Hello Herb, Have you looked into Pro-wrap? They list that color on their chart (9450). I just did some trim bands on a surf rod with their regular metallic blue and all went well. Seems to be a very strong thread, slightly thicker than size A Fishhawk or Gudebrod if that helps. -chad
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Hello, I found out quite by accident that the fine blue Scotchbrite pads will give a nice matte look without going too deep. -chad
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Hello, Not an option. She knows her way around fishing gear and has a keen eye for any recent purchase. I am, however, hoping to use up these Fuji BYAGs I have laying around so I can make a case for buying a nice new set of guides :) -chad
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Hello, Thanks guys for sharing more thoughts on this. I will be trying out some of your suggestions and hopefully have some solid data to report. Since I will only have one blank, will I be fine test fishing each variation with the guides taped on? Or will temporary wraps in my ugliest thread color be better? I have done test casts with taped-on guides, but never fished that way so not sure if
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Hello, Appreciate everyone's input. Yes the spool diameters are fairly close, each reel's choke point falls within an inch or two of the others. Roger W, I fish mainly 1/8-1/2 oz swim-baits and jig heads for smaller trevally we have here in the islands. They are quite fun to fish for as the species stalk and ambush prey in a method similar to bass. Roger T, thanks for that info. Have you e
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Hello, Suppose you had three favorite reels in similar sizes but different spool diameters. Is it possible to build a rod that will handle reasonably well with each reel by taking the average of all spool diameters and using that figure to find your choke point? Or would it be preferable to build three separate rods for each reel. Just wondering how this would work as I sometimes find myse
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Hello, Thanks everyone for your fantastic info and input. I also appreciate the websites shared by Phil and Steve. Spent a good half hour clicking on color schemes and browsing the NERBS color packs, now that's what I'm talking about! Enjoy the weekend. -chad
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Greetings all, Complimentary thread colors, how do you pick them? Lately I've been saving empty cans of Monster Energy Rehab drink as I really like some of the color combinations they come in. This helps me get a general idea of which colors might be good to use on my next rod, since the Monster colors are already paired and not separate as on my color chart. I'm pretty lousy when it comes to
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Hello Keith, I prefer my fore-grips to be on the shorter side, two and a half inches or so. Michael, very nice work! Where can one find these foam blanks to turn into a ramp? Are they the same as polyurethane foam arbors? -chad
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Hello, Thanks for the tip Bill. I hardly use color preserver and would have to try that next time. Yes, my reason for wanting to do an under wrap in this area was to protect the blank from the sharp hooks of the lure. Good to know there are other options for this besides the standard thread and epoxy. -chad
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Hello, Thank you Roger for your recommendation. The over wraps were for a hook-keeper wrapped right above the winding check, plus two 3/4" decorative "end caps" at each end of my split grip butt section. The problem I have with wrapping both layers of thread one on top of the other, is that when I try to add an inlay thread to the over wrap, the bottom layer would get distor
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Hello, Appreciate you all sharing your thoughts/experience. Guess I will have to find something to practice wrapping on while waiting the extra time for my epoxy to cure. -chad
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Hello, While working on my last rod, I needed to do a short wrap of different color over a previously wrapped and epoxied butt section. That first coat was allowed to dry overnight with almost 24hrs having passed since application. So while it was pretty dry, (not soft or tacky), it had not yet reached that stage where it would allow an over wrap of thread to slide smoothly across the epoxy su
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Hello, When I first started out I picked up the small 2-4 oz containers of epoxy etc from various manufacturers. Good for a couple rods and let me really get a feel for using the various products. Only when I was able to narrow it down to a few that I liked, did I begin purchasing in greater quantities. A regular (slow) cure paste type epoxy is really all you need. Also, it wouldn't be a b
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Hello, With my setup I moved both butt and transition guides closer to the reel by about 1/2 inch or so. Not for casting reasons, but because I preferred to have both butt and transition guide on the lower section of my two-piece rods (8'6" fly blanks set up for spinning). It feels a little more balanced, at least to me, and seems to cast just as good as the factory placement. Not sur
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Hello, I have done Microwave guides on a pair of 8'6" ultralight rods to be used with 750-1500 sized reels. My guide setup was a slightly modified version of the factory 7'6" recommendations to include the extra runners. In short, I'm happy with these guides. They provide good weight distribution and line management. Regarding your question about guide placement, Amtak has done t
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Hello, Not sure about bass fishing, but I was told that some anglers working popping lures with heavy spinning tackle, (Stella 18-20k, 80lb+ braid, 125lb+ mono leaders), for hard fighting GT's prefer their double foot stripper guide to be reversed. Rather than concern for guide ring angle, their reasoning was that having the single leg end of the guide facing towards the reel allowed more
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Hello Dave, I'm an amateur as well and used polyurethane foam arbors for the first time a few weeks ago. With the help of the gentlemen on this forum it turned out great and was not as difficult as I thought. (See my thread on reaming foam arbors a few pages back.) I used the arbors on a 5wt fly rod blank set up for light/ultralight spinning and could noticeably feel a difference in weight com
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I have used white vinegar and a small amount of baking soda to clean metal reel parts for years. Just let the parts soak overnight then rinse with Dawn dish washing liquid next day. Good to know this works for guides as well, I will try it on an old Fenwick ASU 1328 I plan to rewrap. -chad
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Herb, Good idea! Yes, I tuck the trim end of my metallic inlays the same as you posted- by razoring it close to the main wrap then gently pulling/rocking it 45 degrees up and down on an axis perpendicular to the blank. Sometimes it works, sometimes it pulls completely out and I have to start over. Yesterday I looked very closely at some of my older rods and a few wraps showing very slight,
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Hello Herb, I mis-understood, thought you were talking about starting a guide wrap with metallics, thanks for clarifying. So if I understand correctly, when doing an inlay your metallic thread itself is untwisting and showing nylon core? Tightening the thread via twisting may help. Perhaps also try adjusting tension on the main thread slightly lighter and gently rock the metallic back and
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Hello Herb, I'm just an amateur, but really like working working with metallics. I take it you are talking about the wrap itself becoming loose, at the very start where the main thread crosses over the tag end? If so, one trick I've found to keep it from loosening is: 1. Start wrap as you normally do, but keep the tag end next to main thread (no cross-over) 2. Gently pull tag end perpend
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Thanks for the info Bill, The thread I have appears to be a solid coating. I normally use braided Fishhawk metallics, but liked the obsolete Gudebrod colors so thought I'd give it a try. So far I'm 7 guides into the spool and the coating seems to be holding up. I found that lightly pressing (not rubbing) on the thread with my polished stainless burnishing tool helps prevent the coating from we
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Hello again fellow builders and thread fanatics, Did a search and couldn't find info on this. Anyway, I acquired some older 1 oz. plastic spools of Gudebrod metallic. It does not say "HT" on the red and green label. Instead it says "Gudebrod's Champion Nylon" with a cool picture of a knight in armor. Above the knight in smaller print it reads "warranted pure dye".
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Hello, I've used both hobby saws and a Dremel/cutoff wheel with good results. A mini chop saw would probably be easier. Be sure to check that your reel's foot will have enough clearance to fit before cutting. -chad
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Thanks all for the excellent information and food for thought! Roger and Chester thanks for clarifying. Yes I have some dream reamers where the handle unscrews for use in a drill. I was referring to those circular metal files that are cylindrical all the way to the handle, but yes a machine shop would probably be best for someone like me who has no specialized tools. Terry and Michael, appr
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Roger, appreciate you sharing your methods on reaming. I suppose one could also cut the screwdriver-like handle off those circular files with an inch or so of smooth surface at the handle end, then chuck said end into a drill for reaming? The reamer section of my little workshop holds only a few reamers with belt sander abrasive, some files, and a jig I made for my drill to shape cork handles
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Thanks guys for the detailed tips and suggestions, I'll be sure to keep them in mind as I go along. -chad
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Greetings, Thank you for a terrific forum! I branched off from fishing to rod building as a hobby a few years ago, and have to say it is quite addicting. Currently I'm working on a pair of ultralight spinning rods built on fly-rod blanks. I would like to try polyurethane arbors but have never worked with this material before. Is it absolutely necessary to use the specialized pilot bit to g
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