What's remarkable is to consider the manufacturer's margin. If the darn things are selling for 20 bones retail, that means that they're around $5.00-8.00 in volume from the manufacturer. Presumably, that means that the manufacturer's got $2.50-4.00 in raw material costs. I am sure it's heretical, and I will be struck by lighting in a minute, but Overall, you'd have to say that this is a @#$%& of
Forum: rodboard

It's my thinking that the primary factor in the location of the spine is the coincidence (relative positions) of the inner and outer edges of the graphite cloth as they are wrapped to form the blank. Is this correct as far as anyone knows? Would this also be a primary factor as far as the natural curvature of a blank goes? If so, would this be due to less vs. more radial wall thichness + composit
Forum: rodboard

You can also just use a 3rd coat of FC lite. A trick to get a thicker coating from FC is to mix the finish and let it sit for 10-20 minutes (depending upon tempreature) The wait will allow the finish to become much thicker, like a normal weight finish.
Forum: rodboard

The Plano case you mention is adequate, and would likely fare well in commercial air travel. Like the previous poster, however, I have always erred on the side of caution in commercial travel. I have a suite of "travel cases" made of schedule 40 PVC, with screw-on adapters at both ends. I use a pipe with a legnth just slightly longer than the rods to carry, and I use two female thre
Forum: rodboard

Mike, You're absolutely correct that I do not derive my observations and assertions from efforts in a scientific method. I am simply making observations based upon my limited experience. Strictly opinion. It seems to me that this is the context of most assertions made in this forum, and a great deal of the information is exchanged, albeit anecdotal, but still useful to the participants. I kno
Forum: rodboard

There are two invaluable books available, by Dale Clements and Tom Kirkman which you can buy. These books have more information than you can imagine on wrapping. Highly recommended.
Forum: rodboard

There are obviously a lot wiser and more experienced persons who can contribute to this issue than I, but I have one observation regarding the stregnth and durability of CP vs. no CP use. My principles in us of CP is that it is a cosmetic treatment to mitigate thread wrap colors from bleeding. It's use in light and FW rods appears to be of little concequence, except for it's intended applicati
Forum: rodboard

Cos, It appears that you have a lot of money tied up in the new rod, and are not enthustic about using it with a casting (conventional) reel. I am not entirely clear if the issue you describe with the spine is that the spine set-up, as a casting rod is wrong for use as a spinning rod (reel on the bottom, vs top) or if the rod is simply not aligned at all with any useful axis. Leaving the s
Forum: rodboard

I am assuming double-foot guides due to sprial wrap arrangment. Finish cracks are a fairly common occurence on guide feet, but in my experience less common with custom rods and even less common on double foot guides. I have noticed one factor that appears to create more issues with finish cracking, and that is when there are thick layers of finish that 'ride up' the guide foot away from the blank
Forum: rodboard

(dial-up)
Forum: rodboard

(dial-up)
Forum: rodboard

I like the look of skeleton seats for FW rods, these rods have a very polished custom appearance. I have used high grade cork, composition cork, and wood for inserts. The rods that looked best to me were the models I used rosewood and teak inserts on.
Forum: rodboard

I've noticed recently that production guides from Fuji appear to have an adhesive applied much as Mr. Kirkman recommends.
Forum: rodboard

0.50" - 1/2" appears to be the standard cork ring thickness unless otherwise stated. Cork vise/clamps are extremely easy to make, they require only two scrap pieces of wood, two all-thread (1/4" to 3/8") legnths 10-20" long, and a few nuts and washers. There are likely plans available on this site.
Forum: rodboard

I have done this (reverse mounting) with the guide closest to the reel seat when using Fuji's LC (Lowrider) and RSG guides on surf rods. The supporting arms of these guides appeared to require mounting 'backwards' on the first guide only. Other guides were mounted normally. I don't see that other guide models' geometry require this, but I could be mistaken. I should note that these were specia
Forum: rodboard

I can echo Bill's observations, regarding some manufacturer's practices. I have two rods in my collection that are from top tier US labels which had the problem Bill illustrated. They cost $250.00 and $275.00, so these are relatively high end models. I was dismayed to see that these rods had several guides that were not completely encapsulated, specifically with airspaces adjacent to the guide fe
Forum: rodboard

Some points to consider with stabilizing wood: 1) Not all species are compatible with (or require) stabilization. Many tropical exotic hardwoods contain a high percentage of extractives, oils, and minerals which may not work well with with stabilization. Typically the problem is incompatibility between the wood's natural extractives and the stabilization resins. 2) The good news is that m
Forum: rodboard

Guide frames, even though commonly made of 'stainless steel' do rust, especially in salt water use. Corrosion also happens in freshwater use, but at a much slower rate. Note that stainless steel does rust, it is simply more resistant to corrosion than carbon steel or most other steel alloys. Some SS alloys are much more resistant to corrosion than others. Fuji's S4 (H2?) SS alloy appears to be an
Forum: rodboard

Mr. Heim, I appreciate the need to keep proprietary formulations and other IP confidenial, regarding the composition of "Nanolite". I also appreciate the efforts of an American company to advance a comprehensive line of rodbuilding hardware, even with (some) imported products. I would expect that the relative technical sophistication of this board's membership would indictate an a
Forum: rodboard

(double-click)
Forum: rodboard

I have some experience working with wood as well as building rods, and I have not used wood on rods other than for special butt caps, skeleton handles, and the like. Perhaps it is just the persistance of tradition, but I do appreciate the firm and soft texture of cork. However, I also deplore the quality and durability of cork, so I may re-evaluating handle materials. I would add to Mr. Kirk
Forum: rodboard