So I was asked to build a tribute rod for one of my friends, who's Dad has passed away. He wants to put a small head shot of his dad on the blank. Anyone done this before?

Bob

It's not hard to do. You can adhere the photo to the rod with something like 3M 77 adhesive. Then seal the photo with color preserver, allow to dry and apply epoxy.

I suggest you find out what nature of photograph you'll have - an actual photographic print or something printed on an ink jet. Then test with the CP to make certain the photo will be okay.

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

Thanks Tom

Bob

You can try printing it on white water slide decal and get a better medium to work on vice attaching photo paper.

I find the white decal paper to be much easier to work with than regular photo paper. The decals are thinner and wrap around the blank more neatly and the edges stay down.
[www.rodbuilding.org]
[www.rodbuilding.org]

never done this type of thing but what if a person were to print photograph, put lamination paper over photo, wrap around rod, cover laminated photo with paper, wrap with thread, let sit 24 hours, uncover, remove thread and paper and then coat with epoxy??

See if you can have someone scan the photo or have access to someone who can convert what you have into a digital image.

Need a large resolution for sizing without distortion.

Click on my name at the top of this post and send me an email .

Measure the diameter of the rod where you want to place the image.

I will print a decal for you with the chosen photo and other desired information and send it to you as a courtesy.

I currently use the mailing labels over liquid leaf. I will post some photos, comes out real nice but not as brilliant as some.

James, is that Waterslide paper you used in the Ranger Rod? It is beautiful! if so, what did you do under it?

Thanks!

Bill that is very generous. As soon as I get the picture I will email you. Thanks again.

Bob

I've used photos on rods for quite a while, the best way imho is to, as Bill is doing, get a digital file for the image, print it properly sized onto matte white decal media from Papilio, cut the decal to size, darken the edges carefully with a sharpie, spray it with UV resistant clear finish (Papilio or Krylon or similar), apply to the rod. Cover with normal wrap epoxy finish (the clear finish will set the image so no problem from the epoxy finish). I've never mastered water slide application, and the white matte Papilio decal media prints wonderfully-the images really pop after finishing with the epoxy.

This process is so much easier and more reliable than trying to mount a real photo print onto a rod, laminated or not.

While this is not the same kind of photo Bob is talking about, it is a photo/digital file/white matte media product- in this case yellow perch skin. [www.rodbuilding.org]

With the white waterslide, do you have any thread, paint or finish underneath? I had tried the clear waterslide paper and you basically couldnt see anything on the rod! I use the mailing label on liquid leaf as I mentioned above, but would love to be able to do a graphic like that!

this was my first attempt at decal paper, with gold liquid leaf underneath it.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

"My biggest fear in life is that when I die, my wife will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it."

Michael, that looks great!! What is underneath it? And you said it was yellow perch skin?

Scott, your email is hidden. On the Ranger rod you asked about above I put the white decal directly on the blank in the split grip area and over the wraps on the guides and ferrule. I measured the split grip area to get the retangular size and account for taper. I then layed out the print area as a box in a regular word processing program; printed a plain paper test run (photo setting) and cut out to check fit on the blank. I then laid out the images to fit within the retangle, a small gutter between images allowed the background to show through and I edited the background box to show the black and gold unit colors. The rest is a simple print, seal, cut, and mount. For the guides and ferrule I used the same white decal paper and matched the background color to the thread color, good coat of sealant, carefully cut out with fine sissors, carefully trimmed with razor, colored the white paper edge with permanent marker, mounted, CPd, epoxied. Viola, cool theme rod.

first off, thanks about the email, didnt know! also, thanks for the information, much appreciated. I need to get some white decal vinyl. So, the blue I see is from the wraps that have been epoxied?

[www.swamplandtackle.com]

Labels for custom rods are easily and professionally done by many custom builders.

Do a search on this forum for "Electric Decals" and change the dates to all.

There are no limitations as to what can be done - If you can think it you can get one done easily.

The information is in the archives on this forum - seek and you shall find!

Bob send me a pic and I will do whatever you need - I will even pay the stamp!

thank you

Regarding the rod pic I posted with yellow perch-it is not actually fish skin, it is an closeup image of perch skin. On that one I hadn't figured out how to manipulate the image to make the scales more life size, and on that rod, they are larger than life. Looks better when they are life size, or even a lilttle smaller. I don't understand all the details of digital photography, but what I've found is that to get the scales the right size you have to resize the photo to a smaller size. Then you may not have a long enough photo to cover the length of blank you want. To handle that, at least how I've found to do it, is to reduce the size of the image to get the scale size you want, and save it as what we will call image !. Then open a new blank image (image 2) sized a little larger than the decal size you want. Go back and copy image one, then go to image 2 and paste image 1 onto image 2 as a "new layer." Keep pasting image 1 onto image 2 and moving the layers to give you a stitched together image big enough to fill the image 2 image size. If you are careful in locating the pasted layers, you will have a pretty good, naturally sized, image. Save image 2 when you get it the way you want it. Print onto Papilio matte vinyl decal media. Print at highest quality for your printer, print as if on matte photo paper, and you can adjust the colors if you want something other than natural.

Scott, you asked what was underneath it. You apply the decal directly to the rod blank, just like you would a blank maker's decal. Before cutting out the decals from the sheet of media (I usually print a whole sheet to cover for screwups) I spray with UV resistant Papilio clear or Krylon clear. After applying, it use CP sparingly along the edges to prevent the epoxy from loosening the edges while it cures. No CP necessary over the bulk of the decal. Keep in mind that this media is opaque, a nice white, just like matte photo paper, but is really soft/flexible, sticky on one side. Papilio also has clear vinyl with the sticky side, and it works very well too. Just use a printer setting for glossy or glossy II photo paper.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

This rod uses an image of brook trout. With all that color you might think it would be gaudy, but it really is quite classy/attractive IMHO.

Since most printers don't handle silver well, fish with a lot of silver don't work out very well.

Mike, thanks so much for that info, I appreciate you taking the time to explain it. Sounds very similar to what I do with the decal paper/liquid leaf, but with different paper, and different results as in I like yours better.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Thank you again, I really appreciate it.

Scott

"My biggest fear in life is that when I die, my wife will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it."

Thank you to all. Bill I will be in touch. Are you going to be at the show?

Bob