It makes me glad I purchased 3 new ALPS MD1000 printers when I had the chance considering that Foilfast printer is a direct copy of a ALPS MD1000 and it only cost a little over $2000 USD. See Here I purchased the 3 new ALPS MD1000 for around $1000 AUD with 15 metallic cartridges The shop next door is a sign printer and he has a commercial printer that prints in metallic (gold, silver, white,
Forum: rodboard

The Pac Bay Machined Alloy H/Duty Chuck and Headstock will bolt strait on to your lathe and no mods are necessary. They aren't actually out of the same factory the Batson's is from the ALPS factory in Taiwan the Pac Bays is out of Pac Bays factory in China and the AmTak is out of another factory in China all the parts are the same (alloy track, motors, rod supports, plastic chuck ect) and com
Forum: rodboard

Hi Ben The Pac Bay Eliminator and Eliminator Jr roller guide frame are made from aluminium and have a stainless steel roller. I don't if you are talking about a machined stainless steel framed roller guide, if so I don't know anyone who makes one? Regards Simon
Forum: rodboard

You could start with 40, 25, 16, 12, 12, 12 and a 12 tip. I often build on the Calstar GF760L cut down to around 5'8" and go 40, 25, 20, 16, 12, 12 and a 12 tip. If you want guide spacings just email me. As far as guides are concerned I use the Fuji MN framed guides (MNSG, ICMNSG, CMNSG) but I have found out that ALPS have made a size 40 in the XN style frames and you should be able to get t
Forum: rodboard

I don't know about mixing Lite and High Build together in the Classic Coat brand but I have mixed Flex Coat High and Lite build together a number of times and I have never had a problem. I put both the resin high build and lite together in a epoxy mixer and mixed it then added the hardener to the mix. If you want to do it I would test it out first and see if anything goes wrong before using it
Forum: rodboard

The Batson RCLB70L is a great blank but for offshore spinning rod that will be used mostly for luring (casting) I would probably look at the Batson RCLB80L that little bit of extra length will give you a lot more distance but if its not going to be used for mainly casting I would stick with the RCLB70L. Now for the reel seat the ALPS triangle is made to fit your hand when used on a overhead con
Forum: rodboard

Hi Ted Yes you still have to use CP with it. I have some in the shop as well as a colour card just remind me next time you are here and I will give you a look.
Forum: rodboard

What I understood Gary Loomis sold out completely to Shimano but they keep him running the place (G Loomis).
Forum: rodboard

Thanks Lance and Bill Sorry if this sounds a bit rude Bill (I mean no disrespect) but if you read the thread question it was called "Thinning Flex Coat HIGH BUILD with Acetone" I cant think of why you would need to thin FC Lite. Ralph They were nearly all saltwater rods (double overbinds) and I usually do at least 2 coats of FC H/B this time I thought I would try the FC Lite . Lik
Forum: rodboard

Hi Bill Yes it is going over a label and thread area that has 2 coats of FC Lite and I was looking at making this my last (final) coat. All that I got from Roger was the ratio and that was a while ago. I would have called him and asked about it but I just thought about it now. I have around 15 rods to do and I need to send them to a shop ASAP I really like the thinner properties of FC Lite (es
Forum: rodboard

Hello Everyone I know some of the larger rod manufacturers thin Flex Coat High Build with Acetone anyway I want to try it (I have the ratio thanks to Roger). What I wanted to know is there anything to watchout for or has anyone had any problems or even disasters? This will be used over the top of a coat of Flex Coat Lite that I applied about 16 hours ago. Thanks in advance for your help Reg
Forum: rodboard

How does the weight of the Fuji's stainless micro guides compare to the Batson's (ALPS) 316 stainless micro guides? If they are comparable in weight and you want corrosion protection you could probably go with them. I don't really look after some of my rods that I use all the time and you would be surprised how much better the 316 stainless of the ALPS guides hold up to the corrosion of saltwat
Forum: rodboard

How do the Titanium casting guides compare to the micro guides my guess is they would be around the same and you can get bigger knots through without any dramas. I am talking a size 16 stripper down to a size 8. Most of the lighter rods I build are for Barra and about the lightest leader that you would use is about 50 or 60lb up to 80lb in the timber in impoundments so I cant really use the micr
Forum: rodboard

If you want to shape grips I would definitely look at the Pacific Bay with the upgrade machined alloy chuck and headstock. They have 2 bearings in the headstock so they don't run out or flex like the lathe/wrppers with the standard composite chuck and headstock and the Pacific Bay Lathe has enough power for shaping grips. You can usually pick the Pacific Bay Lathe/Wrapper with the upgraded chuck
Forum: rodboard

Hi Billy Hows it going? Yes I remember seeing the Fuji Low-Rider slow motion video I pretty sure I also watched the same kind of slow motion video and they were using a set of Fuji MN framed guides with and without the butt guide inverted. I have now seen a few of the smaller Japanese boutique rod manufacturers starting to invert the second guide (after the striper) I don't know what that was
Forum: rodboard

It was the Japanese that first started to invert the stripper guide on spinning rods and what they do it for is when you see line (especially braid) come of a spinning reel in slow motion it comes off in big loops and it has a tendency to wrap the stripper guide. If you have the stripper guide inverted it will stop this most of the time. In Australia 99% of mid to high end spinning rods have the
Forum: rodboard

Hi Don You can get Micro guides in Batson and Fuji brands Regards Simon
Forum: rodboard

Most Roller Guide company's tell you NOT to use water dispersing spray i.e.: WD40, RP7, Inox ect AFTCO recommends just using a waterproof grease
Forum: rodboard

Another vote here for the Batson Dream Reamers by far the best reamers on the market Once you have a set you will wonder how you did without them.
Forum: rodboard

Could someone please give me the weight of a G Loomis MB784IMX Blank ? Thanks for your help Regards Simon
Forum: rodboard

Hi Thad No it wont I have Windows Vista and it doesn't support Parallel ports anyway as they are old technology. ALPS printers only work off parallel ports and they wont work on any adaptors like a USB to Parallel adaptor. I have a program here for Windows XP if you want a copy of it that is the newest Windows program it will work with.
Forum: rodboard

My understanding is blanks displayed as sanded finish have a sanded finish and no coating has been applied and blanks displayed as matte finish have a coating on them that has a matte finish. Not every graphite blank gets sanded after being made and it probably is a matter of great debate if it truly does weaken the blank. Some say that you are removing the ridges so it doesn't weaken the blan
Forum: rodboard

Hi Robert I am pretty sure they are made in Asia by the same manufacturer that makes some Amtaks blanks so they will attract Duties. I think that they come from one of the 2 large blank manufacturers that make 90% of the blanks shipped out of Asia.
Forum: rodboard

Another thing to remember with any of the shrink wrap is that even though it shrinks to about 1/2 it's size is that you should get the closet fitting size to what you want to wrap i.e. If you have a 32mm handle you should use the 35mm shrink wrap even though the 40mm would work) I only usually glue the ends as well and leave a little to tuck under the reel seat and gimbal on a rear grip or unde
Forum: rodboard

I will second the diamond blade that is what I have seen used by blank manufacturers.
Forum: rodboard

Hi can anyone tell me what volume and issue of Rod Maker the Cork Grading article was in. I have the last 5 and a half years of Rod Maker and I had a quick look through them but I cant find it. I did lend a couple to a friend though so the article could be in one of them. Thanks for your help Simon
Forum: rodboard

Roger Seiders is one real nice guy. Although I have not met him in person I have spoken to him on the phone and emailed him a number of times. His interview in the Rod Maker mag about how Flex Coat came about is a great article. He is a real pioneer in the rod building industry.
Forum: rodboard

Hi David As well as the ones that came on your lathe they give you a spare set in the box as well.
Forum: rodboard

Hi Josh I noticed the same thing. There is not many around. Theres lots of Mod to Fast but not much Fast in the specs you are looking for. Advanced Tublar Composites popping blanks (ATC P702-2, IP702-2) probably more light to med then med. I really like the Batson SB841-3 Its a great blank
Forum: rodboard

Hi Steve Sorry John I saw the name I thought it was JP then I thought that he was registered on here as "JP Timberlake" and he would already own and use a lathe like that again sorry John. Remember I live half way around the world. At least someone that is pretty new to rod building or is considering getting serious and was looking at the Custom Power Wrap might get something from tha
Forum: rodboard