go to a hobby store and buy some clear aerogloss. its a laquer product. if applied in three coats it will do a very good job of color preserving. be sure and put a droplet in the guide tunnels on each coat. let it dry ovenight. i have also usede OLYMPIC WATER BASED URETHANE. i say olympic because not all water based urethanes have worked well as a colore preserver. the olympic is a milky white
Forum: rodboard

j. austin forbes salt water disk drag reels show up on @#$%& as new old stock all the time. they can be had for about 220.00. they are a superb reels and will handle a seven wt well. at 3.75" they may be a tad large for seven wt but will hold all the line and backing you need for species up through good size yellowtail. if you can find a 3 1/2" salmon/stellhead it would be a better ma
Forum: rodboard

be very careful about applying heat. you can kill that blank in a heart beat if you apply too much. just brush the wrap and don't let the flame linger at all.
Forum: rodboard

check with DAN CRAFT on the left.
Forum: rodboard

if you like a downlocking seat there are quite a few options. i have been using Pac Bay DL5 seats lately. Bellinger makes some nice seats as does Strubel. many of the sponsors on the left have them. For uplock without inlaying the seat the Pac Bay A7 or A8 work but you may not like the look on a cigar grip. You can use the Pac Bay UL5 without inlaying it. The hood is exposed but it is silver (
Forum: rodboard

this is an unfortuante reality of rising fuel prices. even if graphite rods contained no petrolium the price would be effected by the cost of fuel. fuel is a component of every product we consume but products made with polymers get a double wammy.
Forum: rodboard

i just picked up some metalic gold and metalic silver mylar tape. very thin. my first use was 1/4" tape under 340 gold on a very dark brown blank. worked very well. the gold undercoat makes the gold thread look, er gold even with varnish as a finish. the use of it has its issues though. you have to be very precise with the placement of the seam. i make sure the seam is right under the guide
Forum: rodboard

I think Ricks Rods in Denver has them. He is a Phillipson specialist ( he owns the name now). Hhas thounsands of blanks and parts. even sells kits to build authentic looking Phillipsons. I don't have the link but you can google it up.
Forum: rodboard

he can try using an artist brush to brush the dust off the wraps. next time he should save the plastic sock the blank comes in and store the completed sections in that till he is ready to apply finish.
Forum: rodboard

when you say older fenwick are you refering to a glass rod? if so there were many variations along the way. also, their blanks had a different numbering system than the rods. a very difficult time matching the action and weight. its really not a reasonable request but he does not know that and is asking in good faith. most of the glass fenwicks were somewhat faster action than modern glass rods
Forum: rodboard

i have used spar urethane for a wood like look. it does not get slick, at least in my hands.
Forum: rodboard

aerogloss lacquer for model planes works extremely well. it does need about three coats but the color is very bright. Olympic water based urethane works very well. other water based urethanes have not worked as well for me.
Forum: rodboard

phillipson did this on a number of his glass rods. Just out of curiosity have any of you used reflective mylar tape instead of paint? seems it would be more accurate and less messy and fiddley to apply. its available in silver and gold and probably some other colors. back in the 50s and 60s you saw this on a lot of glass rods of the day. some of it was quite gaudy but i think it would work as
Forum: rodboard

phillipson did this on a number of his glass rods. Just out of curiosity have any of you used reflective mylar tape instead of paint? seems it would be more accurate and less messy and fiddley to apply. its available in silver and gold and probably some other colors. back in the 50s and 60s you saw this on a lot of glass rods of the day. l
Forum: rodboard

j. austin forbes made a titanium reel. these reels can be had on @#$%& for around 79.00 BIN. here is the link [] it is identified as a wt forward 4 but at a 2 1/2' diameter it is perfect for a two wt. here is the ietm number in case the link does not work. contact the seller and tell him you would like two of them. 290205834121
Forum: rodboard

this does not directly answer your question but mixing ratio problems can be avoided by always mixing a full batch. with flexcoat lite i use a full syringe for each of a and b and carefully make sure the syringes are accurately filled. also NEVER take the material out of the mixing cup and apply directly to the wrap. there is always a chance you will pick up some poorly mixed epoxy from the sid
Forum: rodboard

before doing these things get some parafin (not just an old candle) and rub some on the male slide. that may tighten it up enough. this is a minimalist solution and is a temporary fix. in the long run the solutions as suggested by fred may be necessary. in any event if the parafin trick does not do it you will have to take the more extreme measures. the female in the check trick is, ah tricky. th
Forum: rodboard

its not a rare collectors piece. do the alconites if thats what you want. now, if it was a russ peak i would say don't touch it.
Forum: rodboard

here is a link to a series of articles on modern glass fly rods. there are three parts to the article and you can access all three with this link.
Forum: rodboard

for sure go over here, and learn everything you can. there is a directory of glass rod makers here as well. the folks are very willing to educate you. the answer to your questions depends somewhat on how you fish and what you want from the rod. most glass rods tend to have a slower action than graphite and feels different as well. while it is true that glass can be made to create a "fast&
Forum: rodboard

i have found that water based urethane works very well. i happen to use olympic water based uerethane but i imagine others will work well. i also use aerogloss lacquer. available in hobby stores. it gives slightly lighter results that the urethane.
Forum: rodboard

unless there are other colors mixed in the black that you want to preserve you could skip the color preserver on black thread. black is BLACK. i have never had a problem with color showing thrue the black thread. even silver ferrules.
Forum: rodboard

i think what you need is fiberglass rope. on the west coast it was often available in boat repair shops or surfboard making suppliers. not sure where you would get it today but if you can find it you just cut it and untwist it. the fibers will be whatever length yyou want to make them.
Forum: rodboard

this may help: []
Forum: rodboard

i debur any guides that i use. no matter the brand. it takes very little time and is good insurance against blank damage.
Forum: rodboard

i use them. very nice. i do feel that it is a good idea to make sure the bottom of the guide foot is smooth with no burs so i rub them over a piece of 400 grit sand paper just in case.
Forum: rodboard

I don't know if you have considered this byt it is very likely that the thread wraps were color preserved since most makers did not do clear wraps back then. it is also likely that the wrap color has changed due to ageing of the varnish. it is probably far from what it was way back when. when you remove a guide look to the underside of the thread and you will know what the original thread color w
Forum: rodboard

i once downloaded russ goodings article from the golden witch website. its in an acrobat file there somewhere .
Forum: rodboard

hmmm, jim. did you just flame me? i guess when i think of mark i think in terms of his glass lineup. i forgot all about his graphite. that certainly may be an option.
Forum: rodboard

mark steffen does not have an 8 wt in his lineup. he would have to design something and shipping would be a real pain.
Forum: rodboard