"There is a bunch of info floating around here on them but I was still unsure about the whole process."

Recently I responded back to a builder asking questions about carbon fiber grips. He is a new builder and since I in the same boat, and I just built my first set of carbon fiber grips, I offered him some help. The quote above is from my reply back to the builder and seems to have some people here confused????? Please allow me to explain;

Just because something is printed in RodMaker Magazine doesn't mean that it is the best way or the only way to go about a process. I subscribe to the magazine and have read the article detailing the heat shrink method of building these grips. I am sorry for not jumping head over heels into the process just because it was in the magazine. Like I said, I was still a little unsure about the process. Infact, I found a much easier way to go about it when I was at the Expo. I spent some time talking to JP Timberlake of Sticks & Bones Custom Rods, he had a booth at the show. He obviously has spent a bunch of time perfecting the carbon fiber grips beacuse he had a bunch of them on display and they were beautiful. I told him that I would like to build a set of grips but still wasn't sure about the process. JP didn't laugh at me or joke that my statement confused him, he walked me through the process he uses and I got it. Now, maybe this process has been printed before in RodMaker, I didn't see it because I just started my subscription last summer when my kids got it for me for Fathers Day.

WOW!!! You know what confuses me? Is how many people are on this site that will got out of their way to help you but choose email or a phone call. I guess they too don't want to confuse anybody. I think I'll call JP tomorrow and tell him how much I appreciated the time he spent with me at the show.

Steve Chontos

I really don't understand your post. J.P. learned the technique from RodMaker Magazine and from visiting me here at the RodMaker shop. If the articles had not been in RodMaker, it is very doubtful anyone would be making foam core, carbon skinned grips for fishing rods at this point in time. No one would have been available to help you with the technique because not more than 1 or 2 would have even known about it.

The point in the earlier post was that there is never any reason to be unsure about these techniques because the fully researched and documented information has been in the magazine. Many subscribe to it, some don't. The latter is why I set up this website for your free use - so you could get help from those who have the articles and have performed the various techniques we unveil.

What many were saying, is that so many folks seem to wander through what I often call "the stumble method" when there is no need to do so. Good information is always available and 90% of the time any technique or method you're attempting to learn was unveiled to the rod building craft in the pages of RodMaker.

There is a reason that so very few RodMaker subscribers bother to use this forum - they don't have many questions. And the few subscribers who do use this site are generally the ones who can provide the most help to those who do have questions.

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Good answer to a puzzling post

I do not think any of that was a stab at you Steve. I think the topic thread you refer to was indicative of what so many rod builders go through. They hear or see something and either because they do not understand that the technique came from Rodmaker or because they do not want to spend a few bucks they wander around these various rod building boards and ask questions hoping to learn how to do something. That is all well and good, but very often the people who respond and offer help may be equally clueless because they also do not seem to know about the original article or have also decided to forego spending a few bucks to get the complete information.

At the Rod Expo I only attended one seminar. The rest were redundant to me because I take the magazine and had already seen the information presented years earlier. And what is presented in the magazine is presented very well. The clear photos add much to the information contained in the well researched text.

I will now close with a statement that my post is not meant to slam any forum or anyone who wishes to help in any capacity whatsoever. My only point was that I do not know whether to be amused or confused by so many of the posts I read on the various message boards. Some of them remind me of a guy who asks strangers for directions while there is a well drawn map in the rack behind him. But that choice is up to the individual.

As long as Steve got the information he needed, no matter where it came from, that's fine. The main thing is to know that the information on nearly anything you may want to know is out there and easy to get ahold of.

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I think I get what Steve is saying here.

Sometimes there's just no substitution for sitting and talking about something. Not everyone learns as well from sitting and reading. I know I have that problem. I can read it all day, but unless I hear it or do it, it just doesn't sink the same.

This kind of plays into Richards two comments. "...attended one seminar. The rest were redundant ..." and "...remind me of a guy who asks strangers..." not every one can get that paper map and have it make sense, or in this case, read the mag and have it make sense. Sometimes too getting in a seminar, yeah you may have read it and hear some repeated info, but more comes out than what was on the pages and for some of us it makes things "make more sense."

There's no substitution from learning from personal experience and other people's experiences. Example - I just can't get the shrink tube method to work to my satisfaction. And yes, I have read all the issues, talked to other builders, asked for help, etc. So I have experimented ("stumbled") and tried different things and found a method that works for me and gives repeatable, consistent results. My point here is... the rodmaker mag was a springboard. It got me started. From there I went out and found what worked for me given my parameters, requirements, skill levels, etc. So sometimes "the stumble method" is very appropriate when the original information doesn't suit your exact needs.

Sometimes too I think the folks who don't "stick to the article" are the ones who make improvements and come up with some really neat stuff that sometimes turns into "the next article".

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I agree wholeheartedly, but in many cases folks never read the articles to begin with. I have to read their emails and take their phone calls every single day and listen to their tales of woe - all the stuff they fouled up and the money they wasted. Most of it could have been prevented by having a sound foundation to begin upon.

Most of you would be rather surprised if you were privy to the many conversations I have with folks every single day about techniques which we presented in RodMaker and which the caller has not bothered to acquire (some are very upfront about the fact that they do not wish to spend $7).

I spoke with Bob McKamey this morning about his Duck River Event. He mentioned that several guys there had set up their spinning rods with my version of the NGC and had their butt guides located 27x from the reel spool. The reason most made this mistake is likely because they didn't read the article and view the illustrations and thus didn't know the difference between the butt and the choker guide. They just saw "27X" on the internet and figured it was how you located the butt guide, or were told that by another person who also hadn't read the article or viewed the illustrations. Another case where the original information would have been very helpful to them.

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Plus once is never enough ! ya have to read them several times, and every time ya get a little more out of them. heck I high light certain sentences or sections that I want to remember. Even keep the mag open with paper clips to find them easier to ( refresh the memory ). make notations around the pages also.

Then heck ya do it the way it is written and then if that does not work ya try to figure out a way that works for you, just not completely changing the process. Unless ya find a better way.

Bill - willierods.com

....... Picture's worth a thousand words ......... but a live demo w/question and answers is worth a thousand pictures ...........

Didn't understand the advantages of micro guides until casting w/Bill Stevens or another reason for spiral wraps ............ didn't understand how great flocked handles felt or how easy they were to make until the Flocking seminar ...........

Got a great appreciation for making grips by JP also ...........

Eventhough I read the articles in Rodmaker and Rodcrafters Journal ...........

Most people that I know get more benefit from an exchange of information than just a written article ............ and Steve is right ...... there is ALOT of backdoor sharing by people who really know their stuff ........ not stumbling strangers ............. that make a newbie feel good about their questions and sharing ..........

Thanks for bringing it up Steve !!!!!!!

Being fairly new to rodbuilding, I feel like I've missed out because I just put in my subscription to Rodmaker a few weeks ago. I run to the mailbox every day looking for that first issue (I can't remember how long it takes for the first one to come). Meanwhile, I ordered the back issue that contains the article on tiger/holo wraps and I've read through it a dozen times! For guys like me, this website is a lifesaver. My favorite articles thus far from the library have been on trim bands and inlays (thanks Tom!), fit and finish, NGC (which I combine with 27x), and marbling. I attempted my first practice run on marbling this morning and it came out great! My next venture will be a tiger wrap. I've learned so much and I haven't really made hardly any mistakes because of the things that I've been able to learn from all of you. Nothing encourages me more than to attempt something and have it go right the first time.

jeremy

Consider the source. This is something I always think about. I have attended seminars that were truly excellent. I have attended seminars that were sub-par. Some presenters were not up to speed or were without sufficient grasp of the information to do it justice. I have seen one seminar on flocking that I did not think was anywhere near as good as the original flocking article that was contained in the magazine some years prior. No information is any better than the person or medium that is presenting it! Just something to be aware of.