I'm glad to see a few posters pointing out that titanium alloys and titanium/nickel alloys aren't particularly hard. Despite their other outstanding characteristics, they aren't very wear resistant, though maybe hard enough for many fishermen. One of the most common questions I see about titanium guides concerns dressing the feet. Apparently, the differences in machinability between titanium a
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I'm confused, too. Over the past couple of years, at least a few people have reported success following the manufacturer's directions, but most of the discussion tends to center on repackaging PG in cans, drilling holes, using oxygen replacement gases (when the problem is humidity, not oxygen). Are people just looking for the most complicated method, intent on experimenting, or hardheaded? I h
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I don't see why not, if you go slowly and try to keep little bits of plastic out of the bottle. You will also have some trouble getting it out of the bottle because there will be a vacuum when you turn it upside down. If I may offer an alternative, follow Trondak's (manufacturer) recommendations: get a short, wide mouth jar, put the bottle of PG inside, fill with an inch or so of dessicant (si
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When I've used Permagloss over paint, it's been Krylon (with no problems). I think the most important thing is to let the paint cure very well, so that there are no volatiles left. I waited five days, but three might be enough, depending on temperature and humidity (more of the first and less of the second). My experiences with spar varnish and varnish/oil finishes tell me that finishes contin
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I use the Trondak storage recommendations (tightly closed bottle in a closed jar with dessicant (silica gel) in the dehumidified drawer of refrigerator, with minimum open time). In addition, I buy one ounce bottles only and use an eyedropper for dispensing to reduce open time. I take the jar out of the refrigerator about an hour before use to let it warm up. My Permagloss stays useable until a
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Are you thinking of the Pacific Bay STC tungsten carbide ring with three legs (similar in appearance to most ceramic ringed guides)? If so, the ring material is a metal alloy and the legs are soldered to it. Look on the PacBay site under saltwater and boat guides.
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Just a couple of weeks ago, I refinished an old solid glass rod. After sanding and filling and sanding again, I sprayed two light coats of Krylon (for plastic), let it cure for five days, and put two coats of Permagloss (clear) over it. It turned out great. On this rod, I used black, but I don't see why red wouldn't work just as well.
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Jason, I also use Permagloss in the one ounce bottles, and had good luck following Trondak's instructions for storage. I store unopened bottles in the vegetable bin of my refrigerator (de-humidified), and store the opened bottle in a small jar (jelly, olive, etc--it's more convenient to use one that's short and wide enough to get your fingers in. I filled the jar with about an inch of dessicant
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That's it! Thanks to both Toms for the answer. The Ring Lock Atlas model isn't on the American Tackle website or in the catalogs I've got, but I checked it out on the Mud Hole website. Thanks again. -Art
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Thanks, not what I'm talking about. I've seen the ones you're talking about and have used plenty of the same design with carboloy, bronzed, or chromed rings. The guides I'm talking about are high set, not low, and are just like any "tripod" type guide you can get from Fuji, Seymo, Pacific Bay, or American Tackle, except for the details--the large "rear" legs (reversed on T&a
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Does anyone have any idea what model guide T&T is using for the strippers on their light rods (LPS series, e.g.). The ring is thin and jet black, which might be Alconite, but the really unusual thing is the frame design. At first glance, you'd thing it was a typical high frame (V) double-foot spinning guide, but, on closer inspection, the guide has four legs, not three. The front of the g
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There was a very low production Howald Wonderod that used a titanium and glass ferrule and had guides wrapped with a filament of fiberglass (presumably covered with resin, rather than varnish). That's one old rod I'd love to have. Meanwhile, I kind of like silk wraps, and they give the opportunity for a little decoration. I'm sure there will be wrapless guides, but not for my rod making.
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If you are interested in restoring the rods close to original, don't use TiCH or DLC guides, which, although excellent and durable, didn't exist until several years ago. If you can find old Perfection chrome or bronzed snakes, they would be a close match for the originals (chromed snakes can be bronzed with spar varnish and baking in the oven. A modern alternative that is not only a close match
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Anglers Workshop (sponsor link at left) sells olive nylon size A thread (color 806) under their own label on 950 yd spools. I have used it several times and it comes out true olive. You must, of course, experiment with finishes on your particular blank to get the depth of color you desire. If you go with silk, there are numerous greens available from various suppliers that will come out olive.
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If you use a UV resistant finish appropriate to the use of the rod (to protect the thread from deterioration), (and assuming we're talking about a rod that you cast with, not one designed for heavy trolling and dead lifting a lot of weight) the Gossamer thread should be strong enough. I still think that the critical factor will be how big and heavy your guides are and how fine you will have to g
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Tom, when I refered to epoxy (glue) shelf life, I was talking about it in practical, layman terms, not chemical. What I mean is that, once opened, whether in a side-by-side syringe or separate squeeze tubes, the resin tends to expand and leak out and the hardener tends to harden (and, of course, you know what happens when the resin leaks over to the hardener side!). If you use it all up in a sh
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I concur with Steve. The glue is the problem (both the epoxy and whatever resin is in the rod), not the tip top. I now use the fletcher's hot melt that you can get anywhere they sell archery supplies, and it works well (and doesn't have a shelf life, like epoxy does). It can be reheated and the tip top repositioned without having to clean the whole thing out and start over, too. You ought to
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The one on the left looks almost ready, but I can see a tiny gap between the tip of the foot and the rod that is larger than the diameter of 3/0 and smaller silk. That's why I said that the bottom of the feet must be completely flush to the blank. This works much better on smooth finished blanks (Winston, Sage) than on unsanded, tape-wrapped blanks (Scott G series, old Orvis), and better on sm
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If you haven't used silk thread before, it presents some difficulties not typically encountered with nylon. The thread is very thin, even if you don't use Pearsall's Gossamer, so it takes a lot of attention to detail and care to use successfully. It snags on fingernails, callouses, etc. It has virtually no stretch, so your thread control must be very good. You will likely need to singe the wr
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I mortise my cork seats (by hand with folded sandpaper and careful work) just deeply enough to hold the reel foot from sliding side to side. REC used to offer mortised cork seats, but they discontinued them some years back, probably because doing it with a mill would be about as much of a pain as mortising rubber. I never have problems with reels falling out of my seats, but I have learned some
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I've used those pads in 000 size for applications when I really didn't want to deal with any grit or steel wool particles getting into crevises, like spot refinishing on furniture. 00 is pretty coarse for just scuffing a rod finish, though. 0000 steel wool would work just great for that purpose, or wet/dry paper (used dry), say 800 or 1000 grit (most readily available at auto body supply shops
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The traditional way to get transparent/translucent wraps is to use thin (3/0-4/0) silk in white or light colors and spar warmed and mixed 50/50 with walnut alkyd (art suppliers carry it) medium for the first two coats, followed by straight spar. The reason for wicking the excess on the first couple of coats is to ensure that it dries and doesn't gum up. If you prepare your guide feet properly,
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I don't know anything about "blood grooves" in grips, but the old saw about them in knives is easily disproved by actual use in cutting meat or dressing animals. Blood runs all over the place, not down the groove. Fullers were originally put in some forged blades in an attempt to strengthen/stiffen them, period. Hollywood (and teenage boys) added the "blood groove" story.
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I've used both the REC CRA seats (before they changed the ring style to "wedding band") and the Struble 27 series. Although the REC is a bit lighter (aluminum vs NS), I prefer the Struble. I've been using two "27" rings (over cork)on my personal bamboo for more than a year now and they have been tenacious at holding my reel (Hardy Featherweight) on and are very light in that
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Tom's most likely dead on on that one. If it doesn't work for you, ask Thomas and Thomas who supplies the stripping guides they use on their graphite rods. Your description sounds identical to their stripping guides, and they may have a different supplier than American.
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I'm sure you could use a 6/7 spey blank for a panfish pole, but that's a pretty expensive way to go. Since these are made to be salmon/sea run trout rods for big water, I'm sure they're more than stout enough for panfish. If you've got bream and crappie that can out fight a salmon, I wish you'd let me know where so I can move there! Anyway, if you want to go that route, some manufacturers offe
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John, email me at mayfield55.netzero.com if you want to talk about the following procedure--I live in Asheville. I've started using Mike Brooks' formula/procedure recently. I haven't tried for absolutely clear wraps yet, but it does a terrific job of turning lighter thread(00 nylon or silk) in the paler colors completely translucent, so I'm confident it would work properly with white silk for c
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I believe Scott still offers G series and F series (fiberglass) fly blanks. These are top quality and unsanded.
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A few uplocking designs (Pac Bay comes to mind, for one) have upper hoods that are milled to butt up against the grip w/o being covered by the cork.
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Re the question about pre-made mortised inserts--REC sells these in many natural and stabilized woods. You'll need to specify diameter and there will be an additional charge if you need a diameter that isn't a standard size in their production line.
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