I recently purchased a four piece ultralight, travel rod (Daiwa Presso) online. When I received the rod, I noticed that the blank, though finished, has a very rough texture to it. I’m not all that keen on that type of texture, so I was thinking of applying a thin coat of epoxy to the whole rod to maybe smooth out the bumps. Good idea? Bad idea? I realize that by doing this, I will add weight and
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Update. Well, I do appreciate all of you for weighing in on this. I went ahead and put some heating lamps in the room and waited another 24 hours. And would you know it, the epoxy cured after all. I guess my limited experience in working with pro kote, did not factor in that it took a while to cure under colder conditions. That was the case here. Normally when I’ve used pro kote, it cures within
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Thanks for the great replies. After checking, both bottles of pro kote are even which indicates to me that if I made an error in the mixup, it was ever so slight. The interesting thing is that the mixed epoxy in the cup is still soft, whereas the epoxy on the rod is not a soft, but rather tacky. My fingerprints do not register on it, which is a good thing. If I wait another 24 hours and apply a n
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Alright I've done a provision search but could not come up with an answer to my particular situation. I've applied two coats of epoxy using ProKote and Flex Coat (high build). Both have dried well. Now I've applied one last coat, but only to the area where I have decals and a hook keeper. This last coat has not dried. I mixed 1ml ea. of ProKote using syringes so I thought the mixture was
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Thanks for the feedback. A lot of good ideas here. One problem I'm having is shaping the cork and having it come out perfectly concentric. Last few came out rather off-center. I think it has to do with the fit of the cork on my make-shift mandrel, a long bolt. Also I'm experimenting with tools and sandpaper to shape. Any tools I should condor? Wood rasp? Etc?
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I’ve been looking at some of the more economical wood turning lathes, under $200. What I am not seeing are lathes that can be fitted with mandrels. Of course I know nothing about these lathes and how they’re built, so it could be that I am overlooking something that is rather sample to retrofit. I’m assuming I need a mandrel in order to turn cork? Any suggestions?
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Forgive the newbie question but I am getting some lifting on my decal edges. I think it’s due to not putting the decal over epoxy or a hard smooth surface. The lifting has occurred when putting the decal on a painted portion of the blank, and more recently over a section coated with polyurethane. I’m thinking the paint and poly are still leaving a porous surface? I have burnished the decal qu
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Anyone know the differences between the ALPs and Forecast Power wrapper except for price. ALPs is $550 and Forecast is $375. I thought they were the same company. Do they share parts?
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I would imagine that on a forum like this that this subject has been exhausted ad nauseam. However when I do a search I only get one or two threads and not much information. Maybe I’m doing a search wrong but that’s why I have it posted here.
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I’m looking at adding a power wrapper but am not finding too much info on the current options. I will use it for personal rods, and perhaps for friends and family. Being such, my budget is around $500. Not sure if I can get one that includes a handle / cork turner, but that would be great. Anyone what to share some resources that’ll help me make my choice? Maybe share your knowledge of the dif
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I’ve been out of bass fishing for a while so I’m gonna throw out my two cents with the understanding that I may be completely wrong on this. When throwing crank baits or any treble hooked bait, don’t you want a rod that’s a little bit more moderate in action? I think many people favored rods with some glass or glass composite, rather than straight graphite for this reason. If that’s the case the
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I did a search but could not find any info on this product. It is called Pro-Rod polyurethane matte varnish. I picked up a small bottle from Mud Hole thinking I’d use it on a lower section of a rod. Unlike 2 part epoxies and thread wraps this is a water-based single solution. Has anyone had any experience with this? Anything I should watch out for? Are there special techniques to applying it? B
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Not to highjack but it is a question related to the G2 full length handle. Can this be cut down? How?
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Thanks for the tip. I think I have similar scissors that I will go check out. As far as using a razor to correct the imperfections, how long should I wait before I attempt that? The first coat of ProKote was applied last night.
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So I’ve applied the first coat of ProKote and I see a few places where the thread was not cut as close as required. As a result I have a few bumps showing up in that area. Being a relative newbie I’m not sure if the next coat will fix it? I plan on applying 2 more coats. Should I try to sand down the affected area? Maybe try to level it with a razor? Or simply apply more coats? If someone te
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Hello Herb. Which chart / model am I following? The 9ft. Seamaster?
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Thanks for that link Robert. I always thought that spinning models, as a general rule, used less number of guides, since the line doesn't touch the blank? Herb nor CTS have guide blueprints for casting models... bummer.
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I've searched the forum but have not found any suggestions. I'm building on the above 8'3" blank that is rated at: PE 2-4, 45-100g lures. I'm building it as a CASTING MODEL rather than spinner, and think that 11 guides should do it, plus the tip. The guides are Fuji double foot KWs from sz. #16 down to #8s. Anyone build on this blank as a casting model. I'm looking for a starting point
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Been waiting forever for polished SIC double-footed K guides… And I’m getting no answers from MH…
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Thanks David. I'm doing just that...
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I went with 8's just as a precaution. I might use heavier leader and did not want to have the knot hang up on guides. Also, as I look to place reel seat, etc., do you have recommendations on how far up from the butt I should place the seat? Again rod is 8'3". TIA
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Tom Kirkman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Why so many different guide sizes? If you're > starting with a 20 and know you can get down to > 8's, just go on and do it. Set a 20 as the butt > guide and immediately move to the 8's. All those > in-between sizes do nothing for you. They do not > result in a more gradual line slope or path. &
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So I'm experimenting with these grips and noticed one of the sections of the CF sleeve / fabric has a blemish. It's a small hole that my OCD cannot get past. LOL. Rather than toss this section and start again, I was thinking of letting it dry, and then applying a second CF sleeve over it. Anyone do this? Will the porous material of the existing grip make the second grip look funky? I realize
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Well my CTS 83 (Stickbait Rod, 8'3" PE2-4) finally got in. I'm building this as a casting model and will pair it up with a Daiwa Lexa 400 for that purpose. I've been buying components for the build over the last few weeks, but now the moment of truth has arrived concerning the guide train. I'm going with Fuji KW double foot guides. Because of the length, i was thinking 11 guides (maybe
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UPDATE: Thanks for all the input on this. I tried several methods mentioned here with the remaining piece of Texalium. I tried the Dremel with the saw blade rather than the abrasive blade. It still caused some melting as mentioned and the cut was not as straight as needed. So the problem of squaring it persisted. I tried to put the end up against a sanding disc and that just burned the ends.
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Wow. Great info here. Thank you so much for taking the time to post up all these great responses. I do have a sanding disc and also a Dremel. I would need to get a Squaring device to make it work. Another question. If I want to go with a Dremel what if I want to use the micro saw blade rather than an abrasive blade?
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I do have a Dremel... but wasn't sure I could get that edge square enough with it.
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Depending on the technique used, some guys put their forearm up against the exposed blank for greater sensitivity. This technique is recommended for slow pitch jigging.
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Tom Kirkman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You may be better off cutting them with a fine > tooth hand saw and then sanding or filing the ends > square. Cutting with an abrasive wheel does create > a lot of heat at the cut. > > ......... Hmmm? Didn't think about that. I'll look into it. Do you think a different wheel might work
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So I bought a 10in.piece of texalium tubing to use for decorative purposes. I intend to use three (3), 1 inch pieces in the handle sections of a split grip design. I experimented cutting the texalium with a Harbor Freight 6 inch cut off saw similar to the on in this link: When I cut slowly the composite in the tube melts and the fibers at the ends unravel. When I cut the pieces quickly, th
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