For this type rod, no reason to spend a lot of money on guides. Perhaps simple stainless steel with no inserts except for the tip top. Use just enough guides so that when the rod is fully loaded or bent that the line stays at a reasonable distance from the blank, say 1 -2 inches. No reason to spend a lot of money on a reel seat. Or not necessary - if you don't wish to - to even have a r
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Alex, If you don't like the results with this epoxy, bo back to your former epoxy where you had no issues. Be safe
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Ken, Since your ask the question, you are worried about it. If you use the rod in its current condition, you are likely going to be worried when using it. So, remember, the rod, remember your father, and then cut the grip off the rod and install a new one in his memory. You can do an inlay in the new grip to remember him. Then, you can enjoy the rod with no worries and be happy
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Marc, If in doubt, build your own. A dryer is really easy to build. If you can build fishing rods, a dryer is a piece of cake. Best wishes.
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Alex, After applying epoxy - let the rod cure for 2 weeks before doing any sort of stress testing on the rod. Epoxy can be tack free in 24 hours, but many epoxies continue to cure for some time in the future. Best wishes
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It looks like Johnny's pond has one in stock. Give them a call: Get Bit - may have one in stock:
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Note: If you do use a simple solid cork handle and tape the reel onto the cork, be sure to do the following. Take the area where you want to place a reel. Then, starting with the bare cork, wrap on two layers of tape that you never remove. Then, go ahead and tape on the reell of your choice. When you change the tape or change the reel, do NOT remove the 2 layers of tape that is under the
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Dennis, If you want to clean it up, strip the rod - including all of the guides. Then, use wet and dry sand paper to remove all of the finish as wll as all of the ridges. Start with coarser sand paper and work up to a finer and finer grit paper. End up with 1200 grit paper used wet and you will have a light polished plank to rewrap. Reset the guides, wrap and coat each guide and go
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Use a 5 cent winding check. Easy, simple, inexpensive and they work very very well. In your case, just put a bit of epoxy in the hole with the rod held vertical and then slide the winding check down tight to the face of the cork and wipe off any epoxy that squeezes out from under the check and you will be good t go. Do, a thread wrap in front of the check to further stabilize and dress up the
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I believe that cork rings expire in about 500 years.
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If you want to do weight mixing - which I do not recommend; it is easy enough to do. First take two unopened bottles of part A and part B and weigh each bottle on a very good scale. This ratio will then be your weight difference as measured by weight. Just use this same ratio when measuring part A and part B by volume. Tedious and unnecessary, but one can certainly do it if you
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Frank, Normally you can apply a coat of finish to any rod at any time. Just be sure that the surface is clean, free of dust and apply. It will be fine.
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Michael, A few dozen. Take care Roger
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Jim, As others have posted - strip the rod, add 3 more guides and reposition all of the guides to completely eliminate line touching the blank - EVER>
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Phillip, A rod building work bench is really easy to build. Simply make a frame, and then go to your local big box store and purchase a section of kitchen counter top with a molded in back splash to keep things from rolling off the back of the bench. Wtih a white laminate finish, it makes the perfect - tough rod building bench. From time to time - I use the bench for purposes - other
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For many years, I use the 1+ finish coat for the rods. I use flex coat and I apply a well mixed coat of finish. I spin the rod fast when applying finish. My first goal is to have sufficient finish on all spots needing finish quickly. If there is a bit much, I simply wiick it off spinning rod with a brush. Then, I apply gentle heat, starting from one end of the rod moving up to the ot
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Over the years, I have used masking tape for arbors frequently. Each of the arbors are sealed and have never had an issue with either faiure or notiable objectionable weight. Plus, as the originator stated - masking tape is a really easy way to build an arbor. Best wishes.
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Charline. Nylon thread stretches. Poly thread does not stretch. As a result, when wrapping one typically wraps with a higher tension on poly - compared to nylon. i.e. due to the stretch factor. Take care
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Tolo, I am not a fan of applying another coat of finish over a coat of finish that is sticky or one that never cures properly. Essentially, it is like building a house on a foundation that has not cured properly. The house will never be right. The same is true for a rod, if the finish is bad, the best thing to do, is to strip the rod of finish, thread and guides. Redo the rod, and after
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Marcus, The simplest thing to do, is to remove the finish down to the fiberglass or graphite. Use 1200 wet and dry sand paper, used wet for the final finish. Then, after putting on the guides, wrapping and finish, then just put on a coat of hard wax on the parts of the rod that don't have thread, guides, or finish. Then, po9lish the wax and you will be set. It is never necessary to pain
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My goodness, this is not a difficult situation. First, I hever use any sort of thinner with any sort of grip that I have ever put on a rodl. I also never stretch a rod to go over a rod. Why do it? Rather, simply ream out the grip - what ever the material, apply epoxy, slip the grip in place and you are good to go. If you have to put a grip on from the butt of the blank. Super ea
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chris, the best solution is to not to use a decal. Rather, if you want something on the rod, write it on with a quill pen and acrylic ink.
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In spite of advice to the contrary, particularly in the butt area of the rod, I use heat to soften the epoxy and scrape it off with a razor blade. I have never had issues with appropriate heat in the butt section of the rod. However, I am very very very cautious about using any heat in the tip section of the rod. With gentle heat and a razor blade held perpendicular to the blank, all
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Michael, Ditto on the use of a vinyl winding check, inexpensive easy to use and if you keep a variety on hand, never short one. ------------- Also for someone who does not have a caliper, purcahse an inexpensive digital caliper that can be switched from decimal inches, to fractional inches to mm. You will find that you will use all setting and use a caliper on almost every rod you build.
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I have always used standard flex coat for thread finish. I use what I call a 1+ coat of finish. I Never thin the finish with any sort of solvent. Adding a solvent, changes the properties of the finish to be softer. Some folks say it is all right to have a solvent to thin the first finish. But, when I realize that the solvent softens the epoxy, it is akin to mixing goo in cement for a
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Kelly, U line is a great source for purchasing clear plastic tubing on a roll. Then, pick up a used impulse sealer to ceal the open ends of the tube after placing a rod in the tubing. (essentially a plastic open bag on a roll) On facebook market place there are a bunch of used impulse sealers starting at $10 on up. Best wishes
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Or, you can use a nearly full size foam arbor and bore out the burled cork to keep the weight at a minimum.
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Jeffrey, In additon - make a unique rod rest for the times you are wrapping small guides on small flexible tip sections of a rod. A picture: These rod rests are made from a piece of plastic cutting board for a base. The vertical supports are solid fiberglass ice rod sections. Multiple holes are drilled into the base to allow you to position the rod rests as needed. The top
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p.s. IN addition to John's comments. Always triple check the guide alignment on a rod - just before applying finish. Lets just say - it seems that sometimes guides get "work shop twisting syndrome." I purchae a roll of 3 inch wide plastic tubing that lasts a very long time. In addition, pick up an impulse sealer. That way, just before shipping and or delivering, insert t
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Scott, I have made ice rod handles from diamond willow. When finished, I simply applied two coats of flex coat epoxy finish and the grips turned out very well and have stood up to the test of time. Wood grips coated with flex coat epoxy finish drying in the dryer: Drilling the center of the wood ice rod grips on the lathe:
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