Based on the photos on Steffen Bros. website, I'd say his "US blank manufacturing plant" is the garage or basement of Mark's house. And I don't mean that in any way as derrogatory. To the contrary, the guy makes a small number of models and total blanks of extremely high quality. He brings the same passion and careful craftsmanship to the fiberglass and graphite world as the many tal
Forum: rodboard

How many are named Steve Kartalia? Unless you ship to Serbia (Kartalija), there should be just one : ) Looking forward to the issue as always.
Forum: rodboard

I hear what you're saying Ray and I think blank/rod manufacturers, custom builders, and fishermen could all communicate a lot more efficiently if they were all speaking the same language. And since, most language used to describe fishing rods is either techno-babble, advertising hype, or subjective opinions, a consistent and objective language would be a huge help. The CCS answers this need, li
Forum: rodboard

I've made quite a few spinning rods out of fly blanks, even fly blanks as light as 3wts. and I have not had one break yet. On a 6wt. fly blank, 6lb. tippet (about 2X or 3X in most brand tippet) should not be too heavy, assuming you don't high stick the blank, and of course even that wouldn't cause it to break where yours broke. Also, I think Tom's point about shifting the load is unlikely in th
Forum: rodboard

Man, you guys are really making Bill feel better I'm sure, LOL. Bill, I hope eating his smoked or broiled fillets made the incident more bearable. The loose ferrule is probably the culprit if it broke at or just above the ferrule.
Forum: rodboard

So far, I have not wrapped ferrules and have not damaged any blanks in the process. Wrapping the ferrules is probably a good idea and maybe I've gotten lucky that I haven't damaged any blanks.
Forum: rodboard

If you want the durability and the look of modern materials, combined with the hard material you need to cast well, you might consider using the graphite tubing. I recently made a couple spin/fly rods with graphite tubing Tennessee type grips and I really like using them as fly rods. I don't miss the contoured shape of a typical fly grip at all. I thought I would but I don't. Just something t
Forum: rodboard

Very cool rod Marc. Great work and thanks for posting the results. I'm down to my last Phillipson seat and waiting for creative inspiration to decide what to use it for. I will build a multi-technique rod for sure, but I'm just trying to decide the length, power, action, and number of pieces. Now I've got another blank to consider... Enjoy your new rod.
Forum: rodboard

This is what I did for mine - you can tweak as necessary: 1) 1 stripper in size 8, then 8 running guides (as small as you can go with your knots) and a tip top. I'd recommend size 0 wire guides or smaller for a 3wt. Size 6 or smaller if using ceramics. 2) Space according to St. Croix spacing chart for 8' light weight fly rod (available on their website) 3) Place rod under load and look
Forum: rodboard

Thanks Gavin, that would be much appreciated. Yes, I guess it's preferable to do it on the bare blank for two reasons: 1) The blank is easier to "level" than the rod since there are no handle components installed yet; and 2) The bare blank will be unaffected by guide style and number, finish type and thickness, etc. In practice, however, the difference between a bare fly blank and a
Forum: rodboard

Nobody has posted the CCS data for the Sig. V 863-4 yet. Gavin, if you would test your blank and post the data, many other fly rod builders would really appreciate it. If you don't know how to do the test, read the info at the link to the left called "common cents info" and you will see it's very simple to do. Based on what the ERN of the blank is, you can make a good choice about
Forum: rodboard

The FTL 803-5 and 803-6 are great rods for what you are trying to do and extremely easy to travel with. If you build them with all cork handle and slip rings, and single foot wire guides with light finish, they are about as weightless as you can get. I have had my eye on the Sig. V 863-4 but haven't tried one yet. If anyone out there has the CC data, I too would be very happy if you would shar
Forum: rodboard

Roger, I set up my rods for underspin reels the same exact way I set them up for fly rods. The line is already "choked" by the hole in the top of the reel cap. I use a double foot fly stripper guide, then #6 ceramics out to a #6 ceramic tip. Works great. If I use a TN handle, I can easily use my rods for both fly and underspin. Neither New Concept or Cone of flight make any sense f
Forum: rodboard

I agree and don't mean to put down guys who own and fish 100 rods. To each his own. Plus, I recognize that if you are fishing for money, you will want to have every advantage possible whereas I'm just out there to have fun and avoid mowing the lawn.
Forum: rodboard

Tim, I have often wondered the same thing and have to laugh at myself just as much as I'm tempted to laugh at others. I usually bank fish or wade or fish from a canoe. I suppose if you have a large bass boat with lots of storage you can take a lot of outfits with you and many bass fisherman do exactly that. I don't think it's just sour grapes over not owning a bass boat, but I think I actua
Forum: rodboard

With fly rods, I have always taken the St. Croix guide spacing chart as my starting point, loaded the rod to see the result, and almost never have I changed a single thing. And I have loved the results. I think the position and size of the butt and choke guide affects spinning rods but I have never noticed any difference on fly rods, with the one exception being that if there are too few guides
Forum: rodboard

Tom, ERP would have prevented a lot of misunderstandings and helped people understand the objectivity of the system better. Bill, one thing I've noticed is that rods made of a heavier material, like bamboo and fiberglass, tend to feel better when they are heavily loaded and their line ratings generally reflect this. Otherwise, the weight of the material causes the rods to bounce all over the
Forum: rodboard

Larry is right about the older fiberglas rods being common in short 5 and 6wt. options. If you measure the ERN on most of those old "6wts" they are typically in the 3-4 range so, again like Larry suggests, just take a modern graphite blank with an ERN of about 4 and fish it with a 6wt. line. That assumes that you like that low amount of power and deep flexing. If you want a crisp 5/6
Forum: rodboard

Billy, I have two rods with handles exactly like the one in your photo link (graphite tubing with graphite rings). They hold my spinning reels on by friction. The first time I fished them, I carried a roll of electrical tape with me, fully expecting them to loosen. After about 24 hours of fishing over two days, absolutely no loosening! I never used the tape. As Tom suggests, the graphite r
Forum: rodboard

Joe, I just built a rod on the St. Croix 3S70ULM2, which is a 2pc. ultra-light spinning blank. It CC's at 5.35/67. Considering that you won't probably be casting for distance with such a short rod, this blank makes a terrific 5/6wt. fly rod. In fact, I build mine with a Tennessee handle so I can use it as either a spin or fly rod. Steve
Forum: rodboard

Nathan, if you trim the butt 2" you will slightly decrease the power and slighlty slow the action. That would be true of most blanks. This blank is nice and fast to begin with so you would still have a nice action on the blank. Your question about the guides is why I gave you my exact guide model numbers and sizes and numbers. I don't mean to boast, because I have learned how to do this
Forum: rodboard

I just built the IP840 with a 10" TN Sensor handle (graphite tubing) and slip rings from Custom Tackle. Guides are Fuji Alconite BYAG20, BYAG12, then 6 x BLAG6, then BFAT6 tip top. I fished it a lot last week with a Quantum size 10 reel. I love everything about it. I was using a lot of the same lures you are planning to use and could cast very far. Fished it for two whole days and the s
Forum: rodboard

I just built a Rainshadow IP840 and a St. Croix 3S70ULM2 with 10" TN Sensor graphite handles from Custom Tackle. I took them on two fishing trips last week, where other guys got to use them a little when I wasn't fishing them. Anyone who used them, including me, said they were the most comfortable handles they'd ever used. I expect a couple rod orders as a result of those fishing trips an
Forum: rodboard

That's very cool Mark and similar to a trip I had this weekend on the Potomac River on the MD/WV border. The rods I was testing were the CTS EST16646, the Rainshadow IP840, and the St. Croix 3S70ULM2. Great numbers of smallies up to 15.5", walleyes, channel cats, and the adrenaline highlight of the trip when I was fighting a 10" smallie on the IP840 and a 40" tiger musky ate him.
Forum: rodboard

Glad to help a brother out. I fish a lot of small water with big flies so I think these two rods will both get used alternately as spin and fly rods. Most of the water I fish can be very well and effectively covered with 20-40 casts and stripping streamers or chugging poppers. A long rod is just not needed for that type of fishing. I don't like to wade with a net and I am short (5'6") so
Forum: rodboard

Bob's description of the IP840 sounds dead-on and I can't wait to get this thing built. Got two trips in the next two weeks and both these rods are going with me. He's right about the price - $34. I've heard several people ask about short bass fly rods on the board before. This is a great candidate for that. My IP840 will have a TN grip so I can easily put a fly reel and a 7 or 8wt. line on
Forum: rodboard

Andrei, the weight of a U.S. penny (cent) of modern manufacture ('96 and since) is 2.50 grams. To measure the ERN and AA of a blank, you have to use the exact methods Dr. Hanneman specified or else you can't compare your results to anyone else's. Using the exact methods is what makes the system a standard. Like using a meter stick that is exactly 1 meter. Otherwise, everyone's data would be
Forum: rodboard

Yes, 7' 1pc. I think that given your passion for light line smallmouth fishing, it might be one you want to look at. The St. Croix model is a 2pc.
Forum: rodboard

A couple weeks ago I was asking if anyone had this information. For those interested in UL spinning blanks, here is the data for the Rainshadow IP840 and St. Croix 3S70ULM2 blanks I just received yesterday. Rainshadow IP840 ERN = 8.03 AA = 70 St. Croix 3S70ULM2 ERN = 5.35 AA = 67 I will post the data in the CCS database too. I'm going to build them both with graphite tubing TN gri
Forum: rodboard

I think most saltwater fly anglers routinely use 10 and 12lb. tippet (maybe even slightly heavier) on their 9 and 10 wt. outfits without a problem. You just want to make sure that if you wrap the line on a guide or your reel seizes up, or you step on the line while a fish is running, that the tippet will break before your rod does.
Forum: rodboard