No insult intended Art. Just didn't know whether you were monitoring this thread and it did not sound as if this one was a PHY. Glad you chimed in. Don
Forum: rodboard

Go over to Classic Fly Rod Forum and get in touch with some restorers. A good restoration is not cheap, but may give you a good, serviceable rod. You might check with Art Parramour first as he sees a lot of middle to low end rods.
Forum: rodboard

Check on the Cortland slow sinking intermediate in the blue color. I recall getting 2 on @#$%& from a clearing house in Austin for $30 each. Sierra Trading often has Rios and Orvis lines heavily discounted as well. Don
Forum: rodboard

I think you are right at the cut off for ceramics, so go for it. Personally, I like a graduated set, 12-10-8-6-5s to tip. Don
Forum: rodboard

Steve. By all means buy a quality bamboo blank and build yourself a rod. There are several talented blank makers in the U.S. Don
Forum: rodboard

I don't turn my own cork inserts and so have used the Cortland hardware. A pocket cap and ring is more secure than double rings. I really would like to try a couple of mortized cork inserts for some non-pocketed hardware. Is this feasible Paul? Don
Forum: rodboard

Ralph and Paul both make good points. The factory Sage is overbuilt in my opinion, but a NS cap and ring set doesn't save much over an aluminum screw seat and the screw lock is a lot more secure. You can save weight with a 2 ounce reel and/or aluminum cap and ring. You will notice the short grip on the factory Sage, which I like. I would suggest building with double foot RECs because of thei
Forum: rodboard

You might consider a simple blocking wrap ahead of the foot. The guides can still be tweaked but the block provides most of the advantages of a locking wrap.
Forum: rodboard

Tim. Want to make this easy? First, put multiple coats of Polyurethane Wipe On finish from Miniwax on the blank with a coffee filter. You can put on about 3 coats a day. Use silk thread, but only in 3/0 or 4/0. Use a medium color with no CP. It will go translucent and the medium color thread will go much darker. Maroon is always a good choice. For the wraps, use the same polyurethane or s
Forum: rodboard

Mo. I think I get your point about the accumulation of finish at the guidefoot causing a slightly different coloration. I would suggest that you try tung oil or a thinned varnish to see if you can't get a more even and invisible finish. The variation is not as noticeable under a colored thread. I am not sure as to whether you can leave the space alongside the guide foot unfilled. You can ti
Forum: rodboard

Art can do the repair for you, I suspect. Contact him for pricing. Don
Forum: rodboard

A dark stain makes the cork look like distressed wood. I am guessing that this will be too dark for your tastes. You can mix a little red into a lighter color if you like. Or rub on a lighter color first and go over that with the red, which will not be near as dark over the lighter color. After the stain dries, seal it with a couple of coats of Tru-oil or poly.
Forum: rodboard

Steve, I would go with a medium to dark colored #50 silk. #50 is easy to work with, but less diameter than A nylon. The Gudebrod does have fuzzies so stear clear. Golden Witch has a good range of silks from Tire and YLI. Light colors tend to go transparent. Medium colors can go pretty dark. You can use epoxy over silk, but varnish or polyurethane will give you a thinner coat. Do a test w
Forum: rodboard

I generally put 3 coats of Tru-oil over 2 coats of stain as it will rub off. The stain is wiped on and off. You can buff out the Tru-oil with 0000 steel wool to matte out the finish. Pecan is also a popular cork color. I also bleach grips and then Tru-oil. Stain over bleach cork also creates a unique color. Don
Forum: rodboard

You can go over to Classic Fly Rod Forum and post there to get an ID on the rod. Art should be able to come up with a tip suitable to complete the rod as a wall hanger and might even be able to identify the rod for you. Not likely to be worth fixing up beyond that. Don
Forum: rodboard

I second the recommendation on Mark Fitch's blanks, although he posted a completed rod for $350 about 2 weeks ago. The blanks are impregated, so you can purchase your silk thread and hardware and have at it just as you would a graphite blank without worrying about dip tanks. Mark will also ferrule the blank for a small charge. In general, bamboo really shines in the shorter lengths. Don
Forum: rodboard

John Quigley in California [[email protected]] makes mine and they are the nicest I have seen. I have them made with a neutral tip and a bright orange butt to serve as a strike indicator, wet or dry fly. John makes them in different lengths and tapers in various thread colors, even silk. I will never use a mono leader again. I am currently experimenting with one made for vertical nymphing.
Forum: rodboard

Mark. I think you are well past the "break even" point for ceramics versus single foots with a six weight. The H & H stand up single foots are nice guides, but I would use all ceramics for much improved performance. Titanium frames if you are that worried about weight. A #1 would be the smallest size I would use in a wire guide. Don
Forum: rodboard

Rush River has them in aluminum, on request. Look like the nickel silver version.
Forum: rodboard

Daniel. As Eric says, the N guide matches snakes well, but not SFs. Personally, I would use a single foot ceramic, readily available in chrome. I would also use a #10 instead of the #8 for the stripper. A ceramic tip top is okay, if you can find one with a big enough ring and unbraced.
Forum: rodboard

Tim. I would say your selection of guides is about right. Also "oversize" by traditional standards. When I see 5 weight bamboo rods built with 2/0 snakes and #8 agate strippers, I think "this rod could use bigger guides"! Silk lines are smaller in diameter than PVC coated lines. These days I tend to pay more attention to the diameter of the tip. A narrower diameter tip
Forum: rodboard

A is equivalent to 0. 00 is thinner, all the way down to 6/0 gossamer silk. I believe Gudebrod makes 00 nylon. I like 3/0 and 4/0 silks. Don
Forum: rodboard

Larry. At the risk of screwing up my inside track on @#$%& I have Avons, Aerials, and Farmingtons and the Magnesiums. I don't believe the Magnesium is made by Young and is not in the same class. Your best value is to buy a boxed set of Avons for $300. Nicer than Hardy's or any American competitors, IMO, and an excellent buy. You won't be disappointed. Don
Forum: rodboard

I wonder the same thing about single and double footed RECs. The double foots are a lot more flexible and I can't see how they can inhibit the action at all. However, I wrapped 1 bamboo tip with singles and the other with doubles and prefered the tip with the singles. Could be that the singles did in fact stiffen up the blank and this is why I preferred it!
Forum: rodboard

John. As Art and Steve have said, scarfing a quality tip to replace the original is the way to go. Or have a new tip built. If you don't want to spend the money I am sure you could work a trade of the Hardy as is for a lesser model in good shape. An unfortunate consequence of the rise in quality used bamboo rods is that everyone assumes an old bamboo rod is worth a lot of money. The vast ma
Forum: rodboard

Tim. I think you are on the right track. If you have not heard of Mark Fitch on @#$%&, look him up. Sells ferruled blanks regularly there and they are very nice. Mark impregnates his blanks, so they are ready to wrap. As to the builders, some will not sell you a blank because their reputation is on the line and a badly finished blank indirectly occassions negative PR streamside. But a grea
Forum: rodboard

Eric. Learning to build a bamboo rod from scratch takes a considerable amount of time and a substantial investment. Have you thought about buiding out a ferruled blank? If so, there are some makers that offer them at a very reasonable cost.
Forum: rodboard

I had some really good results with 811, but then some bad. As Tom says it works less well when it penetrates more. Counter-intuitive.
Forum: rodboard

The cap and ring is not nearly as bad about releasing the reel as double rings. Cortland has aluminum sets, as mentioned. You can get a set of .657 aluminum rings from Larson at Rush River. Doesn't advertise them though. I turn down a reel seat into a Kork-a-lon handle for these.
Forum: rodboard

I like uplocking hardware or cap and ring. The BIG disadvantage of uplocks is that the line will take a turn over the protrusion. But I like the look, so put up with the nuisance.
Forum: rodboard