I prefer a nice sharp skew to quickly shave the cork down to almost the final size then finish with sandpaper. I was surprised how nice and clean it cuts the cork and of course it comes out perfectly concentric.
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I hold the pedal at the point where the motor is buzzing, then turning with one hand is easy.
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I prefer Chromaseal on thread because it's thinner and soaks in really well, and seeps into tunnels really well. I never have issues with dark blotching with Chromaseal like I have with Flex Coat. But if I use it over a decal it beads up like rain on a freshly waxed car. Flex Coat seems to have better adhesive properties so it's better for coating a decal to seal the edges, and it's better for
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I'll first apply the epoxy to cover the threads without trying much to go beyond the edge on that side. Then I'll use a #0 artist brush to run epoxy just outside the thread edge and along the tunnels. It slows me down a bit but I'm usually in no hurry.
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I prefer Flex Coat CP for gluing feathers and sealing a decal because it's thicker and seems to have better adhesive properties. I prefer Chromaseal for thread because it's thinner and soaks in really well so I don't have issues with black blotches when epoxy goes on.
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Thanks guys.
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Folks, I am planning a musky rod with split-grip and want to wrap rattlesnake skin on the blank between the two pieces of rear grip. Mudhole seems to be the easiest source for me. Are there different grades of snake skin such that some would work better than others? Seems simple enough to glue down with CP (as I've done with feathers). Can I epoxy right over the skin or should it be sealed
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Jim, I'd try the RV if it came in Polished Alconite like the KW guides I use. But the KW10 works great so no big deal. The larger diameter of the 10 is probably better anyway since I simple-spiral my casting guides to the bottom.
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My basement shop is usually 66-68 degrees though I do use a radiant electric heater to try an warm it a bit more. I've tried all the common brands of epoxy finish, and TM regular and Lite are the most user friendly and fool proof finish in my environment. I put my bottles under a 60W clamp light for 10 minutes or so until the bottles are slightly warm. Then stir 2 minutes in the cup, apply gen
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You didn't say what type of bit so I hope you know to use a brad point bit. I chuck my turning block into the 4 jaw chuck and that works fine. At first I tried using a 12" bit and discovered that wanders too much. I solved that by first using a standard length bit to drill the first 2.5" or so, centered and straight. Then I change over to the longer bit and finish it. The longer
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Paul Luechtefeld Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > For you guys that have used spiral wrapped rods > for bass fishing do you see any benefit from it. Definitely when I accidentally get a good size musky on. :)
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My preference is the St Croix Medium X-Fast blanks like 3S68MXF. I started with a ML X-Fast but it was way too whimpy to jerk a bass up out of the weeds or away from cover in a timely manner. I'm not into playing around with the fish.
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There is no lag.
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Jet 1221VS with extension bed is awesome and fit and finish is great if your budget allows. But there are less costly alternatives if you don't care about variable speed and reversible.
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I haven't had a need to burn fuzzies. Since I do two coats of TM epoxy, I just slice them off after the first coat of epoxy has set up overnight. Then the second coat is nice and smooth. Honestly, I don't get many fuzzies.
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Mark, thanks for the input. I'm a fan of General finishes and have used the exterior oil as a seal coat (on wood and cork) and exterior poly as a topcoat. Looks fine and is durable but doesn't have the aged tone like I get in true tung based finishes such as their seal-a-cell and Arm-R-Seal on indoor projects. I really don't like Linseed Oil based products because of the yellowing on lighter w
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Over winter I completed two spiral wrapped bass casting rods for myself. I haven't done many casting rods so I chose the simple spiral method because it's so simple. ;) Started with the Fuji KW10 (alternative to RV) at 19" from the low-profile reel face. From there I used two KBAG5 on the bottom and 5 KTAG5 runners on the bottom to the tip. I static tested and adjusted until I had 8-10&q
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At least a couple of sponsors must have VW.
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I recently installed my VW on Windows10 and it was a fairly easy process. Make sure you download the free patterns and thread libraries. It's amazing how easy it is to experiment with fancy patterns and various color combos. I wish I'd have done it a couple years ago, but I'm a Mac & Linux guy and only recently started using Windows.
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When I do that type of wrap on a ML rod I use a 6-axis wrap (8-axis on M bass rods). So take the circumference at the center of the wrap and divide by 3 to get spacing. Taper Offset Spacing is helpful but I'm not going to explain that. If you do a search and Google you'll find lots of info on it. Books by Tom Kirkman, Dale Clemens, Billy Vivona and others explain it well.
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I don't know of a widely available spreadsheet so I just made my own since I'm a Math, Engineering, and Computer Science kind of guy. I also have a spreadsheet that tells me what spinning guide layout to start with, assuming Tom Kirkman's 27X method. If you plan to do decorative wraps, the VisualWrap software will also give you the taper offset spacing. After much procrastinating I just instal
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Hmm, no replies so I'll take a whack at it. There's not much taper so were you planning to try Taper Offset Spacing or not bother? You didn't mention what specifically you were having a problem with. If it were a single axis, I'd use a 25.5 spacing. To get 6-axis you need to divide the spacing by 3. I would mark my axis' at 60, 180, and 300 degrees (top is 0) around the rod. I've done 8-axi
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I have a nice variety of rods built using wood handles, plain cork handles, and burl cork handles. I let a person try those rods and see what they like best. Some want the wood look, but most want the decorative burl cork. Nobody explicitly requests plain cork so I give them what they want. This thread has inspired me to start recording the weight of the grips and reel seat for each build whi
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Different epoxies will behave differently in your environment. I suggest trying all the formulations and find the one that will be the easiest to apply and not require any heat to release bubbles in your environment. I apply right from the mixing cup and after applying all I have to do is lightly blow on the finish with a small straw and all bubbles disappear. I always CP my threads which help
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When I've used FlexCoat CP I have had an occasional problem with it not sufficiently penetrating and coating the inside of the thread on guide foot or hook keeper tunnels. Then when epoxy is applied it soaks into the thread and causes dark blotches. Not sure that is what you mean by black spots. Anyway, now I use only Chromaseal CP on regular nylon since it's thinner and soaks in much better
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Personally, to me the weight difference of burled vs. plain cork is negligible and certainly not extreme so I like using it a lot. It's one of those personal preference things.
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I use the Minima for UL, L, ML power rods (size 4 runners) and Fuji K with alconite for medium and heavier powers (size 5 runners). Keeping the choices simple minimizes the number of types and sizes I need to keep on-hand which keeps the cost reasonable. I only do freshwater rods with stainless frames so I'm not so worried about corrosion resistance.
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My cork grips primarily use Burl cork. Custom Fly Grips has so many varieties of burl cork rings that you can build a less costly, higher quality, more attractive, more durable grip than with plain cork. About the only thing I use plain cork for is checkboard slices or repairing a factory rod grip.
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For me, the number of axis' depends on diameter of the blank. For instance I like 8 axis on medium to medium-heavy power bass rods. Don't need a lot of math or VW software. One benefit of the optical chevron is it's an open wrap so you don't have to worry so much about offset taper spacing stuff that closed wraps can benefit from. Find the circumference at approx. the middle of the wrap, divid
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All my builds are either Pac Bay Minima or Fuji K with alconite depending on use. Braid will not present any problems with either of these. No need for the extra expense of SIC or Torzite.
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