Just tell me that the coffee filters you use are fresh and not after having brewed a pot! I think it's great that we can make fun of our personal idiosynchrasies! (sp?)
Forum: rodboard

Just curious - is there any reason why you have to pop out the old, cured finish? I use those cheap aluminum ash trays lined with aluminum foil and have mixed finish on top of cured finish a number of times with no problems. I know, you're probably thinking "Boy is this guy cheap - not only uses disposable ash trays, then lines them, but is also too cheap to even throw away the aluminum foil
Forum: rodboard

Although I completed my first rod awhile ago, I just recently put the decal on. Just ahead of the hook-keeper I wrapped thread slightly wider than the width of the decal (strictly decorative), along with a gold trim band on each end. I then put on two coats of Flex Coat Lite. Since the finish was put on months ago, I prepped the area with a light sanding using grey Scotchbrite, put on a thin
Forum: rodboard

Dave Gilberg Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Congratulations, Ralph. Glad you were able to have > that great experience up here in the Catskill > Mountains. I live in Liberty, NY which is not far > from Roscoe. If you find yourself up this way > again and want some company on the river give me a > holler. Care to tell what river you wer
Forum: rodboard

I was in the Catskills this past weekend and got a chance to fish with my first rod build - a Rainshadow 2 piece 3 weight. It's such a great feeling to catch fish (plural) with a rod I built. I was quite surprised how well it casts for a relatively inexpensive kit. With an Able Creek Series reel with Brook Trout graphics paint scheme, it looks great as well!
Forum: rodboard

So, from your replies so far, it's the light gray one that is most used for our purposes?
Forum: rodboard

I know many of you recommend using gray Scothchbrite pads for lightly scuffing finish areas that have dried more than 24 hours or so, before putting on another finish coat. In a search on Google for Scotchbrite, I discovered there are TWO gray pads available, a light and a dark gray, as well as other colors, all of which indicate different strengths of abrasiveness. The light gray is less abra
Forum: rodboard

You might try a place like Michael's Craft store, or a simialr place. I may be mistaken, but I think I remember seeing them there.
Forum: rodboard

Safest thing to do is to contact TU's legal department and simply tell them what your intentions are and let them tell you what you can do. Don't rely on other's opinions on this subject. And, if they do give you permission . . . get it in writing!!!!!
Forum: rodboard

Lighten up, Bill. I wasn't accusing anyone in particular of being spineless. But, just for you, it has been edited.
Forum: rodboard

Maybe they're "spineless"! ; )
Forum: rodboard

Maybe I'm off base here but, your cousin's father-in-law asked you to build a rod for him and expects you to pay for it? Or, are you so honored by his request that you feel obligated to pay for it yourself? My point is, if he's willing to pay for it ,or is willing to split the cost with you and consider it a gift from both of you, you can purchase the Winston blank he would truly enjoy instead of
Forum: rodboard

Tom, having sanded wraps and recoated with finish, it is amazing that no scratches appear. The area I would be concerned with is that area under the decal that has been sanded with Scotchbrite on which no finish would be directly applied because the decal would be on top of it. You're saying that area will blend in perfectly with the surrounding area as well?
Forum: rodboard

Is Scotchbrite #7448 something I would purchase in a place like Home Depot? Would this "buffing" show through the decal after a top coat of finish is put on?
Forum: rodboard

I've used a Sage TXL 3 wgt. and would recommend you take a look at their TXL 1 wgt. It's a beautiful rod and casts really well.
Forum: rodboard

I was considering making a rod for a friend using a Gatti blank and asked about them on a number of forums. I was told by many that they experienced breakage. Because of it I've decided to avoid them, at least for now.
Forum: rodboard

Decal Connection says that the new waterslide decals may need to be soaked for as much as two minutes before sliding off. Maybe I did not actually get the new decal material even though that is what I ordered. If I accidentally got the old, because I soaked it for 15-20 seconds is part of why I was having a problem - I soaked it too long! From this first experience, I'm not certain trying to s
Forum: rodboard

I am using the new waterslide decals. To determine how long to soak the decal, I used some of the waste after trimming the decal. It took as little as 15-20 seconds of soaking for the decal to slide off the paper backing. Should I have let it soak longer before trying to slide the decal? In the initial moving of the decal from the paper backing to the rod, I moved the decal slightly off the ba
Forum: rodboard

The MicroSet seemed to be pretty smooth on the surface, so I don't think that is a problem. And I did stroke another layer of MicroSet after applying the decal. It was the repositioning of the decal that I have the problem with. I kept the rod in my PacBay rod wrapper to support it off the surface of the table and to give me some working space. The rod doesn't really rotate at all when locked
Forum: rodboard

I can't believe this. I'm finishing up my first rod and it's really looking pretty good, if I say so myself. THEN . . . I go to put the decal on and found this to be the toughest part of the whole rod building process. It wasn't the wrapping, it wasn't the finish . . . nope, it was putting on that stinking decal! Yes, I had a spare, but I messed that one up as well. I even had two which Decal
Forum: rodboard

Well, you guys pretty much confirmed my suspicions about pumps. My main concern was accuracy in the pumping step, repeatability and having these qualities in both pumps for parts A & B. Think I'll stick with the syringes and get the drill out to create holes in the caps as suggested. Thanks guys!
Forum: rodboard

Mike, where did you get the Adapta-Caps from?
Forum: rodboard

I've gotten the feeling that most of you prefer to use syringes for measuring wrap finish. Do any of you use, or at least have tried, the FlexCoat pumps? Are they as accurate in measuring parts A & B as syringes? They appear to be a little neater way to go, not having to wipe the tips of the syringes clean after loading, nor having to keep syringes hung in a bottle to keep them clean.
Forum: rodboard

As a commercial photographer, I'm quite familiar with colors of light and how it affects the colors of what I photograph. What you're experiencing is quite common. Regular light bulbs have a reddish/orange color compared to daylight with a color temperature of around 2800 degrees Kelvin. Regular fluorescents typically have a cyan/green color. The best lamps to use that can match daylight are f
Forum: rodboard

Bill Stevens Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The Micro Sol is a softening agent to shrink the > decal and firmly stick the edges so that finish > undercutting will not occur. The Mirco Sol is the > one that will soften a decal film for removal with > repetive coatings. > > Gon Fishn Bill, I'm a little confused by what appears to
Forum: rodboard

The end of the saga has arrived. I got home from work today and found the dryer from PacBay sitting at my front door. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Forum: rodboard

Back on December 5th, Charlie Comstock at PacBay replied to my frustration in this forum for not having sent the "free" rod dryer I had sent in the coupon for at the end of August, which was promised in 4-6 weeks by stating the following: "Due to the overwhelming response to our initial RodSmith Rod Dryer Rebate Program Pac Bay has revised the inventory levels for the RDM-1 RodS
Forum: rodboard

The Silky I used doesn't have much info on the spool other than "Silky Metallic 142 7007 Germany" (gold). I did my test wraps both with and without CP, applied the FlexCoat Lite, and they really look great - and identical! Guess I'll move forward with using it on the rod. Thanks for the reassurance!
Forum: rodboard

In finishing up my first rod, I want to put a decal between two gold trim wraps. Because of the distance to the nearest fly shop and the cost for P&H for just a spool of thread, I did some exploring and discovered that my wife has a spool of Sulky gold metallic thread in her sewing box. Having done a search here, it appears the Sulky thread should work fine for this application. Would most
Forum: rodboard

I was at a fly shop today taking a closer look to see how various rods are finished. While looking at the male ferrule tip area, I noticed the blank was sealed off, as opposed to being able to see into the blank. I don't remember reading in any of the three books I have on rod building as to if and/or how to seal the male ferrule tip hole. I would guess this is a good thing to do, as it would
Forum: rodboard