I will be ordering components for two unique custom fiberglass fly rod builds: 6' three piece, 5/6 weight and 7' 9" three piece, 6/7 weight These rods will be used to target larger trout (over 20") with streamers, mice and large hex flies. As a starting point, what size snake guides and stripper would you suggest I use? (I plan to use a total of 7 guides on the 6 footer
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I have a couple of unique custom black fiberglass fly rod blanks that I am considering making or purchasing carbon fiber grips for. I have seen a few examples of them in the archive photos in black/gray that I think would work out very well for what I have in mind. Could someone please direct me to a good link in how to make them and what materials I would need to make a 6" to 7" Full
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I have a few custom/prototype fly rod blanks that I am in the process of coming up with guide placement schemes using the Static Guide Placement method to optimize blank performance. If one does not have a starting point for placing the butt or stripping guides, as a general rule, what is a good starting point relative to the length of the blank or finished rod? How might this point var
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I'm finishing up a switch rod conversion and I would like to try out some U-40 cork sealer on the main cork handle as well as the extension cork handle with a black eva foam fighting butt at the end. Can I apply the U-40 sealer to the black foam end or should I mask it off with tape and only apply it to the cork segments? Went to the manufacturer's website and could not find an answer, but it di
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Never really thought much about this until now... I'm just finsihing up a longer cork handle for an 11', 6/7 weight fly rod I am converting to a switch rod. As a general rule should the winding check of a fly rod be deliberately adhered to the blank & cork handle or is the final thread wrap with finish sufficient to hold it in place without concern for any undo movement or noise? Thanks in
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Only recently, I have come to truly appreciate an older, "traditional feel" Winston IM6 graphite rod I purchased back in the 1990s. I am so HAPPY that I held on to this rod! I own or have built on Sage, Orvis, TFO, and Batson graphite blanks and I agree with an earlier reply that Winston tapers tend to be rather unique. If you truly enjoy and favor the Winston models you listed, I am
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Over the past couple of years, I've seen many references on this board about using micro guides on fly rods. I would like to give them a try. Do micro guides use ceramic rings, and if so would it make them slightly heavier than single foot guides and more suseptible to the ceramic rings cracking? What are the pros & cons of using micro guides over traditional snake and single foot guides.
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Last summer, I purchased a bag of 200, 1 ounce translucent plastic portion cups from the GFS restaurant supply store for just $3 compared to the going rate through other sources! I know they sold many sized cups (1/2 to 4 oz cups) in a variety of quantities (100, 200, 500 etc). You just throw them out after you are done using a batch of epoxy.
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With so many varnishes and other finishes out there... I would like to try using a different product for finishing nylon and silk wraps on lighter fly rods (6 weight or less) that does not involve expoxy. I'm looking for something that remains clear (does not yellow with age), is suited to exterior use (can get wet and hold up to a wide range of temperatures), can be applied in three or more thi
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I am considering purchasing a midi lathe like a JET 1014 or 1220 to finally be able to turn my own inserts and handles. What attachment or modification of the tail piece is needed to turn longer handle/butt sections of rods? I ask this because the head and tail ends only have 3/8" fixed openings which are not wide enought to slide a wider/longer rod section through like you can do with ma
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A couple of years ago I did a repair job to a stripping guide wrap using Flexcoat Lite (2 oz. bottles). I stored the Flexcoat resin and hardener upright in my rod building Plano storage tackle box. Now I would like to finish the wraps on a light weight fly rod. When I went to use the Flexcoat this afternoon, I noticed the resin is still clear, but the harderner has yellowed and the plastic bot
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I need to clarify: Mark gave me guide spacings, but NOT guide sizes. I guessed at the sizes, based on previous advice from the rod board to get the line close to the blank as quickly as possible. So what I really need to know: Given a size 5 tip top and using 8 snake guides plus a stripper guide; is MY configuration using a low frame #10 stripper followed by one #6 and seven #2s reasonable b
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I am finally getting around to building a Steffen Brothers 7' 9", 3 piece 6/7 weight fly rod for fishing hex and mouse patterns for big brown trout. Mark Steffen suggested the following spacing for this custom blank, however I could use some help on selecting the size of snake guides and stripper to optimize this rod. tip top: size 5 #1 - 4 3/4" = 4 3/4" size #2
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I am finishing building up a St. Croix Imperial 6', 2 weight, 2 piece blank. Beautiful burgundy colored blank. Great little, light and responsive 2 weight. I turned my own cork handle that is shorter than normal (5 1/2") and put on a Struble D-2 S anodized aluminum handle with a cocobolo insert. Check out this link to the Fly Fish Ohio website on the Great two-weight shoot-out. -Peter
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I plan to assemble and turn my first birch bark handle with short, maybe 1/2" hardwood ends for a lighter weight fly rod (4 weight or less). After I glue up everything and turn the handle into the shape I desire, will it be able to accept a light coat or two of stain before putting some sort of finish on it? The reason I ask, is that from a subjective, aesthetic viewpoint, I have seen many
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I continue to look into purchasing a new or used mini lathe. Having some, but limited metal & wood working skills, I want to select a quality mini lathe that I only need to buy once, one that can accept a full range of accessories that would be very versatile for most if not all aspects of building fly rods in the 0 to 10 weight range. Can one mini lathe do the following: shape wood/cork/c
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I'm in the process of converting a one handed (7" full wells) steelhead fly rod I built on an 11' CTS Affinity blank, to a switch rod with a 9.5" full wells handle and a 4" extension handle/fighting butt. I removed all of the old cork, but there is still some epoxy and embedded tiny cork bits on the recessed hood part of the reel seat that I need to clean off before I can attach
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I finished wrapping a Batson 6' 6" 2 weight, 2 piece blank using the manufactures recommended guide spacings: 4.0 light wire tip top 1st #2 (all light wire single foot guides) 4" 2nd #2 8.5" 3rd #2 13.5" 4th #3
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All you light weight fly rod builders out there... now I know why many of you have grumbled about wrapping light weight fly rods using small single foot guides. I'm on my fourth attempt trying to secure the first guide below the tip top of a 2 weight rod I am wrapping. I could use some helpful tips as to what is the best way to temporarily secure the guide to the blank while wrapping the guid
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I'm considering purchasing a mini lathe to help in my rod building. I've done enough things by hand and would prefer to move on to a more precise and efficient means to turn handles, make inserts, and possibly create some of my own components. Will $200 to $500 get me something decent with an extension bed? What brand/model have you found to be the most versatile, well built, and reasonably pr
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I am building my first fiberglass fly rod on a custom 7' 9", 3 piece, 6/7 weight Steffen Brothers blank to be used for hex and mouse night fishing. (I am also planning to build 7', 6/7 weight and a 6', 5/6 weight fiberglass rods after this one) The tip top is size 5. I would like to use double foot snake guides with possibly a Struble agate stripper guide. I plan to use the static guid
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In an attempt to enhance my fly rod building skills, I would like to know about the proper procedures and the best finish products for placing a clear coat finish on fiberglass fly rod blanks and for wrapping guides with silk thread? Is blank finished rubbed on by hand, or is it brushed on or sprayed on while a rod is turning? Is this finish applied before the guides are wrapped with silk t
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I'm getting ready to wrap a couple of 2 weight fly rods built on a Batson RX7 6' 6", 2 piece and St. Croix Imperial 6', 2 piece blanks. These are common/readily available blanks and I have the suggested guide placement recommendations from the manufacturers. My question is for you perfectionists out there: If I truly want to optimize my guide placement, should I go ahead and perform the s
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As my rod building skills have grown, I have glued-up and turned a few nice custom cork handles for fly rods I have built. What are the pros and cons of sealing cork? What product works best? Should it be done before handle components are assembled or can it be done after a rod is put together? Thanks for your feedback!
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Does anyone know of a source for small diameter aluminum or NS winding checks (between .19" to .24") that have more of a classic/traditional look with a knurled finish like what you might find on a Winston fly rod or something similar? I have used the cheap black rubber winding checks and the more futuristic Batson AWCCO winding checks, but I am looking for something with a more classi
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I'm looking for a classy, well made reel seat for a 7' 9", 3 piece, 6/7 weight custom fiberglass blank that I will be building on. I do not have the tools to machine and turn my own reel seat components. Therefore, I would like the reel seat to be: Lighter weight, under 4" in length which can accept a small fixed fighting butt 1" or 1 1/2" finish can be nickel si
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Does any one know of a source for very good to high quality, short fiberglass 6/7 weight fly rod blanks? I am looking for something in the 7' to 7' 6" range, 2 or 3 pieces. I want to build a short fly rod to throw mice, big streamers, and large hex flies that has power and good lift in the lower butt section while having a little more flex along the length of the tip section than typicall
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I am putting together two, 2 weight graphite fly rods in which I turned my own cork handles. I plan to use a black, rubber winding check on one and I would like to try to do a fine point finish on the other that is similar to the way Orvis finishes their light weight rods. What is the proper way to create this tapered transition from the tip of the cork handle to the rod blank. Is it achieved
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Although this is not a rod building question, I figured a number of you out there have restored old, wooden trout nets. I am in the process of doing my first one and have the following questions: I have sanded and wiped down the wooden net frame and plan to apply some Minwax golden oak stain with a clean, lint-free cloth. Once that adequately dries, I want to apply three coats of a satin fin
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I am in the middle of building two, 2 weight , 2 piece fly rods. I am using a Batson RX7 6' 6" dark grey blank and a 6' St. Croix Imperial burgundy blank. I recently purchased an Orvis titanium colored BBS I reel. After much searching, at least three purchases, and a couple of returns (I am very picky) I decided to go with a REC CRAS-NSA reel seat with anodized aluminum hardware and a
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