To John. The discussion was at classic fly rod forum under restoration, then Tung oil topic. Reviewing the thread, some folks use 1/3 spar, 1/3 tung, and 1/3 mineral spirits. One fellow uses 1/4 spar to 3/4 tung and driers in an unspecified amount. There is a picture of a rod finished with tung to give you an idea of how that finish works. Wipe on poly looks the same. There is also a discus
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Someone on the bamboo site indicated that they add 25% spar to tung oil, which sounds about right. I greatly prefer Wipe on to Tru-oil or spar. It takes more coats of Wipe on [5 to 8] but the finish is gorgeous. I also finish the wraps with the Wipe on.
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If it were me, I would attempt to balance the rod to cast one-handed, balancing right in front of the single hand and keeping the rig as light as possible. The two handed cast will take care of itself. The leverage you can exert with both hands on the foregrip of a five weight rod is much greater than any fish can exert! Now if it were a 12 weight rod for big tarpon you might have a reasonabl
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You might try a blocking wrap instead of a Forhan. It sounds as if PG is not the thing to fill the void given its drying properties. You might try a varnish or perhaps the new Threadmaster.
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You are in luck. The longer 10 foot rod is very tip heavy, except in the switch configuration, which moves the handle up the blank and more hardware behind the hand. I would never add weight to a rod except with heavier hardware. Wood fighting butts add weight. Nickle silver is very heavy stuff, but not recommended for a salt water rod. You can get reels in a wide variety of weights, and
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A thread is 1/0. Pearsell's Naples is 4/0. Size 100 is 4/0. Size 50 is 3/0. Gossamer is 6/0. Gudebrod sells 2/0.
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Personally, I think 4/0 is about as light as I care to go. You'll break the 6/0 and it is difficult to transition onto the foot. No difference in holding strength when compared with heavier thread. I do not think you gain much at all going from 2/0 to 4/0 thread in terms of finished weight. You could take a 1/2 inch off any grip and more than offset the difference in finish weight. I often
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I just received my copy of Jeff Hatton's book on fly rod history and believe me, the Asians wouldn't have to go far to match or surpass the cosmetics of most older American made rods. The hobbyists and the few full timers are keeping the faith and build to extraordinarily high standards, but I don't see how we can remain competitive at the low end of the market. But we on this site already kno
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Eric. Actually, the bamboo guys get even madder if the Asian factory does call it a "Payne 98 taper", etc. Steve, seems to me that a lot of the debate is over the mass produced factory rod versus the hand-built rod. Similar to the debate over the Mom and Pop fly shops and the big box companies. There is a lot of hand work involved for a bamboo rod, and the return calculated as an h
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Right you are Eric. It REALLY annoys the bamboo crowd to see Asian sweatshops copy American tapers . But the good news is that many American makers, like Mark, are bound and determined to offer a blank that is price friendly rather than see us flooded with foreign imports. But of course there is a lot of handwork involved in any bamboo blank, even a bad one, so the American makers cannot just
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Larry. No it is Fitch. His email is fitchm57@yahoo.com. I am not in total agreement about rebuilding beaters. You will likely end up with a much better looking - beater.
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Jim, you will have a ball. Mark Fitch sells blanks on @#$%& already ferruled starting at about $200. If you get in a pickle call me, as I have some extras Fitches at about $225 each. Also if you are interested, I just got a ferruled blank off @#$%& for $100 which should build out to about a 7 foot rod. More details if you want it. Don
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Jim. I recently switched over to bamboo blanks and it is an easy transition. I use Wipe On polyurethane or Tru-oil to pre-finish the blank. Art can explain to you how dipping is done, but I don't regard that step as being necessary or useful. After wrapping, you will need to use thin coats of a varnish or poly for the wraps, as epoxy "rounds out" the hex shape of the blank. You can
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Tru-oil adds a far greater degree of protection that does Seal. I generally use 3 coats, sanding in between. Mixed with sanding dust, the Tru-oil fills imperfections in the cork. Creates a slightly firmer surface, but it is NOT slippery when wet. As mentioned, it has an amber tint. If I want to keep the original cork color (or lighten it), I will bleach the grip and then use the Tru-oil.
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I don't have Dan's spacing but I can give you mine if you want it. Don
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Bob. I built out a 2/3 weight in the 7' 3" length. Neat rod, similar to bamboo but more powerful. Used ceramic guides all the way. I have a old Sage SPL that I think feels more like bamboo though. Don
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Domenic, Rush River Rods has some aluminum slide rings not listed on their site. Very inexpensive. They have never made a recessed hood, though. I have never found a set like you describe. Cortland makes an aluminum cap and ring.
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Mine was a total flop. I am waiting for Andy's new product.
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Another approach is the Tennessee handle. You just shift the position of the reel.
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If not the RECs, another wire single foot. I had ceramics on mine but replace them with RECs. Don
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I am sure you know this Joe, and the customer is always right, but shortening up the rod doesn't help with trees. The backcast is the problem and roll casts, bow and arrow casts, and dapping is the solution. A short rod makes the needed casts more difficult. When you do have room for a backcast, you would appreciate a longer rod then, too. Don
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Joe. Do you want a micro rod? If so, see if Dan Craft will sell you a 0/1 weight 6 piece Sig IV. Use the top 4 sections for a 4'8" rod. Bob Dennison sells a reel and reel seat combo that is perfect for such a project. You might also try a fiberglass ice fishing blank. Flyline will be a hassle, but can be done. Don
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Cortland store has an inexpensive NS or aluminum cap and ring. More secure than double rings. I would try to keep things lite on this blank, including the reel. Of course you can trade off heavier hardware for a lighter reel. The little Forbes Avon weighs 1.6 ounces.
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My preference is to put the cork seat on a lathe or drill and take the entire diameter down with a sanding block. Check for fit often.
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Robin. My current favorite is Klass Kote epoxy paint, pot life of about 3 hours, longer with a little reducer added. It takes 3 coats to cover A thread if you apply immediately after mixing. Let the 2nd batch sit for 45 minutes and you can do it in 2 coats. Easier still is Wipe on polyurethane, but it will take about 8 coats to cover the threads. Permagloss sets up way to fast for my recomme
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Tom, are you talking about a mortised seat? If so, I agree that as the foot rotates around the seat it will stop at the cut. But IMO a mortised seat should be done with the proper power tools or you will have the worst of all worlds, a slightly undersized and uneven surface for the foot to rest on.
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Marc. Sorry to not answer your email, but the computer was down. The KK can be mixed in the regular mixing cups, or the medicine cups from the pharmacy. If you do a lot of rods, the REI drip bottles can make for easy dispensing. What I do is take 2 glass medicine droppers and mark them with a Sharpie 1/2 way up. Write Gloss on one above the line, Catalyst on the other. Two 1/2 droppers each
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Check to see how the reel foot contacts the handle. If it is flush all the way around, flattening the handle will actually make the reel looser by reducing the amount of surface in contact with the foot.
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Gary. You can get some great buys off @#$%& for under $300 from a couple of re-builders that I would recommend. Unfortunately, used bamboo is a pig in a poke proposition and can get very pricey. Clark's is a good site for quality rods and good people. There are also a couple of quality blank makers that sell on @#$%&, Mark Fitch for instance. I have a couple of rods I re-rebuilt from @#$%& p
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Finger for all coats, although coffee filter wrapped over finger is okay. Sand the first coat wet with 400 grit to fill in imperfections (Tru-oil is the medium). Sand second coat after dry with 600-1000. Buff last coat with 0000 steel wool if you don't want it shiny. Don
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