Wow!! That's amazing. If it's naturally a gloss finish, this comment isn't relevant, but if you find the paint to be compatible with Perma Gloss, that would do a good job of protecting it.
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Shawn, If you haven't already done so, go to the Angler's Resource website and look at the information on the KR GPS. Look in this order: KR Guide Placement Software Scroll down beyond that section to "The Easy Way to Master the KR Concept" and look at the grouping of the reduction guides. That is a wealth of information. I also usually always add at least 1 or 2 KB's after
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Jon, I don't know if this is the right place for this, but I have a complete set of the All American Roller Guides that were used for approximately 20 minutes, and I'd like to sell them at a very reasonable price. I don't believe my email is hidden, but if it is, let me know on this forum if you are interested. They are in perfect condition. Dave Sytsma
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Michael and Richard, Excellent advice. To be honest, cost was mentioned as irrelevant, so I ordered a 6'6" St. Croix SCV medium light from their distributor. Wasn't close to being cheap. I have the same rod in 7' and it's positively amazing. Handles everything from 9" perch to 4# smallmouth bass without effort. Very sensitive, with good butt strength.
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Thanks, guys. It's sort of what I thought. My brain is fried: so I'm going to stare at a hole in a frozen lake for a while. Excellent therapy. Dave Sytsma
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I should already know this because I work with fishing rods for youth frequently, but is there any meaningful difference between a casting rod blank, spinning rod blank, or a "spin/cast" rod blank? Reason I'm asking is because I've been asked to build a rod for my accountant's grandson (age 5) and of course, being a custom rod, it should be special. I'm a little lost with selecting the
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Tom, I've been building rods since 1975. The best quote I ever read on this site was one builder who said that "every rod I build is a prototype". Lots of truth in that. Like many, I constantly think about what if's and what I can do better. When it isn't fun or challenging any more, I'll just walk away. I'm sorry that this has snowballed so badly. I can't believe when I was look
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Tom, To revisit the post you made at 7:56pm last night before all this went crazy, I just wanted to say that my initial effort at spiral wrapping was in no way simple. I attempted to create a spiral wrap using American Roller guides, which was suggested to me and was felt to be the best guide for the spiral wrap on the Phenix 700X3H blank I was using. I received the guides and a lot of paperwo
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Well guys, here is where I am. I made the one spiral wrapped rod in my life about 3 years ago and it was a colossal failure. I won't go into the details as it isn't important now. I spent the better part of this afternoon setting up this Calstar for a simple spiral wrap and it looked "okay" but seemed a little off. I went back on the Rodboard, researched earlier posts, and ended up runn
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Edward, I'm not sure that it really matters. I've used ALPS Centra Lock seats frequently and they're well made products. Aluminum reel seats like ALPS with their quality of finish and workmanship are getting harder to find. If you want an opinion from the source, give Batson a call. They are always quick to help and answer questions. But to give FUJI their due, I've used their DPSH graphite re
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Thanks for all the advice and opinions. If I wasn't such a #$*&^%! perfectionist I wouldn't even have given it a thought. I'll just wrap it up tomorrow as is. After all, with the grips and reel seat I've only got about 37" of usable blank for the guides. I've been tempted to spiral wrap it (simple spiral) but the deckhands on the last trip I went on were, can we say, less than enthusia
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I acquired an older Calstar 6465 XH-B that I thought would make a great rail rod. It's so stiff that finding the spine the usual way by having the butt on the floor and applying pressure against the blank while supporting the tip just wasn't getting it, so I used the straightest axis to find it. That worked well. Everything was going smoothly until I glued up the aluminum reel seat. It required v
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I don't know if this will work for you or not, but the B'n'M Bream Buster telescoping pole that Bass Pro Shops sells is light and crazy flexible. I have 10 of these in a 10' length I use to teach little kids how to fish. It has 3 sections. We broke the middle section of one on a bass, so I kept the tip which is 34" long and solid glass, and want to try using it for a noodle ice rod on bluegi
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Angelo, I've built several stand up rods, mostly on Calstar or Phenix blanks. I've got 5 Calstar blanks in my shop that I'll be working on this winter (if I'm not out on the ice). From what I've been hearing, Calstar and Phenix blanks are nearly impossible to get right now, as well as the factory manufactured rods. All of the stand up and trolling rods I've built are either 6' or 7'. I've got
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I think that sometimes we get ahead of ourselves and away from the basics. For the last 9 or 10 years I've helped out with a kid's fishing program for kids 4-17 at a State Fish Hatchery here in Southern Michigan. Catch and Release for bluegill and largemouth bass. We run over 2,000 kids through the program on the weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day and furnish everything: bait, and rods w
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MIchael, I've had a lot of Shimanos over the years and thought they were great reels. Until about 5 years ago. Most of mine were Stradics and Symmetries. Had a problem with one of my favorite Stradics a couple of years ago that required a new drive gear. Called Shimano. Their response was "the reel is too old and we don't stock parts for that model anymore". So I guess I can take th
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I'm with Roger and Michael. Never had any issues.
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If you like the feel of hypalon, I would do as John suggested and just cut off and replace the butt grip. Shrink wrapping is okay; it's very durable and realistically you probably won't ever have to replace it, but it does feel different and will add some weight. I've used it a few times, but in all honesty I'd re-grip it given the choice. I think the shrink wrap is more slippery than hypalon. Yo
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Tom, Sounds like a good plan. Dave
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Thanks, Lynn. That's the video I was referring to when I replied to Tom. The only epoxies I use are Rod Bond and lately, ProGlu.
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Thanks for all the information, guys. I'll give them a try this afternoon and we'll see how it goes. Dave
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Tom, I found a manufacturer's video on YouTube. They were using a liquid epoxy and standing the rod vertically to supposedly allow the glue to migrate to fill the arbors during the drying process. I've got both types of epoxy but the gel isn't going to flow like they are recommending. Would you still use the gel? Thanks! Dave
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I've got some MHX ice blanks I haven't built on yet. My initial impression is they are nice blanks, but stiffer than I would want for pan fish. I'm going to try a mock-up to see if they are OK as is, or if I'm going to have to sand them.
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I've known about these for some time now, but have never used them. I had a friend give me a few and they look intriguing. Has anyone used these and what were your observations? The manufacturer isn't listed as a sponsor, but I'm sure you know who I'm talking about. Thanks! Dave Sytsma
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Jann's Netcraft has some decent blanks. I built one for a guy last winter on one of their Microlite composite blanks and he loved it. He wanted one about 30", and the blank I used was 31". Only problem is that they don't have any in stock right now.
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Norm, Thanks for the response and understanding my concerns with the bobber stop issue. You've clarified several things for me. I think I'll run with the KT 7's as a happy medium; they should work. Thanks again, Dave Sytsma
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Please excuse me. I forgot to mention that he intends to use 6# or 8# mono on this rod, not braid. Dave Sytsma
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Since my issue runs along with most of the responses on this topic, I'm going to ask for advice on my problem if you'll allow me. I was asked to build a light action 6'6" spinning rod for a guy. I already have the blank and handle materials, but need to purchase the guides. I intend to follow the KR Concept which I've only used a couple of times, as I mostly build casting rods. The proced
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I have an old set (late 70's vintage) of Fuji match guides. I have an original Loomis ultralight blank I bought way back in the mid-70's and and after procrastinating for about 50 years I'm finally going to build it up. I see match guides mentioned for center pin rods. What are they customarily used for, and in what way would they be preferable to a KR set up? Dave
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John, I've had two rods (only two, thankfully) damaged during shipment. FedEx killed the first one, Southwest Air (not Cargo) broke the tip on the other one when I used it as checked baggage during a flight. Both were shipped in Schedule 40 PVC and it was obvious that they had been damaged by a conveyor. The FedEx rod was insured for retail value, the price of which covered my materials and la
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