Trevor: Do you think I would be better off going dremel and rasps/files after I get close with the Dremel or scroll saw and sanding paper?
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How do you make that precise cut that fits up against the reel seat? Is there any trick to it other than sanding carefully?
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Herb Ladenheim Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > IMO - guide inserts (rings) don't make much > difference re performance. > SS guides will discolor (rust) over time in salt > water. So I prefer Titanium or NiTi as in REC > recoils. > But what does make a huge difference - IMO - is > the weight of guides as they move to the tip. > T
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I have had a wind not break a pac may mínima match guide in half. Wish I was joking. By wind knot here I mean the type of knot that the Fuji K guides were designed to stop - where the line overruns the guide and a cross wind loops it around the guide. My issue is with the loop/bird’s nests previously described, which occur when loosely spooled line unravel as you are casting. My issue wasn’t wit
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Lynn. Send me an email. I’m sure now it was user error (surface prep) but I’d be happy to share my experience. Thanks.
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I typically use Permagloss to apply a gloss coat over matte rods. This time I used CPXtra on a whim. I installed my reel seat today and used denatured alcohol to wipe off excess epoxy. The denatured alcohol took off the CPXtra. Is this expected? Will denatured alcohol take off Permagloss as well?
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Thanks for the help, Robert! There is definitely some structure where I'll be fishing. There are a couple of pretty long bridges where the Jacks like to swim along to ambush bait. I think I'll probably go with the lighter rating, as you recommended, to make it a little bit more fun and to make the fight last a little longer. Thanks! Carlos Saravia
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Hey all, I live on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Some people here really love targeting Jack Crevalles using tuna popping lures. These fish aren't the typical Florida canal 3-5lb Jacks. They get up to 30lbs and more! I'd love to use a Tuna popping blank for its power and because it was presumably designed to work those types of lures. I need something cheap though, as I do not plan on targe
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Thanks Tom, you're the man. In regards to keeping the applicator wet, I ran into the very same issue myself: too wet and you get runs/lumps, too dry and you get unfinished streaks. It takes practice to know how wet is wet enough. Out of curiosity, do you re-wet your applicator after you turn the blank 180 degrees and make your second pass? Carlos
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I'm experimenting with permagloss in order to finish an entire blank. So far I have tried a coffee filter and a makeup-sponge. I prepared my rod in accordance to the library article. My experience with the coffee filter was that it did not coat the blank sufficiently well, although it flowed smoothly along the blank. The coffee filter resulted in streaks of unfinished portions along the blank. Th
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I've never handled that type of St. Croix rod but the Avid I own has some really THICK clear coating on it. I think if you were to remove it, and like Tom Said, saved on weight elsewhere, you might notice the blank responding a little bit quicker than it otherwise would.
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Going of what Jason said above, I would also recommend gluing the winding checks in place BEFORE you glue the reel seat onto the blank. They have popped out on me before and once the glue sets, it's nearly impossible to fix them, unless you remove the reel seat and start anew. I've had much better success gluing the winding checks onto the reel seat and then sliding them down the blank.
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To those who might be following this treat or read it in the future, I removed a piece of carbon tubing from a scrap Daiwa Fuego rod to see if I could ream it. I've reamed a little over 1mm off of most of the circumference of the tubing and I'm nowhere near to the point of feeling like I've compromised the integrity of the tubing. Per the results of this test, I think I might be able to ream
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Awesome! Thank you for the link, Norm.
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Hi Spencer, Thanks for your reply. I think we're on the same page, actually. I'm currently looking at the MC50-15. The Matagi catalog lists it as being 15mm OD with a 13mm ID, with a tolerance of -.5mm to -.1mm outer diameter. My thinking was that on the low end of things, if I got a tube that was 14.5mm OD and about 13mm ID, I would end up with about .9-.8mm of material left. If needed, I ca
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Hey Fellas, Does anyone have any experience reaming carbon fiber tubing from Matagi? I'm using it purely for aesthetic purposes on a split grip and I want it to slide over the rod blank. I don't want to use it as a handle extension at this time. The OD on the blank is about 13.57 mm while the ID of the carbon tubing is 13.00 mm so I would only have to ream about 0.5 mm. This would save me 1mm
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Hey all, I want to hear your opinions regarding single vs. double-foot guides on bumper spiral wrapped rods. The last rod I made featured two double-feet guides as the stripper and the bumper, with all the bottom guides being micros. It seemed to work very well for me but I am now considering changing to a single double-foot stripper layout because I want to use titanium framed guides and the
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Hey all, I'm looking to apply U-40 Perma Gloss to a raw, unfinished blank in order to get a gloss finish, rather than the raw, graphite look. I'm going to go with the triangular sponge as my applicator. After reading about three full pages of search results, I still have one question, though: as you are applying the Perma Gloss to the rod, are you spinning it on a lathe or is the rod sitting
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Bill, Where in SE Louisiana are you at? I'm in Slidell :)
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Hello all, I purchased some Pac Bay Minima guides with stainless steel inserts from one of the biggest online parts dealers. I ordered the BF3XG and BM3XG and put them on a 7' MH Spinnerbait rod. I only used 20lb mono. Two years later, the 2 guides closest to the reel and the tip top guide are grooving pretty substantially. Has anyone else had any problems recently with these guides? Did
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One thing to REALLY consider too is the size of the line you are using. In my experience, bait casters work much better with thicker gague lines. Anything too small causes the line to dig on itself, which also happens a little on spinning reels but is not as much of an issue because the spool itself isn't spinning. On bait casters, however, the spool will keep spinning even if the front end of th
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1/4th is cake with my Revos. 1/8th is doable. Anything below that for me, even on 10 pound test, is really pushing it. A lot of it also depends on the type of lure you are throwing. A lot of the new lures have casting BBs that shift backward and forward in conjunction with the cast. These help a lot. If you are casting balsa wood lures or big skirted lures, you might have to go up a little bit if
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I'm still very new at this but my builds have increased in complexity and look pretty "professional" to me, especially in terms of the finish. All I have used so far is Hi-build by U-40. I lay it on thick with a soft tip brush. It's not your "100 pack for $5 dollars brush" but it's not a $50 sable hair brush either. It was about $2 or $3 dollars on discount at my local craft s
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When I was using my conventional wrapper, I always built my rods from butt to top because I didn't have to stick them in a chuck. Now that I have a power wrapper, I have noticed that the tightness in grip required by the chuck in order to wrap causes indentations on EVA that become permanent, even after squeezing and working the EVA to try to get it to pop back up. I have an American Tackle P
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You can ream it too if you need to. Just a thought.
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Thanks Bill, that's what I'm going to do next time I order one!
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Thank you for the information and honesty, Jim. As a die hard fuji aficionado, I appreciate that. I honestly have no problem crafting my own arbors out of the flex coat/pacbay/mudhole ones. I would have just preferred if it weren't included so I at least had the chance to complete my build on time and without issues. As much as I love the casting seat though, the arbors are really not that bi
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Heck yeah! Good call. That's what I ended up ordering. I've never had a problem with the Flex Coats or even the other generic ones. It just really makes me mad knowing that I now have to pay c.a. $5 worth shipping for a $1.50 part thanks to the underwhelming components my reel seat came with. The worst part is the wait over the mail. Grrr. Lesson learned.
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Yuck! Ugh! Sheesh! How many other gross noises can I stick in here? Let me begin by saying that I absolutely LOVE the SK2 reel system. It is perfect in terms of ergonomics. I have never used a more sensitive and comfortable reel seat. However, the arbors that are included leave so much to be desired, in my opinion anyway. As good as the reel seat is, the arbors are just as bad. The problem
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My main concern really would be that any time you are flipping (or pitching, for that matter) you are always working really thick cover, which often times is leafy and plant in nature. If you decide to go with Micros, I would strongly consider getting something that's big enough to avoid getting clogged up with plant material. I've had this happen to me on a rod with micros working on heavy cover
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