FYI I do not know how hard it has been in booking a room at the Radisson. I had one reservered for the last 5 months and just had to cancel because I am starting a new position with my company. So I know one has become available.
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I second your compliment for Hook and Hackle. Hook and Hackle is a top notch supplier. I also feel the same for the other sponsers of this forum that I have bought from.
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I bleached some very light colored burl cork I received calling it research. I used regular 2 part wood bleach and also the 2 part bleach you would buy from a beauty supply house to be used on hair. The cork was surface bleached after it was turned. The bleach on this burl cork (I'm not talking about the Exotic Burl) did work to some degree. I left the bleach one for a couple of hours and rep
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I just wanted to add to my last post. The first time I tried this I used an old broken rod to practice on. We learn the art of these things by doing and experimentation.
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You can also try wrapping the seat in aluminum foil and applying heat from a propane torch but do not leave the flame on one spot for very long. I have found this works quite well for me and does not damage the blank or seat as long as you do not over heat.
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Go to Orvis.com get their customer service number and call them. They will sell you these. Just tell them you are restoring a super fine. I believe the last time I ordered them for this sort of a thing it cost me around $20 to $25 with shipping.
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If you have a fly shop near you and they carry Sage they can get it for you. I know I am using the C word here, but Cabelas has this blank in stock. They do have good service in shipping.
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Did you apply any heat after the Klass Koat?
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My natural tendency (or fault) is to heat the epoxy in an effor to extend the working time. I just finished doing a rod this way and when dry my gut said something is wrong with the finish. I put a thumbnail on the finish and it pealed right off. Any more, I will just mix a new batch.
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I wrapped on a hand wrapper for years. I purchased the Pac Bay wrapper with the new chuck and new spring tensioned thread holder. I was showing it to my wife while doing a wrap. Her response was, "You are stupid!" I asked why she had said such a comment. She replied, you should have bought on of those about 5 years ago. The Pac Bay wrapper is a good buy for the money even though i
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I just returned home from 10 of using % and 5wt RX8+ that I made. I also carried with me a sage XP plus other rods. The Sage and the RX8+ performed close to the same. It was very windy where I was fishing especially on the lakes. The RX8+ cut through the wind without any problem. I enjoyed fishing the rod and would buy the RX8+ blank over the Sage for various reasons, namely price and the f
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If you are looking at the one from Golden Witch, then no. Micro Mark (www.micromark.com) has some interesting wire bending jigs and pliers. IMO one problem with making one's own guides is treating the raw wire to get the a good temper, hardness and or plating. I have thought about some of those benders for hook keepers and such but at the price of guides and hook keepers why bother.
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Aaron, I travel with Dan Craft Sig 5 and FT series 4 piece blanks (Sig V is now four piece). I also I travel with the RX8+ 4 and 5 pc blanks along with the RX7+ 4 and 5 piece blanks. I have no performance problems with them as compared to 2 piece blanks. Hook and Hackle has a good sell on the RX7+ blanks now. Also I have a few RX7 blanks in 4 piece models and they fish the same as my two piec
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I use two or three halogen work lights I picked up at home depot for about $8.00 a piece. Easy on the electric and they get quite warm
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Got it. I had not had my cup of coffee either. I was thinking in terms of real seet length. When I said the 16 mm fit, I did just what you both said. I was just concerned about the seat length. I know what I am going with. This casting rods, which I thought would be easy to build, is kicking my rear. I know have a knew respect for them. Thanks.
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I have been building fly and spinning rods for about 12 years but have never built a casting rod believe it or not. I was asked to build a 7' SCII casting rod for a friend who is taking retirement. Normally on a spinning rod of this size I would use a 17mm seat. The exposed casting seat that fits this rod (.52 butt) with max blank exposure and min gap is a 16mm. Am I on the right path when de
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I built a 6' spinning rod on an XML blank as a customer request in June of 2003. The customer returned the rod about six months later due to breakage, Cablea's replaced the blank and I rebuilt it. I suspect the breakage was due to mistreatment of the rod. I built the same customer a 7' spinning rod in June of last year. No problems with this rod. In test casting the blanks appeared to perfo
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Use a 5/8" or 3/4" finernail bit for making oval cuts and a modified 5/8" fingernail bit for mortised . Sometimes these bits can either be hard to find locally or very expensive. Mail order is a good choice for obtaining these. You probably already know, but when routing the spacers, I use roughly a 2 - 2"x2"x2" blocks of wood with a hole towards the end and bolt
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I have built the Rainshadow RX7, Raninshadow RX7+ and the Winston WT for myself. I like them all. The RX7 is compariable to the Winston WT and is priced right but does not flex as much as the Winston like Steve was talking about eventhough it will deliver a delicate cast. The RX7+ IMO handles better than the Wisnton WT but is higher in price (although still about 1/2 the cost of the Winston).
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Yes, the Recoil is of a smaller diameter than regular snake guide.
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I use a very thin brush of permagloss over the dot only and not around the rod. A lot of my rods are fished heavily and mistreated on backpacking trips. I never have had any problems with it coming off.
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I have met the guy several time at our fly fishing shows in Denver. I believe His blanks are some of the same ones sold by the sponsers on this sight. He uses American Tackle matrix blanks a lot. He just orders wholesale and re-sales like other suppliers.
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I use these a lot on some of my rods for entry level buyers who want to keep spending down for a good first rod since they are a little different in look and the price is right (I bought 15 for $5.00 a piece). Never had a problem with them and they do not feel any different than cork that I glue and shape. They do tend to break easily when reaming. IMO they do not do anything to enhance a trul
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Bill in now way did I mean to imply your company was small when I referred to the "big 5". By the big 5 I meant the major off the shelf rod companies that we see when we visit our fly shops and every one knows. Your company is IMO one of the best I know of for the products I use and I know it does lots of buisness. Although, to be fair, the sponsers of this forum are all very good.
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I have made many spinning rods from multi piece fly rod blanks for the sole purpose of backpacking and fishing the high lakes here in Colorado. The three piece spinning blanks from Baston are great but will be longer when placing them on your pack. I usually use a 5 or 7 piece 5 or 6 wt 9'-0" RX6 for this (I think Hook and Hackle carries some 7 piece RX6 blanks). I simply leave off the b
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Just wanted to chim in here. I have had problems with fly blanks made in the US from the big 5 companies as well. However, I have built more Baston Rainshadow/Forecast blanks than any other and not had any more problems (probably less) with them. Like Bill Baston said, things sometimes do slip through. I will add this is true in all companies. The quality from the orient is dependent upon th
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I have them on a Winston and a Rainshadow rod that I use a lot in the winter months in Colorado. They have been in use for 3 years. No problems, actually very nice guides.
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I may be all wet here but when I started learning the CCS system I was coming up with all of my ERN's slightly under the designed weight of the blank, especially on 4 and 5 piece blanks. I then re-read the articles and the tips Tom Kirkman wrote and made an interesting discovery that I should have realized to begin with. I found that after finding the spine for all peices, I needed to assemble
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If you have a lathe with a end chuck or an accurate drill press, you can cut the blank and re-bore the seat to remove the blank, otherwise the boiling water or heat gun might work. I've had some work with boiling water and some that did not.
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I've built 2 for myself and 3 for clients. Can't beat the rod for the money. Fun fishing rod for tight spaces and small streams.
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