Hello gang, New to the sight and would really appreciate suggestions on the components for my build.
I havent' built a fly rod for about 35 years but decided to try one of the newer glass rods. I bought a completed rod from Moonlit (s-glass), like it and now I wan't to put an Iconoglass 5wt 8' together using an NFC blank.
I read somewhere that due to a larger butt size, reel seats may be harder to find. I guess that would also apply to winding checks. Anyway, I could use some specific advice on components for this build.

I built on two iconoglass last winter, an 8 wt and a 5 wt. I used stents on both of these and they worked out fine. I got the hardware for the builds, including the stents, from proof fly fishing. I used one stent and wasn't happy with how heavy they were and used a section of an old carbon fiber blank for the other rod. But the stents allow you to run whatever reel seat you like.

This seems to be the only pic I have that might illustrate. This was a mock up right after gluing the stents in place but before gluing up the reel seats.



I would 100 percent do this again



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2023 02:27PM by Bob Foster.

I've never used stents. Always heard that reaming them out could be a problem, so I've always just used tape to build up the needed fill space. Did you use one or two stripping guides? How many snake guides?
I was leaning towards the gray 5wt also.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2023 02:35PM by Bob Slaughter.

My Lamiglas Perigee 5/6 wt. blanks all had .500" butts I used a size 7 reel seat on one with a short fighting butt and the other a size 8 seat. There was work involved but I finally got them reamed to fit. The 9 wt. was also a .500" but I used a Stuble titanium seat on it. You could also use a larger diameter seat designed for Spey rods to keep the classic wood insert look. R.B. Meiser sells them in many sizes and they beautiful to behold.

You don't ream out the stents. The stents are glued into the butt of the blank using arbors and epoxy much the same as you would use gluing up a reel seat or a grip onto the blank. In the picture, on the white 8 wt blank you can actually see the arbors thru the blank. They just reduce the blank diameter to give the flexibility when shopping reel seats.

A matter of semantics around here but there is only ever one stripping guide on a rod, the next one up the rod being a transition guide. I went with an agate 12mm stripping guide, a #3 snake as a transition and 1/0 guides out to the tip. Were I to do it again I think I would go with #1 guides to the tip and especially if using universal snake brand guides as it seems they are a little undersized compared to many other snake guides. 1 agate, 1 transition snake, 7 snake guides plus tip top for a total of 9 guides. I always shop an extra guide for some wiggle room in the layout.

I didn't realize that. I'll give the stents another look. Thanks for the advice on the guides. I'm thinking about going with 12mm, 10mm, then 1 4mm, 3 3mm, 2 2mm snakes and a 4mm tip top.

Bob,

I would suggest (1) 12mm stripper, (1) 8mm intermediate guide, and then the rest running guides. This will give you a more direct line path through the guides, and reduce the overall weight of your build. I like my running guides to be the smallest size that will pass my leader connections.

I prefer single foot running guides (either wire or ceramic). Nothing wrong with snake guides, though.

Thanks, Les. I'll look into the single foots guides. Half the wraps is a good idea. Also what diameter would you suggest for a winding check. I roughly calculated .457".

Les, Im not actually sure now what the intermediate guide size is. I thought it was a #3 snake but am second guessing it now. I've been kind of operating under a self imposed restriction of 6wt and up gets two "ringed" guides, and 5 wt and down get just the stripping guide plus appropriately sized snakes.

Bob, this is rattling my brain trying to remember what the recipe was for my 5 wt but it has reintroduced the importance of chronicling builds so the recipe is repeatable if required. For winding checks I have been making my best guess and buying checks on either side of my guess. Reaming aluminum checks is a pain but can be done. It is my understanding that it is important to have a bit of a gap between the check and the blank so as not to create a hard point at the front of the grip where the blank could potentially break.

You should not have trouble finding reel seats to fit that blank, the butt diameter is not that large. It then is also no need for a stent, which would increase the length of the butt section. I have built Icocglass rods up to a 10wt without the need for a stent.

Good info. Thanks

Guide spacing is my next issue. Suggestions?

Personally I would avoid using a stent on a fly rod. If anything, it will only negatively impact rod action and/or feel, and you will wind up with a butt section that is 3 or 4 inches longer than the rest of the rod sections. I think there are plenty of glass blanks that are narrow enough that you can find a reel seat that will fit and therefore would not require stents.

The Iconoglass 5 wt butt diameter is 0.498. A great many reel seats will fit that.

The Iconcglass 12 wt butt diameter is .634. A Lemke all aluminum reel seat has an inside diameter of 0.66, as do many Batson.

No stent needed. Just look for a reel seat with an ID greater than the butt width. Lots of them out there, just not many with a wood spacer. You could try drilling a wood spacer but be sure to go down the middle nice and straight, as you will get close to the outer edge.

Why do several folks think a stent will increase the overall length of the butt section?

You just cut the butt section back and install the stent so the overall length stays the same. Effect rod action, maybe a bit, but not enough for us to notice. The stent only needs to go 2.5 to 3" into the butt section, covered by the grip and these blanks that may require one, they are like a truck axle to begin with, not much flex in a butt section that is over .425. I've installed stents for hobby builders on North Fork Fiberglass blanks, they had no flex in lower end of the butt section, even the 5wt I did recently.

I've done plenty that way, there is a supplier that sells short lengths of carbon fiber and fiberglass. The Carbon stent material is light weight and has enough wall thickness to be tapered to match up with the inside taper of the blank. I've also heard of folks using wooden dowels, not a route I would go, not enough strength in my opinion.

Why use a stent when it is not needed?

If the builder wants to use a reel seat skeleton and wood insert that cannot be bored to that inside diameter, then a stent would be needed.

There could also be an issue of how proportional some components may look on the rod, it is an 8ft 5wt, sure the diameter of the butt might be large, but some reel seats that would fit without a stent may just look to big, like they belong on an 8 or 10wt, and the cork grip would have to accommodate that seat, especially if a hidden hood or up locking seat is used.

But, there are options out there for some metal or composite skeletons that may fit and look okay.

Yes, you can cut the blank shorter and insert a stent and keep the overall butt section the same length. I think most go this route. Too some degree, perhaps insignificant, as indicated above, perhaps not, you will affect the design, weight, balance or action of the rod.

It seems counterintuitive to me to purchase a blank that's design and taper does enable one to fit onto it a real seat. Why bother?

But to each his own.

The parts and blank showed up yesterday. I had to ream the crap out of the reel seat and grip but everything fits well now, although it's snug. Having doubts about the single foot running guides an wondering if the fly line will have any difficulty sliding through them. Didn't need a stent, but it was close.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/2023 09:52PM by Bob Slaughter.

Single foot fly guides work very well! I only build fly rods and in the last 100 I have built only 4 had double foot. The wt range was 2 to 12.

I can’t really see effecting any of the action or significant weight of the blank. We are only talking the last 4” that was under the reel seat, I’d guess that part of the rod does nothing to enhance or degrade the intended action of the blank. I did build a 4wt iconoglass , I used a forecast wood insert reel seat that did not require a stent just a slight bit of reaming and it looks fine.