Ted is right, if the TFO's have been failing at the joint it is nothing to do with spigots because they only look as though they have them due to cosmetics not construction. Good spigots as used on some models by Scott, Winston and Diamondback, to name a few, are actually very strong. Graphite spigots begin with a bigger gap than the old fiberglass ones for a good reason - graphite wears a little
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I totally agree with Tom about the tip top wearing first and the advantages of changing to a ceramic tip. I use ceramic tips on just about every rod I build for that reason. Interestingly I come from a place where most fly fishers happen to cast from the sandy or muddy shallows of lakes and I've found in such circumstances the second guide most prone to wear is the one just up from the stripper (
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Hi Doug, Just my two cents worth, but I'd get rid of all the 8's on the second rod and replace them with single foot wire (Ti gold would go well with your strippers; say a #4, followed by #2's or #1's to the tip). Maybe even replace the tip with a Ti gold hayfork tip. I always think it is pointless using a tip that is smaller than the running guides anyway. Now you have two very similar blanks wi
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Hi, Sorry Tom (and others). Your server rejects my e-mails through the buy/sell link regarding the Classic Blank you have, so if you are interested, please send me an e-mail. Thanks, Jim
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St Croix makes a really good short fly blank that may fit the bill. It is the 3-pce Avid (SCIII), 6'6" and rated for 4 wt. It has a med/fast action and loves to be overlined at close quarters. I've used one for years with a 6 wt line on very tight streams. It casts beautifully, packs small, has plenty of backbone and has proven to be as tough as nails when dragged through bushes etc. I built
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Actually the TFO joints are not true spigots at all. They use conventional tip over butt joints, but leave the tip of the butt section a light grey - I assume because any joint will eventually lose most or all of its colour on the internal section from wear anyway, so they figure it will look better in time. The male end of the joint does not need reinforcing (unlike a true spigot, where the male
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They do groove, but how oftenand how easily I can't say. About a year ago I had to remove and replace all of the Recoils on a friend's G Loomis factory fly rod. He fishes a lot, including competitions, so I assume the rod had seen some solid work (all fresh water) over the couple of years he had owned it. Every single guide had a deep, square cut groove in it. I only left the strippers on and rep
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Hi Christopher, That's one of the reasons the 'second' delivery appeared so suspect - the new box into which the old tube had been placed was pristine (no marks, dents, scrapes, nothing). I have received dozens of those boxes over the years and none have arrived looking as though they haven't even been on a plane! It also had the original shipping documents moved from the tube to a new plastic ba
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Not a new idea, but on a slightly different tack I sometimes set up multi-piece fly rods ( 4 or 5 weights) as both a lake/river and a stream rod by making a second handle on a short section of spare blank that fits into (say) the third female ferrule. No reason therefore why you couldn't have a long fly rod (5 piece) that converts down to a shorter spin rod (3 piece). You might have to mount your
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Christopher, One of the big international couriers (if that's the word) and they use a local company once the goods clear customs in Australia (which is irrelevant to me since the courier's contract is with my US supplier and their Australian agents are responsible to them in terms of fulfilling that contract of delivery within Australia). Far better not to name names unless and until you are su
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Herb, I don't assume anything, but I do know that this particular supplier is as straight as an arrow and did everything possible to quickly replace a faulty blank in the past at his expense. Besides, as I said above, the parcel didn't even have time to return to the US. I've lodged a complaint with the freight company at my end and so has my supplier at his. I also note with interest that the c
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I just had the most amazing and disappointing experience with one of your major freigh companies. I've brought multi-piece fly blanks into Australia over the years using all of the major freight companies and until last week hadn't experienced a breakage. Last week though I was expecting some two piece blanks (for the first time) and when the parcel arrived it was clearly damaged (end cap torn of
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Just make sure the backing isn't the type impregnated with wax or a similar substance, otherwise the epoxy may not bond well to it. Jim
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Ron, I've built up a number of Hex blanks and I always contact Harry Briscoe directly via their site. Harry is a great guy to deal with. If you need any tips or advice in terms of finish, weight, length and hardware, don't hesitate to contact me by e-mail. They look, feel and fish like no other rod and I've gone from simply curious to loving them over the last few years. Jim
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I always tape my wraps before epoxying, so on the rare occasions a fisheye begins to appear, I can stroke that wrap again sideways with the brush to cover the fisheye - as the epoxy gets closer to setting, the fisheyes won't reappear. I take the tape off after about an hour pretty confident they won't reappear after that. The other advantage of tape is that you can get the epoxy to the exact thi
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I recently put new guides on a friend's GLX 9' six weight which had two Fuji Sic Strippers,recoils up to the tip and an H&H hard chrome hayfork (pretty much the factory setup in Australia). He does a lot of lake fishing, including competitions and tends to favour the same rod in the majority of situations. After approximately 18 months there was visible wear on the tip (as expected), none on
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Jason, sorry not to reply - been away. From what you describe, it sounds like your epoxy got damp and didn't dry out. Cured epoxy goes milky when damp for too long, but goes clear again when it dries out. I've had that temporarily (one to two days) happen to rods left in the rain when camping. If it is just the edges of your threads, it sounds like the water bled under the epoxy and into the thre
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Jason, Can I ask what troubles have you had with Flex Coat cp? I've used the stuff for as long as I can remember and I've always found it to be really easy to use with great results. I lay it on generously and quickly with a soft bristle, flat nylon brush while rotating the blank. Any small bubbles that remain on the surface of the threads can be removed with an extra smooth brush stroke and sinc
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Ed, you can also get perfect, close edges every time by taping first with translucent 'scotch tape'. It takes 5 minutes longer to get a rod set up, but I think it pays off with the finish you can achieve. It also allows you to 'draw' the epoxy lengthwise to the exact thickness you want. I peel the tape off as soon as I'm satisfied with every wrap. As far as minimum quantities go, I regularly syri
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I'd avoid both solvents and abrasives - both will remove the blank's finish. I find a hot tap (not too hot and in short bursts) and thumbnail sufficient to remove any residue after removing the thread and epoxy. The only downside is that your nail will go soft! Jim
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Skip, do as Tom and Terry suggests. The short answer to any such repair, whether it is an internal spigot, or oversleeve, is to use a section of rod that is lower modulus not higher, so it actually flexes slightly more than the two pieces it is repairing. I've repaired lots of fly rod tips and not one has failed from following that principle. Other than that, get a close fit and only bind enough
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Thanks for all your help and advice. The company has finally jumped into gear and will be sending us replacements post haste while they claim on their insurance, which is probably what they should have done several weeks ago. Just in time for the start of our fishing season too. I'm obviously not going to mention them by name, but I suspect e-mailing that I was getting advice from a large rod-bui
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Thanks for your advice Mark. We were given two ID numbers by the company (one insurance, one customs). My reading of the USPS website is that the customs ID should be the one if the parcel is tracked. Neither number is recognised by their system. I've now e-mailed them as well and my friend is going to ring to see if anyone there is willing to give us an answer. If I were a betting man I'd say th
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Thanks Raymond, unfortunately payment went through at the time of shipping, so we are left in limbo. They promised my friend that they would chase up tracking weeks ago, but are now not responding to e-mails. This appears to be a big fishing outlet that doesn't know the meaning of customer service. That surprises me, because up to this point I've had nothing but praise for US firms, big and small
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Hi Guys, I need some advice with regard to the above. Over the last 5 years I've had literally dozens of rod building and other fishing related parcels sent to Australia from the US without a problem. However, a friend and I recently ordered two pairs of waders from a well known site (not one of your sponsors) and the parcel appears to have gone missing. The goods were dispatched around may 28th
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Daniel, if all else fails, have you considered repairing the tip? Providing the break is clean, it is fairly easy to make and glue in a hidden spigot join by using a section from a smaller diametre blank with a lower modulus graphite. Also, with a clean break, you lose very little of the original blank when squaring up each side of the break and you don't have to rebind the tip to boot! My son br
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Danny, if it is a clean break, it can be fixed by inserting and epoxying an internal hidden 'ferrule' from a smaller diameter blank with a lower modulus. I think you could find out the details by doing a search of the archives or articles in this site, or send me an e-mail. If the break is not clean and the blank is split longitudionally in any way, you have to remove both sides of the break beyo
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Hi Bob, I built one some time ago. It is an 8'6", 3pce, 5/6 weight. I build and fish a lot of different styles of flyrod from lots of different manufacturers and enjoy them all, but if you like something with the more deliberate casting stroke of bamboo, with tons of power, then they are excellent. My blank is what they call a 'Natural'; the graphite has a semi-gloss dark green finish, where
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Dick, there's some good information in the archives. I've stripped a number of fly rods (including Sages which have about the toughest finish amongst fly rods) very successfully using a square metal edge as a scraper. I use a craft blade, tape off the sharp edge and use the back of it as the scraper. Short lengthways strokes will remove the finish back to the cured graphite 'skin' of the blank wi
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I always use Flex Coat CP on all of my rods and mostly use single foot guides. I've yet to have a single guide loosen in the way described. From what I can figure, it is because I always tape the blank just beyond the thread before finishing with epoxy. Not only does that create a neat edge, it also enables you to 'force' some epoxy into the guide tunnel with the brush as the blank rotates past;
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