Decided to try my first abalone shell inlay rod. Got the abalone and cut it out. Soaked it Vinegar and all was well till I got toward the tip of the rod. The last three guides going up the rod I can't seem to bend the abalone with it cracking. I rotating the rod very slowly and apply gentle pressure as I turn and every time I get 1/4 the way around the shell cracks. I even tried cutting it differently and it still cracks. Anyone have any tricks for the smaller diameters near the tips? The blank is a 30-60 pound trolling blank.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2009 08:32AM by Craig Freeman.

Craig,
Take your time and i will go on fine. The more you work with it, the easier it is to bend it. You will get a feel for working with it. You can soak the veneer longer to give it more flexibility.

Email me at kknox@anglersenvy.com if you have any other questions.

Kevin

Forgive my ignorance on this technique, but what happens to such a section of abalone when flexed along the length of the blank in the upper portions of the rod? Does this not crack or break the abalone? Does it retain its flexibility? Sounds very beautiful.

Barry,
You are forgiven. The abalone will flex to a certain point. When you do my process, the veneer is softened by removing calcium from the shell.... Like a soft crab that sheds its shell, it is void of calcium and supple. In my process, I incorporate pre flexing of the blank to create mobility in the shell. There will be hairline cracks in faster action blanks, but on offshore trolling rods, they will be minimal.

Kevin

Thanks Kevin for the reply. I had it soak over night and still broke it I cut more and they have been soaking now for almost 40 hours. I'm going to try again after dinner. Mabe I just didn;t go slow enough.

With all respect to Kevin, I buy the heat and roll type veneer and call it a day.

Just give it some more soak time for the smaller diameter sections and for smaller blanks.

I find that for smaller blanks, 48 - 72 hours is usually good for the thinlam version.

matthew jacobs Wrote:
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> With all respect to Kevin, I buy the heat and roll
> type veneer and call it a day.


Its the same veneer that you get from mudhole. The only difference is the method for bending. I am actually finalizing a new process that makes my method and Mudholes method a thing of the past. 20 minutes from template to rod with thin lam and 5 minutes for raw veneer. And when it goes onto the rod, its like masking tape being applied!!!

K