I have explained to Marco that this would be a manufacturer warranty issue, rather than a simple return. All manufacturer warranty items will go through the manufacturer regardless of manufacturer. I also explained that in the past my personal dealing with Seeker have been nothing short of stellar. I have had an open line of communication since the initial email from Marco, I then waited sever
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As Tom stated, the overall power stays the same IF you are cutting a length and replacing it with an aluminum butt. For example, that blank is 6 ft, if you were to make a COMPLETED 6 ft rod with a unibutt out of the same blank, you haven't really changed anything. Sean is going with an overall 5'6" length which will cut a small amount of power out that blank assuming it is all cut from
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I deal quite a bit with the UV cures on the budget overseas OEM rods simply because that is what is typically used on the heavier offshore gear at this point. It's not fun and as stated, is a heat stable product, and will chip and shatter. Do wear safety glasses when you encounter this material. It takes a little longer to do than a typical guide would be, but usually if you can get underneath it
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A quick safety note: For those who want to simply hold monofilament or thread and use a lathe, as Tom stated, hold it between your fingers with the tag ends free. DO NOT EVER wrap the thread/mono around your fingers or hand. If you do this and it catches you WILL break something on your body pretty severely. 1/2 HP motors spinning at 4000 RPM are rather unforgiving. Only stating this as I d
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What tuna are you specifically targetting and where. There is a vast difference in style of recommended gear depending on the area and size of fish you are targetting. For example, in the gulf coast where you get 30-50lb average and the occasional 100lb class fish, a 50lb rated rod will be perfect for the task. If you are fishing off lower California and upper Mexico where you have a 60-100 avera
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When fishing for larger fish that make big runs, there is another factor that can cause a properly set drag to result in an overpowered rod. As line rips off the reel, that spool becomes smaller and exponentially increases drag off the rod and reel. I have seen exactly ONE rod break in this fashion. From my personal experience I have found that most manufacturer's do build a small cushion int
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Ive been using the 5 speed bench top for over 3 years with no issues at all. I only turn cork and EVA at 1600 rpm or less however. I tried the 2200rpm and I simply didnt trust the components to hold up to that speed long term. I honestly would call it a 3 speed and would not recommend using the highest speed at all, and use the 2nd highest with caution. I got it for 100 bucks from a friend, so I
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I find wrapping the micros backwards actually seems to work rather well. Start on top of the foot and head down the foot. I find that the taper is so small that it does not affect the thread slipping off the end of the foot as with larger guides if this was attempted.
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Flex Coat has done that for years. I dont know about the others as I go though it too quickly to find out. The 2 parts will still work just fine. The yellowing has been well covered already.
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Pretty much it was all done by trial and error until Billy was kind enough to release this information in his book. If you have any interest in decorative wraps it Billy's is by far and away the best available book to date with or without the VisualWrap software. The information is explained in such a way that is easily read and understood. Clemens's books were a great start, but I personally fee
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Down here in Florida we see a significant amount of surf rods and jetty rods built on surf blanks. Many still like and use the old style of less guides and large rings, but a very significant amount have switched over to other methods with smaller lighter running guides. The Sebastian Inlet and Ponce Inlet jetties are prime locations to see these in action where many casters reach well over 100 y
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Downlocking option would be nice. I currently have to turn the rear grips to match as I prefer downlocking.
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As kevin knox stated, this is not the application for micros. They have ZERO benefit and plenty of hinderance when used in this application. Generally these rods are going to stop with the smallest guide being an 8, but more often no smaller than a 10. I build quite a few of these rods. You want double footed guides for durability, you want want double footed guides for durability. Yes I said tha
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Another vote for finish over the underwraps. DO NOT use a softer finish for this. TM, Classic Coat, and Flex Coat high builds are all good choices and my preference is in that order. On lighter rods where no underwraps are required or false underwraps are used, ProKote is my choice for its almost non-existent yellowing.
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EVA is a bit more forgiving than cork. I'd drill it to 3/8 ID and ream from there. Less reaming (which is nice when working with EVA and you have about a 1/16th or so of an inch to recenter by reaming if necessary.
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If you are fishing stand up, you are going to want no longer than 6ft. This means with a #2 butt, you are looking at 4-4.5ft blanks. The AXRT80 will create a 7ft rod which is brutal for stand up fishing. Short curved generally translates to either no harness or simple fighting belt. You want maximum power here, and additional unnecessary length is a bad thing. I would go with AXST56XHS 50-80#.
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I would think using a lite build finish at that temperature would give you a similar viscosity to a high build along with taking nearly a day or so to set up several more to cure. Correct me if I am wrong as that is just a guess.
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A buddy mentioned to me a long time ago and I sort of live by this: Cheap, good, quick...pick 2 Bill I've had one of those and finally let him know that by him calling me, he was taking away the time to build his rod. Once he figured out that I would build it slower the more he called, all of the sudden the calls stopped and the rod was delivered 3 days later along with me informing him I w
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Can we keep this civil guys. All this was, was simply about a break. The original author stated clearly it was a fault of his. A warranty only applies to manufacturer's defects, so in this case it would not apply. The solution had been posted and then everything went political. I do not believe this board was ever intended for deragatory personal agendas, but to advance the craft by offering i
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Billy got it on the head there. It happens on the decorative wraps often enough to be really annoying when it does occur. I usually will hit it with mudholes bubble buster as well, and leave it be. Its generally one or two bubble that keep growing as the air escapes. I prefer to just let it grow and slice it off once its dry as the crater fills in with the next coat and it then disappears. It
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I personally find the scratching of finish via sandpaper very easy to spot with anything less than 220 grit. But in this case I would use a razor blade with a very careful hand to not get into the threads. Then simply recoat with one or two thin coats and be done with it. It may not be absolutely perfect, but you can get pretty close.
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American Tackle definitely stands behind their products and I use many of their products. However assuming you tested the blank prior to building it and handing it over, one of three things happened. 1) was damaged during transit -- you shipping to him (if applicable) 2) he somehow nicked the blank on something (quite possible) 3) he high sticked the blank showing off or "testing"
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Generally I tend to lose the last pattern. I treat it as the sacrificial pattern. So if I want 4 correct patterns decorations, I would wrap either 5 or even 6 repetitions of that pattern. This guarantees the final result to be what was initially expected when completed. Every one will have their own method and what works for them. Above is what works gor me and I am sure others will offer what
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As stated above other manufacturer's does make nice product's. As far as American Tackle products that you are considering, below are my thoughts. You may not want to go with the virtus series heavy but rather the Typhoon series or Virtus light frame series. NIRLS and NIRLVL respectively. They are a lighter frame and more than adequate for your application. You are however correct that neither
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I am going to against everything most stated here. I think that far down the rod, your repair isnt going to matter too much as long as you didnt make it like a foot long plug. While I do agree that a gel type epoxy would have been the better choice, a 3-4" plug down that far on the blank should be just fine since its not an area that will bend much even when it does flex. Personally I thi
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I have to echo Billy on the blank. I just got through with 3 GTS70Ms and they are one heck of a blank. I will throw out another option however in the MHX line. MU84H-MHX has a heck of a lot of power and a fairly light tip. Very similar to the GTS70M in power an tip, but vastly different in action. This one is quite a bit faster blank. I have also built several of the 2M69XHFs in the past an
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John, I would expect no greater than a 4000 size reel on that blank. I know Shimano's spool diameter from the 2500-4000 series in that range is 38mm and many other reels are similar, but obviously there are always the exceptions. Without knowing the reel or its spool diameter its going to be awfully tough.
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John, if you use a drill as I do, get it about 1/3 to 1/2 way on the reamer and turn the drill on without holding the cork. It'll turn true or pretty close if its centered. Then move forward.
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I understand both points here and they are equally weighted with value. It comes down to preference at this time and I believe Tom has already stated his position. While I am not highly familiar with fly rods and blanks by preference there are many that are, but I believe the following is a similar example. Monofilament labeled as 20# test. That line could break at 17# or 35#, but unless te
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One on top one at 180 and then to bottom. This is a little confusing but just to clarify I believe you mean 90 degrees as there are only 360 degrees in a circle. If 0 is the top then 180 is the bottom. 90 degrees would be to the left or right. I second rogers idea though. 0-160-180 on out. Bumper guide still around the 90 degree mark. Disclaimer: I am making the assumption that you are usi
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