I read the thread about abalone inlay and I was wondering if anyone had tried the abalone veneers that require the heat gun instead of the vinegar?
If so, how were the results?? thinking of abalone inlays on my next saltwater rod after I get done with the two I'm working on now.



Dave

I havent tried it yet but will be doing a rod tomorrow and will let everyone know. If it works, I will be offering a veneer pack and heat gun for a low price.

Stay tuned.

Kevin

I haven't tried it yet but the MUD HOLE has a demo on their web site that looks very interesting. I have used the vinegar soak method to apply the veneer to a small fresh water rod with great results. As I have said that I will try to use the heat gun method very soon.

Do you heat the rod or the abalone? Even if just the abalone I might be leery of putting anything really hot on the blank. At some point that kind of heat could damage the rod blank. But I must admit to being totally uniformed about the process.

Kevin, same veneer as the vinegar soak or a different type. About to order some and if it's different I might wait and check out this method.

Tony

same veneer

nice thing about the heat method is that you don't lose any of the luster as you do with the vinegar method.

I just got finished watching the free downloadable Mud Hole video. Seems to me that if the process works as claimed it should be a lot neater and cleaner than the vinegar method. The vinegar soak method just isn't that good. I did an experiment with 2 pieces cut out of the same sheet . 1 soaked the other not. You can't tell the difference in the 2 rods. I wish Mud Hole had put this out a few weeks ago.

ps. I should add that Kevin's method did produce a rod that I'm very proud of. I took it to the West Coast Rod show where it was very well received.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/10/2009 10:50PM by John Chamorro.

"The vinegar soak method just isn't that good"

"I did an experiment with 2 pieces cut out of the same sheet . 1 soaked the other not. You can't tell the difference in the 2 rods."

According to what you posted, if one method is not that good, and you can't tell the difference in teh finished products - that should mean that the other method isn't good either. Unless my logic is flawed.

I think he is trying to say that he got just as good results with the heat method as he did with the vinegar soak method and the heat method was quicker/easier.

Kevin has done more work with the Abalone than anyone else and I'm sure he's continuing to work with other methods and can report back on them. He had told me a bit back that he was planning on making a heat method system available.

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

My suggestion is if your at all interested in doing an AB inlay, go to each of the 3 sponsors of this board who carry the product. Mud Hole sells a crack and roll as well as the heat and bend product. Knox is an advocate for the soak method that isn't much different than the crack and roll. Aqua Blue sells you the product with no advice as to what to do with it. Mud Holes pieces are smaller. Knox's pieces are bigger but more expensive. Aqua Blue supplies the product that Knox sells with no claims as to what or how to do anything with it, and has a minimum sheet purchase where Mud Hole and Knox sell individual sheets.Mud Hole has an online video. Knox has a DVD for sale. I would do your homework, make the decision as to what method suits you best for the results your looking for.

John

Barry,
when you do this process you only heat the veneer. And you do it with the setting on the heat gun on low. The temperature range should be around 150 to 160 degrees F. The temperature when going onto the blank should only be in the 120 range and this should have no negative effects on your resin in the blank.
I have done dozens of rods with this method in the split grip area, in front of the reel seat and fore grip and in strips under double footed guides and had no problem.
Also when we were testing this method against the others I also did blanks down to 0.25" in diameter with excellent results.

Regards,

Todd

Regards,
Todd Vivian
Mud Hole Custom Tackle

todd@mudhole.com

Nice, Todd!
Kevin, did you try it yet?

Not yet. I have 2 pitch bait rods that I need to get out the door. Probably tomorrow night or Thursday. I sincerely hope it works as even I didn't like the preplanning that had to be done with a 3 day soak. I still feel that my method will be the best bet for raw veneer. I think its fantastic that Todd has shared this with us and I look forward to trying it.

Kevin

This is why this website is such a great community, It is not about competition; it is about furthering the craft. So nice to see businesses working together! Kudos to Mudhole and Angler's Envy!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2009 11:46PM by Scott Lewis.

Scott,
I tried it this morning on a butt wrap section and a first guide both of which are larger than 1/4". The results were negative. I followed the direction of the video and the results are fractures that run the length on the veneer. This is fracturing to adapt to thin lam. So, back to soaking I go. Its a shame because I wanted this to work, but deep down, knowing that the only way shell can be bent is by removing the calcium, I was wondering how heat, dry heat at that could work.
If you want fracturing, this is a fine method. For those that want true inlay appearance, acedic acid 5% (vinegar) is still the method. I will try the rest of the guides on this rod to see if it improves, but I am not optimistic.


[www.rodbuilding.org]

Kevin



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/2009 08:20PM by kevin knox.