I have unopened bottles of Thread Master, Flex Coat, and Dura Gloss LS, all of which are probably 10+ years old, or whenever Thread Master first came out. The Flex Coat hardener is amber, the Dura Gloss hardener is dark amber, and the Thread Master hardener is brown. All of them have been kept in a drawer. I have bottles of all three that are almost empty, and they are the same color. It is k
Forum: rodboard

Hi all, I’ve got a guideless rod that I stripped all the rusty old ones off of. It is a 2pc. 8’ steelie drift rod, (probably in the 8-12lb. test ballpark) and all it has on it now is the cork and reelseat. The clearcoat finish on the rod is quite beat up looking so I was thinking of sanding it down to a matte finish with 600 grit or finer. Will this hurt the blank much? Also, the tip sec
Forum: rodboard

around 28 hours when i posted, probably 35-ish now. Jim
Forum: rodboard

Hi all, Well, I finally did it. I made up a batch that didn't fully cure. It was close, but not quite close enough. In my alleged mind, I was imagining the label on a can of PC-7 that says "50-50 non critical mix." Darn. Guess it doesn’t work that way with Rod Bond, and I should’ve known better. Never had a problem before with Rod Bond, but screwed up this time. However, I
Forum: rodboard

Hi, I know it is necessary to wrap the female end prior to performing a static deflection test, but is it necessary to finish it with epoxy beforehand too, or does just the thread protect and support it enough? Also, is there a standard rule of thumb for how long the female ferrule wrap needs to be? And while I'm asking questions, is it necessary to plug the male end, and if so, with what?.....
Forum: rodboard

thanks for the tips, and especially the one with the Q-tip, Tom. i think I'll go ahead and try swapping out the butt guide and tip top with the SiC flavored ones and peel off 10 or 20 yards of the old "business end" line and then see if it makes a difference.......thanks again, Jim
Forum: rodboard

I have been predominantly using tuff line with these rods. the old original salt and pepper tuff line, the tuff plus, and also the tuff XP. the frays are quite small though. thanks, jim sorry, i forgot to mention, i have not used any fireline with these rods
Forum: rodboard

Hi all, New to the forum here and was hoping I could fire out a question. In the past, I have built many 8 ½’ salmon rods, all of which I have used hardloy or similar guides, and in the past few years have switched over to the new braided lines. After a few trips, I notice the line getting miniscule frays on it. Rather than stripping off all the guides and replacing them, I am wondering if
Forum: rodboard