Yes, for those of us that build one or two rods a year a pre made kit matched to rod length would be very helpful. Even if I end up not using all the running guides after testing I would find it useful. Was not aware mudhole's sets were mismatched, need to spend more time reading this forum. My 2c worth. John
Forum: rodboard

I'm thinking of purchasing some wooden canes, doing decorative cross wraps on them and donating them to the local VA or VFW. I plan on testing the painted surfaces to make sure there are no interaction issues with the epoxy, wondering how the epoxy will hold up to that kind of daily use. I'm thinking it shouldn't be an issue, but would like some thoughts from those of you with more experience a
Forum: rodboard

I prefer orthodontic bands for braces. Cheap, easy to cut off, holds the guide in place, lets you move the guide around easily.
Forum: rodboard

It's not a blank, its a completed rod, selling for $240 - $250 at Sportsmans. Would like to build a similar rod in a blank that is identical to Cousins. John
Forum: rodboard

Cousins makes a rod called the "Columbia composite salmon trolling rod", 9' 6" (other lengths available), Action moderate, power is listed as extra heavy, line weight is listed as 15 - 40#, lure weight listed as 4-12 oz. I'm looking for a blank that is the same, having trouble finding one. Any thoughts from you folks with more experience on a similar blank without the high cos
Forum: rodboard

I'm relatively new at building rods, although I do most of my fishing from kayaks and had a smilar question when I 1st moved over to a kayak. One thing I was told by several more experienced kayak anglers when I 1st started out, in a kayak you do most of you fishing, and fighting of a fish sitting down, unlike a boat you cannot get up and move around to keep the fish clear of tangles on the bow
Forum: rodboard

I have 5 coats on the upper portion of the blank, 2 coats on the lower portion, intitial impressions, So far I like the look, much lighter than epoxy seems easier to me to apply, easy to fix if i make a small mistake Downsides, fumes are not great, just need to make sure I vent properly Not sure if I need 2 coats of color lock, getting some transparancy thru the thread, used one coat of co
Forum: rodboard

As always I appreciate advice people are willing to give. I'm in the process of coating the wraps, using PG. This is only my 3rd rod, 1st fly rod, so right now everything is a learning experiance, I figure if I don't like it, I can always redo it this winter. Thanks John
Forum: rodboard

Asked a question earlier about underwraps on a fly rod, appreciate all the advice, so..... 2nd question, if adding a underwrap is not advised due to adding weight to the rod, do you folks recommend using something other than an epoxy rod finish in order to keep things even lighter? I was thinking of using perma-gloss as opposed to an epoxy - thoughts? Thanks John
Forum: rodboard

That was easy, no underwraps, thanks for the consensus. John
Forum: rodboard

Building my 1st fly rod, have a question regarding underwraps. I would like to use an underwrap on each guide for decorative purposes. The rod is an 8 wt, will using the additional thread effect the sensitivity or feel of the rod. Thanks for any thoughts. John
Forum: rodboard

Appreciate the help and the info. Thanks John
Forum: rodboard

I have not cast a fly rod for almost 30 years, I,m looking to do some fly fishing for largemouth bass on a lake in Oregon. The locals recommend a 7-8 wt rod for fishing this particular lake. I don't wish to build an expensive rod, at least at this point. My thought had been to build the rod using a rainforrest RX6 8 wt 9' blank. Any recommendations for types of guides, snake or minis, reel seat
Forum: rodboard

Tom and Randolph, thanks for the info, that's similar to what I've been doing, just wasn't sure, maybe there was a better trick. Will just have to be more dilliegent about adding tape. Thanks John
Forum: rodboard

Pretty basic question, but one I've been having some issues with. I'm using either double sided tape, or masking tape wound sticky side up and using that to fasten my threads to as I do a cross wrap. The problem I'm having is with a couple of threads coming unstuck as I progress thru the wrap, kind of frustrating to spot a thread from early in the wrap coming undone. Any advice on how to avoid, d
Forum: rodboard

I've just subscribed to rodmaker mag, and also want to order some back issues with specific info. I'm looking for articles on using U40 dura gloss ls, and articles dealing with thinning and using other epoxies. Any help as far as what issues might have these would be appreciated. Thanks John
Forum: rodboard

apologies, found my answer in a different post, can this be deleted? Thanks
Forum: rodboard

Thanks for the info from both of you, guides ordered, can't wait to build. John
Forum: rodboard

Roger, do I need to change to the "belly guides" then to the running guides, something along the line of 25H, 12H, 5.5H, then 3 5.5 J belly guides, then 4 - 6, of he 5.5J ks? Thanks
Forum: rodboard

You might check with wood turning shops in your area also, they usually have a good selection of pen type wood blanks. I used to turn pen blanks and just got rid of some buffalo horn, elk and deer antler I used to use for pens.
Forum: rodboard

Building my 2nd rod, primarily for fishing surf perch on the Oregon coast, using a rainshadow rx6 9' 6", coupled with a penn battle 2000. The rod is rated for 6 - 10 lb test, 1/4 - 1/2 oz lures, will probably use braid. My thougth is to use the KR concept, KL H guides. Per the GPS software it gives me 25, 20, 16, 12, 10, 8, 5.5, with a choke point at 25.55 I realize that I don't use all t
Forum: rodboard

Thanks to all of you for the info, Jim is it possible to take look at my guide selection/distances and make sure I'm doing this correct, I'm using a Penn Battle 2000 on a Rainshadow RX6 9.6", 10 - 12 lb line, 1/4 to 1/2 oz lures, this will be used primarily to fish surf perch on the Oregon coast Using KLH guides, I'm given the following 25 20 16 12 10 8 5.5, with the choke point at 648 m
Forum: rodboard

So, the height of the center of the reel does not affect the height of the guides, I'm probably overthinking this, but I assumed (yea I know) that the height of the reel would affect the angle of the line going thru the choker guide? Thanks John
Forum: rodboard

When taking the measurements from a reel for the Fuji guide concept, does one need to take into account the fact that there will be not reel seat? I'm planning on using the reel taped directly to the blank, does this affect the height of the guides one uses? I did do a search, didn't find anything. Thanks John
Forum: rodboard

Appreciate the info, yes I was aware that perma gloss was not an actual epoxy, just seemed easier to use the term, will be more careful next time. As far as "over wraps", again I probably should have phrased this differently, still learning all the terms. What I meant to ask was: when you do an open wrap as opposed to a closed wrap is it traditional to cover both the threads and the ope
Forum: rodboard

My plan is to use U 40 perma gloss as my epoxy, I do have a question regarding open wraps. Is it customary to epoxy just the threads on an open wrap, or do you epoxy the entire portion of the blank where the open wraps are? Any tips for using the U 40 perma gloss? Thanks John
Forum: rodboard

So, I did a very simple butt wrap, then wrapped all the guides on my 1st rod, got finished putting on the cp, decided that I could do a better butt wrap, so stripped the old one off, then wrapped a nice, (for me) diamond blue and silver wrap on. Then decided there was a differnce in quality between the 1st guides I did and the last, so went back and stripped off all the guides, again just had cp
Forum: rodboard

Moving along on my 1st rod build, I do have a question regarding pulling the tag end thru at the end of a wrap. I'm using a loop of thread, the same size as the thread I'm wrapping with "A", when I tuck it into the loop and pull it back thru, Instead of getting a nice clean even end, where I pull it back thru I'm getting a divot. I know I must be doing something wrong, too much tension,
Forum: rodboard

Randolph Ruwe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > John, yes you have to cut the bands off. Wrap > halfway up the guide foot, until it is anchored in > place then cut the band. I prefer the green pin > stripe tape, it can just be lifted off and used > again for the next guide. I only tape one guide > on at a time. The pin stripe tape is ava
Forum: rodboard

Appreciate all the responses, will give several of these a try and see what works best for me, I do have a couple more questions, Those that use rubber bands or the dental bands, do you use these to hold the guide on while your wrap, or just when setting it up, if you use it while you wrap, do you cut the bands of, would think that trying to roll them over a partial wrap would really screw th
Forum: rodboard