<p>Finished my first 2 hand rod grip rececntly. Front grip is around 11" and rear grip is approx. 5". Gonna be mounted on a 11'- 8/9 switch rod blank to be used for salmon/steelhead and overhead casting for stripers. </p>
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<p>Finished my 2nd grip. A full wells which will be going on a 9' 9wt for stripers. It's nearly 8 inches long and fits my large hand perfectly. Not a perfect grip by any means but i cant wait to mount this on a rod! </p>
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<p>Finished my first cork grip today. Its definitely not perfect but its usable so im happy. Learned alot, alot left to learn but it was fun! First time using a lathe too. Fun stuff.... Mark</p>
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Thanks for the replies. I fished the rod again today and used a 410 grain switch line with longer head and it was much better. This chucker line looks like it has a 12wt head!
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I'm looking for tips on choosing the proper line for my fly rod builds. I don't really have a system for that other than trying to match grain ratings. A couple builds ago I think I got lucky and nailed it and ended up with a sweet casting rod. That's not the case with my most recent build so I'm a little disappointed. Love the rod but it has the wrong line on it which I wasted $100 on. For examp
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Take a look at PacBay Quickline blanks. I've built two now and im very impressed. I built a 9' 9wt for cape cod stripers this year. Caught a bunch of fish on it back in June. Had wind everyday but this rod performed great. Mostly topwater with a 10wt floating line. Mark
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I've used a couple of these handles on downrigger rods and really like them. I had a build get ruined by my cat, long story lol. But in dismantling the rod and trying to save some components I tested the handle by smacking it on the edge of my workbench as hard as i could several times and didnt even leave a mark. No doubt a very durable handle. Mark
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I'm not familiar with the eternity line but i recently built a rainshadow revelation 10'8" 6wt switch rod. I absolutely love it. Caught a few fish on it and it casts like a dream. I have it rigged up with a RIO switch 6/7. I dont know if its just a perfect line/rod match or what, but this rod performs much better than my 11'7" 5/6/7 meiser custom that ive had for years.
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I've been watching quite a few fly fishing videos recently. I'm surprised by how often i see an angler, "accomplished" anglers fighting a large gamefish and placing there hand on butt section above grip and also high sticking the rod. I've been always taught not to do that for one; because you give up the power of the butt section by placing your hand on the blank above grip and also in
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I built a 9' bobber rod for crappie using a 2pc 4 wt fly blank. I absolutely love it! I used the microwave spinning guide set and this rod casts great with them. Perfect rig for bobber fishing. Definitely take a look at fly blanks.
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Roger, Great info. Learning alot. Thanks Alot, Mark
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I added a masking tape shoulder on the mandrel to keep it from slipping. That definitely helped but i kept having to tighten tail stock. Is this common? I think ill take tape off and clean mandrel then put tape back on. May have some wax on it in that area. Also, I felt a few mild shocks from the machine when i got my arm close to the metal. Is that common? Not sure if the rotation of the machine
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Thanks everyone! I'm hooked! Tom, ill make some adustments on my lathe. Mark
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I finished my first cork grip today on my new lathe. Posted a picture on the photo site. Had alot of fun and the grip is usable so im happy. Not perfect but im happy. Learned alot and still have alot to learn. Have a couple questions regarding lathe setup. Should my tailstock be spinning at the same speed as the mandrel? It was only spinning a little bit. I had some masking tape on mandrel at hea
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Excellent info everyone. Im taking notes...Thank You!
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I have my lathe setup and all accessories attached and I glued up my first grip tonight. Plan to turn my first cork grip tomorrow! Looking for some cork grip shaping tips. I have a profile drawn out of the grip I want and planned on using a template to get the shape I want. Also, Id like to make a spey rear grip. In the past the ones ive purchased had a tenon and a matching end cap. What are some
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Ok great. Thanks guys!
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Hi, Im working on my first 4pc rod which is almost 11' long. I dont have room to place the entire rod in my rotating machine. Any ideas on how to install the top 2 sections of the blank into the machine for applying finish? I have ferrule wraps to contend with. What i did so far was take my smallest reamer and wrap some tape on the end. Insert female ferrule into that and mount to machine. It wor
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Thanks for the tips!
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Thank You Don! Its been rotating for almost 6hrs so i should be good then. Mark
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Hi, im using flex coat lite finish. how long do i have to rotate to be sure that the finish will not sag? would like to free up my machine. thanks, mark
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Marty, Im having a blast building a revelation 6wt switch. I just test casted it the other day with the guides taped on and really like it so far. I got a RIO switch 6/7 for it. I plan to use it for light steelhead and for streamer fishing for large trout on one local large river. Cant wait to try it. Good luck, Mark
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Thank You Joe!
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Thanks Roger! I ordered the one you that you posted a link for. Also ordered a bunch of other stuff. Hope i got all of the right things. Quite an investment but really looking forward to building some grips. This is the drill chuck i got. I got the 3 jaw chuck and live center from grizzly.
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Excellent. Thanks for the replies everyone. Have a better understanding of the parts now. Roger, so the threaded chuck from your grizzly link would be a better chuck than the one i posted? Looks like its compatible with th HB lathe. That chuck wouldnt require any modifications? I ended up getting the HB lathe tonight. After coupon it was S160. Pretty reasonalbe i thought. Now i need to order p
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I read somewhere that the spindle thread on head stock is 1", 8 tooth per inch. Not sure what that means?!
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Hi, my objective is to make my own cork grips for flyrods and spinning rods and also learn how to do inlays and things like that. Ive been doing research on the subject on here and elsewhere. I'm getting ready to purchase a lathe and accessories. The confusing part for me is the tool chucks, keyless chucks, tail stocks etc. Are the following items proper and compatible with each other. Im open to
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Thanks guys. It worked great. Base color of orange with two layers of copper over top.... mark
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Can I make a simple winding check from thread? Maybe put down the base color nylon thread and then a 1/8" band of metallic over top? There is not much of a gap to fill and i forgot to order a normal winding check. Would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks, Mark
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I'm building a 9' bobber rod for crappie fishing right now. I'm using a rainshadaow RX7 9' 4wt fly blank. Love the action of the blank. I think it will be perfect for crappies. Good Luck.
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