Russell, I've used a couple sets of the new Fuji CC guides. They're nice, but time will tell how they hold up. When prospective customers for salt water ask what guides I recommend, I show them pictures of the rusted SS guides, titanium guides, and give them the cost difference between SS and titanium. Most feel that if they have that much invested anyway, the extra for Ti with it's non-corros
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Russell, My PacBay chuck just has 3 jaws, each jaw has a rubber cover (which I don't use). It doesn't have a back up wingnut or hooks for rubber bands. It was the upgraded chuck for that wrapper. Dave
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In the past, like 12 years ago, I built 5 rods for myself, boys, and a friend using Fuji MN guides, gunsmoke finish, with SiC rings. These were used on long range boats in the Pacific. We were always careful to thoroughly clean all our tackle before storage because of the salt environment. Two years ago I ended up replacing the complete guide trains on three rods due to rusting of the frames arou
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I had a couple of rods walk out of a 3 jaw chuck during the drying process on my PacBay power wrapper a couple of years ago. I removed the rubber jaw covers and stuck pieces of a pebbled finish self adhesive saltwater grip tape which seemed to give a more positive grip (my perception). But the real solution to the problem was how the rod was supported during the drying process. I discovered that
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All, Thanks so very much for all the great advice. I was especially pleased to see Roger weigh in because I believe he's in a state populated with ice nuts like me. I feel comfortable mentioning manufacturers because they contribute to this site. The rod I'll be finishing up this week for a guy is using a Netcraft Micro Ice 31" blank. So far, it's the best I've found that meets my criteri
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This is probably a revisitation on an old topic, but I have several ice rod blanks I want to sand down before I build the rods. The problem with nearly all the blanks I've been able to access is the lack of a consistent bend. The "ultralight" 1# - 4# rated blanks all have a good limber tip, but when you get about 25% down from the tip they get really stiff. Most of the guys I talk to on
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Thanks a lot, Norm. Looks like they're going to have what I need and the price is fair. Dave Sytsma
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Does anyone know where I can get carbon fiber tubing, preferably with the "carbon fiber look" with a 12mm O.D.? I want to use it in ice rod handles both for appearance and as an arbor for mounting the blanks in the reel seat.Thanks! Dave Sytsma
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Mike, If you are interested in using the Snake brand guides, just call them. I think the name of the guy who owns the company is Mike. I've called and talked with him a couple of times, thought he was very knowledgeable and not high pressure at all. I ended up buying my guides and reel seat directly from him. The reel seat is awesome; excellent workmanship and the insert is stunning. The Eco g
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Yeah, I'll plead guilty and eat some humble pie. I started a thread a while back where I had my arbors/shims move on me and the reel seat wasn't parallel to the blank. Had to cut it off and do it again. I think the culprit was the reel seat should have been sized one size smaller, but I already had the 24 and didn't want to have to order the 22 I should have used and the arbors were a little too
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I've got a 60 year old telescoping fiberglass cane pole that is in rough shape (renovation for another day) that I can experiment on. If the stain and the PermaGloss don't get along, I can always try rod varnish. Thanks, Phil.
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Seems like I'm doing a lot more renovating of old rods anymore than new builds. I'm working currently on a 7'6" fiberglass garage sale refugee for a guy. Interestingly, I finished one that was nearly identical a month ago; same manufacturer, but 6" shorter.. It looked awful, but after using CitriSrip and some light sanding followed by three coats of PermaGloss it looked amazing. Thi
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Jack, I always use fiberglass mesh drywall tape. It's cheap, a 2" x 300' roll lasts for years, you can easily cut it to any width or length you need, it's porous, and doesn't degrade. Just sort of trowel your epoxy into the tape as you go with a popsicle stick, or smear it well over and into the shim after you've built it. You can get it at any hardware or big box store (Home Depot, Lowes
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Thanks, Roger. That's good advice and what I needed to hear. Stay safe. Dave Sytsma
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My grandson found a custom rod washed up on the Lake Michigan beach earlier this spring. I know the guy who built the rod, but he's no longer in the area. The reel, guide wraps, and EVA grips were trashed, but the guides, reel seat, and blank are in good shape. The blank is a Forecast fly blank that has been made into an ultralight spinning rod. The blank was a dark blue, but the builder had remo
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James, I use denatured alcohol most of the time for epoxy clean up, acetone the rest of the time. They are a little more aggressive than 70% isopropyl, but work better in my opinion. Just be careful where you use acetone so you don't compromise coatings on the blanks. Never use it on painted blanks. I buy my DNA by the gallon from Lowes or Home Depot. Dave Sytsma
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James, I fished on a long range boat a few years ago with a guy who spent all his time away from the rail tearing apart his Avets and cleaning and adjusting them. He was absolutely 100% into Boca Bearings. His rationale was that if you're after fish of the size you hope to catch, investing a little more into top quality bearings was insignificant. Avet reels are excellent quality (I own two),
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Todd, I'm with Don, but I haven't tried his epoxy application method. I've got some old spare decals which I'm going to devote to his process to check it out. I'm always looking for better ways to skin the cat. I always use color preserver immediately over the applied decal; once you've burnished it down, it seals down the decal to prevent the edges from lifting up (I prefer Flex Coat CP for thi
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I've been happy with the Hitena,and Angler's Workshop silk. I've also bought silk from Superior Threads in St. George, UT. They carry some natural silk in heavier weights, but aren't a sponsor. Of the thread I've used and experimented with, I liked Hitena the best..
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Bill, Do a search for the topic I started called "translucent thread". As an addition to the posts on that topic, I recently used some regular size A white Gudebrod (I know you can't get it anymore) on another carbon fiber blank that I was test wrapping on and with Flex Coat Lite (obviously no CP) it totally disappeared. I'm going to try some Fuji Ultrapoly white in a couple of days
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Bring on the ice! I'm ready already.
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Dave, I used one of the Mudhole Fuji guide kits on a build a couple of months ago. It was okay, but Norman is correct that Mudhole doesn't have the guides in the kit that Fuji recommends. The rod fished fine according to the recipient and he really likes it a lot, but if I had it to do all over again, I'd follow the Fuji guidelines on the Anglers Resource site and buy what you need as opposed
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Follow up to the fish eye problem. I followed the instructions Tom provided and it took care of the problem. Thanks again, Tom.
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Thanks, guys. And Tom, if it's any consolation to you that's the first time I've ever been compelled to wipe off a surface prior to putting on finish. Usually I just lightly tap the areas to be finished with blue painter's tape to remove any stray dust particles. Lesson learned. And the fish eye is now about 1/2" long by 1/4". I think it's the whole fish, and the finish is at the poi
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I've used a couple of them on 30# - 80# bait rods. They're a nice reel seat. I don't know why they wouldn't work on those reels, but if you want a straight answer, call Batson. They are a wealth of information. Dave Sytsma
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I know this issue has been addressed before, but having never been plagued with one before I'm apparently now joining the crowd. I just finished putting epoxy on a couple of rods, and everything looks great except for a big (1/8") fish eye on one underwrap. This is the second coat of finish on the wrap, so I must have contaminated that spot at some point while doing the overwraps. Only thing
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Fred, Both Mike and Mark are correct. Personally, I always use an underwrap on offshore rods; thread size is determined by what color my customer wants and what thread size I happen to have that color in but I check with them first. Size A does look a little cleaner in my opinion. The underwrap I believe does add a degree of cushioning. I then apply a thin coat of epoxy, whether I've had to us
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Chuck, That was my understanding as well. However, I think I 'm going to abandon using the silk on the rod in question until I understand it's characteristics better. I'll be using this rod in about three weeks, and owing to the fact that I've got some other rods I need to build as well I don't currently have the luxury of time to evaluate it. Even though I'll have several rods on the trip to
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Thanks, Tom. When I've used the thread, so far I've always used a color preserver. Probably why I haven't had any issues
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Quick question for you all. I was reading the thread on the issues Tom Harder was having with U-40 Dura Gloss Supreme and I think there was mention of silicone in Madeira thread. I've got a few spools of the polyneon that I've used a little of without problems. Should I take special steps when using the Madeira? Does this thread contain silicone? Thanks. Dave Sytsma
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