.00 is well worth the money. I recommended it to Scott a couple of years ago after I bought one from a golf catalog. My air compressor cost 90.00 at Northern and it does everything I want it to do. Jesse