As a first time Expo exhibitor we want to thank everyone who stopped by our booth to talk and check out our stuff. We had an absolutely great time all weekend. Met so many kind people interested in what we are doing and exchanging ideas and possibilities it was overwhelming. The energy of the whole weekend was crazy. On Saturday it wasn’t until Jim, Karen and Lynne from Backlash told us that we realized we never left the booth for 11 hours (even for a bio break, yikes).

Shout outs to:
Billy V - ‘King Joker’ (technically) and ‘Mom’s Rose’ (from the Heart) are the epitome of Rod Art. Inspirational.
Backlash – Really clever stuff you guys got going. Real nice neighbors too.
JP – Look forward to doing something together. Open invite to go catching.
Karry, Bill and Adam from Batson - Thanks guys!
Kevin – The Abalone is beautiful. I’ll trade you a handle for a sheet.
Sean – Wish we got to talk. Impeccable threadwork.
Tom – Top Notch. A heart felt Thank You!

Please take a look at our updated website. We are going to have all of our Show product and pricing in effect until mid March.
[www.rileyrods.com]

Thank you all so much. We feel blessed to be part of such a wonderful community,
Mike & Vikki

Riley Rods-Hard Core Grips to Go!-----Carbon Fiber - Composite Grip Store-----Capt Mike's Blog-----No Excuses Fishing Charters



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2009 08:20PM by Mike Pedersen.

Mike - I wish we had more time to chat, but you guys were so busy with everything you & Vikki had going on...GREAT JOB!!!! with everything. YOu are without a doubt "THE" foam core guy. F?unny to walk around the corner and see super high end set ups falling all over the place, lol.

It's great to see you pushing the envelope with your grips and rods. Entirely unique shapes, colors, and styles - keep up the great work.

"F?unny to walk around the corner and see super high end set ups falling all over the place, lol"

if they couldn't hold up to that they wouldn't be of much use on the Phatty NC Grouper, Tuna and 100lb+ AJs they were built for.

I'll be totally caught up this morning. I'll call ya about the first SERB get together.

Riley Rods-Hard Core Grips to Go!-----Carbon Fiber - Composite Grip Store-----Capt Mike's Blog-----No Excuses Fishing Charters

Well there you guys go. Where will Maryland fall in the battle between the SERMS and the NERBS?

YOu guys sort it out and let me know. I am south of the Mason Dixon Line. If its my choice, I will go with the team that has the hotter cheerleaders!!!!!

If I had to form the MARBS (Mid Atlantic Rod Builders), it would be a team of one! Not many of us in this area!!! LOL
Kevin



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2009 01:00PM by kevin knox.

Thanks Mike!! Also wish we got to talk, stopped by your booth a few times, you were very busy!!

Sean Endres
North East Rod Builders
New London, CT

Interesting because there is a guy on another message board that always says foam core grips cannot possibly withstand use for the purposes you make them for. He says the specs show that they cannot work and would be crushed and dented. I do not believe he has made any though, just spouting an opinion.

John,

If you read the original article on the technique in RodMaker, you no doubt read the section on making foam core grips for heavy duty applications. If you follow the guidelines, you'd be hard pressed to dent one of them with hard pounding from a hammer - they're nearly as hard as concrete (but significantly lighter).

It's easy to speculate based on specifications and numbers - It's much harder to give accurate advice based on practical experience, which many simply do not have with this technique.

...........

JOhn, whoever said that just doesnt' know what they are talking about, at all. At one point the entire world was flat, and there were scientists who could prove it. Even after it was proven it was round, tehre were people who could prove it was flat. 500 years later, and there are still people proving things cannot be possible....withtout having any REAL LIFE EXPERIANCES to base it on, just textbooks adn calculators and a strong opinion which unfortunately people listen to.

The foam cores by themselves would be crushed and dented. With the composite sleeving they are extremely durable.

I've been using a friend who commercial fishes for my testing. He uses a heavy duty solid glass rod (GrouperHawgs) paired with a Penn 12/0 and an Precision electric reel. He hand lines his bites with the rod in the holder and hits the power. Tremendous amount of pressure stressing the same spot repeatedly.
- 4# foam with light fiberglass sleeving cracked after a few trips
- my 5.5# foam with heavy carbon sleeving has been going strong for a while now and its pretty darn cool looking taboot

My favorite spinner has 4# with Kevlar/Carbon and still looks new after more than 100 charters and a couple dozen tournaments.

I confident in its durability. It is pretty much the same materials and process they use to build boat hulls. Foam, epoxy and biaxial fabric.

Riley Rods-Hard Core Grips to Go!-----Carbon Fiber - Composite Grip Store-----Capt Mike's Blog-----No Excuses Fishing Charters



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2009 02:51PM by Mike Pedersen.

Mike,
Im sure you replied to my email. It went down just after I sent it yesterday. Do me a favor and resend it to kevin_a_knox@yahoo.com.

Kevin

Mike,

You can gain even more durability by following the recommendations in the article on using the 8lb and 10lb foam. They're much, much harder than the 4lb (which we recommended against using for heavy duty grips). Coupled with the thicker carbon skins or dual layer process, you'd destroy the rod before you'd destroy the grip.

..............

Rich Schwarz had some 16# Foam which he is goign to use in place of a Uni Butt, he has several skinned grips made wiht it - there is no wa it will not hold up once completed. Rich & Mike spoke for a bit at teh show, sharing ideas and thoughts on the various #'s, methods of skinning and coating - it's stuff like that which makes going to teh show really worth it, you cannot get that type of info off a computer screen since you really do notknow the extent of a poster's knowledge, skills, etc.

16 lb is most likely overkill, but if you're after a concrete hard core, that will certainly give it to you. I've played with the 12lb and you can beat it with a hammer and barely leave a mark.

...................

Kevin, I'm with you!! Maybe we can go MERBS, Mid Eastern Rod Builders????????????? I know Billy, that's lame!!

Bill in WV