Andy - CONGRATULATIONS!! I have 2 young kids, 4 and 8 - every day is something new and cool.
Forum: rodboard

I've read, re-read, and re-re-read the original post. I AM an engineer. I have absolutely no idea what the original poster is attempting to get at. The concept has no usefull application or relevance, and is attempting to achieve a goal that is of dubious nature. Who cares if a guide on a rod is not carrying load when a certain amount of force is placed on it? On virtually ANY rod, by the t
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Outstanding info here - as aluded to, there are so many different types of ice fisherman(women), ranging from the nut cases who walk on 2" of ice to access first ice walleyes to the ones who won't consider ice fishing without having a shack that literally has electricity, satellite TV and a fridge. All in all, it's a wonderfull, very fast growing sport - one that I really wish component
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Ked, I live in prime ice country and have built a good number of ice rods. The St. Croix blanks are very good, they are solid graphite, not tubular (hollow). About the only way to get a good action on an ice rod is to build on a solid graphite blank. Unfortunately, they are hard to come by - St. Crois and Thorne Brothers are really the only two viable options for quality ice blanks. Lots of p
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Guys, I think he's talking about trimming the portion of the seat that does NOT have the locking threads/nut on it. Billy aluded to what he has done with his NPS seats. I have not tried it yet, but plan to possibly. I like take the cork/eva down the match the back of the seat, then tapering it back out to about 1" for that rear portion if I'm building it as a split grip - I usually use ab
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Thanks Bob - that also sounds like it's worth taking a look at. I typically run 2-3 guides out to the transition, but might play with that size 8 in there.
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buy the back issue. The best things in life aren't free in certain cases :-)
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Thanks guys - from published data they are close in height to the Alconites, or the Batson match guides which I've used in the past as well. I've done some line/reelsweep plotting and it appears that something like the 25/16/8 will be the ticket. That's pretty typical to the setup I've used with the alconites.
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Hi all, planning 3 builds on various St. Croix Avid blanks that will all use Shimano 2000 class spinning reels. All rods are medium action freshwater rods. I'm going to use the Batson VS3 guides for the first 3 guides using the new concept setup, transitioning to size 6 fly guides on out. I have never used the VS3's before. As I'm the perpetual hobbyist and can't ever afford to buy a bunch o
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great - thanks!
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I'd like to remove a for sale posting I have on there, but can't figure it out. Is there a way to do this?
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Mike - message me your address, and I'll be on the next plane! :-)
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If you've ever watched how a tournament basser treats their rods - you would never think to question putting the Forhan locking wrap on each and every single foot guide you install.
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I'm confused by the postings that state a mag-bass blank will typically have a faster action than a spin-jig blank. I have not worked with a mag-bass blank, but spin-jig blanks typically have a fast to extra fast action. Are we confusing action and power here? I have a hard time believing that a mag-bass blank of similar power rating will be faster than the comparable spin-jig blank. Unless,
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flex-coat arbors are the best way to go structurally and weight wise. Why would anyone use anything else. You are trying to build a rod that is superior in every way to a factory rod.
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I will sometimes use a rubber O-ring as a winding check, and intentionally build the finish up - in other words, make it creep. When I do this I ensure that the entire ring becomes encapsulated in epoxy. Makes a cool looking, smooth transition from blank to grip. Sounds like exactly what Joshua and Jon (and Tom K) are talking about.
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yup - epoxy the arbor into the seat first, then ream to whatever you need it to be. I've had some get ultra thin before, it's a far better method than any alternative.
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Mike - you might be able to touch the sensitivity issue with that pole, depending on the pole's mass density and the orientation of the pole to the sensitivity when you actually touch it :-) Ok, I'll shut up now...
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Tim, here are some links over to a penturning website. A LOT of penturners use CA glue as a finish, several use a combo of CA and BLO (boiled linseed oil) that they swear by. I've done a couple CA glue finishes on pens and reelseats. I get a nice looking finish with it - I want to get a buffing setup so that I can get an even higher shine, but current funding won't allow :-) LOTS of good info
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For cork glueing, Titebond III is the stuff. Rodbond is also good, but TBIII does just as good of a job at considerably less expense. For gapfilling structural applications, Rodbond or Andy Dear's epoxy is the stuff to use. Tom K hit it right on the head though - get that grip off the mandrel with TBIII, as it will form a surface rust. If I run into that I just chuck the bare mandrel into th
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doh! I forgot all about the wine cork/etc... :-) My problem is after the 1/2 bottle of wine, I'd forget all about the rod and start calling ex-girlfriends, etc.... (I'm a lightweight) Yep - I usually plug the hole with a cork/etc. Then have some black metallic fleck automotive touch up paint that I paint the bottom of the inlay recess with - this looks really cool with one of the pewter
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Jason, that will work just fine - I often use Forstner bits, they drill a clean, flat hole. Also, if you need an exact diameter that does not correspond to a drill bit size, you can use a Dremel type rotary tool to carve out the recess - use the inlay to mark the diameter of the recess on the ring, then slowly work up to that diameter, test fitting the inlay several times until you achieve a sn
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I for one am dismayed at the tone this thread has taken. The man asked a question - if you have an issue with it, don't clutter up Tom's board with it. It gives everyone a bad taste in the mouth, degrades the high standard held here, and is certainly taken as unprofessional. If you feel the need to browbeat somebody you don't even know that strongly, then take if "off the board".
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I didn't bother to read all this thread - I'm having a hard time lately with all the darn arguing around here. But, here is my thought on spiral wraps: 1) They are built on rods that utilize baitcasting reels 2) The lines used on these reels are inherently limp (for lack of a better term) - mono, braid, or castable fluoro, pick your favorite - it's limp. 3) ALL spinning and casting rods
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Tom - can you give a description for a couple of the vendors? Namely: Get Outdoors Anyfish Anywhere Two more questions: 1.) Do you have back issues of RM available at the show? 2.) I count 11 seminars I want to attend if I make the show - are some of them being presented more than once? I know it's early, but when do you hope to have a "final" schedule for the seminars?
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Let me just clarify that in my origninal post, I was in no way criticizing Steve or his Vibronic rods. I think they are a great design. Do they have limitations? Yes - but Steve has taken these into account through client education and requiring a high standard of reel, etc. I liked the article, and I'm impressed by the possibilities here. I'm disappointed that there has not been more positi
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Tom - I couldn't agree more :-)
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Being an engineer - I have taken issue with many of the claims regarding sensitivity, and what causes increased, or decreased sensitivity. I will not mention the specific claims, or what have you that I have found numerous shortcomings with, but let me just say that here is my opinion on sensitivity: It is not the most important element in a fishing rod. Ok - now that I said that, let me q
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Jeff - if you are asking if in fact they are ridiculously expensive - then the answer is "yes".
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I really wish they would offer them in light Taupe, or perhaps Mojave Desert Red :-)
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