I have gotten the impression that measurements for guide placement are from the center of the ring/snake guide. Wouldn't this also hold true for the placement of the first guide from the tip top? From any of the points Tom mentioned in his original post, would being off a 1/4" in either direction really make that much difference?
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I seriously doubt if you can go wrong with a 8'9" or 9" 4 or 5 piece 5 or 6 weight. For the big rivers out west, probably the 9' 6 weight would be better between the two. As for action, probably medium-fast to fast. I would suggest going to a fly shop and looking at a few of the better known brands like Sage and Winston, St. Croix and a few others to see how they are built, what the
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A quick and simple search on Google gave me this result: You may want to contact them directly and ask them.
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With a fly rod, your casting the line as opposed to a spin rod where you're casting a heavy lure. You need better transferance of the rod load to the line during a fly cast. More guides, better transfer of power to the line, up to a point.
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Check these links out:
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Just finishing up my first rod and wanted to order a decal or two and have some questions. Couldn't seem to find the answers on their, or this, web site: 1. What is your experience between the old and new waterslide material Decal Connection offers? Do you prefer one over the other? 2. How important is either the Micro Set or Micro Sol solutions and what is the difference between them? Do y
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John, as mentioned earlier I'm very inexperienced but, from what I've read numerous times, I thought placing the wrap tag next to the guide foot is a "no no" in rod building. Is this another one of those topics many rod builders tend to be in disagreement on (similar to where the guides should be in relation to the rod spine)? Doesn't this cause the wrap to not hold as well?
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Check out CTS Blanks - Link is in sponsors column to the left. They offer more colors than anyone I've found so far!
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I've only done one rod but, for me, it seems to help not only to pull the loop at an angle, but also to place the loop near the same angle I'm going to pull it when first wrapping it in as well (as opposed to keeping the loop parallel to the blank). This seems to keep the wrap neater. Have any of you more experienced builder found this to help as well? Or is there some reason this shouldn't be
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I think it's time to put this issue to rest. Tom has made his feelings clear, more than once.
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eric said: " first of all, and correct me if i'm wrong, a vote is a bit out of the question. this isn't really "our site" so that's assuming some rights we don't have. it's our privilege to surf here. it's tom's web site." This is true, Tom does have the ultimate say. But without visitors like us, there wouldn't be a site worth having. Tom generously provides the resource,
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I'd have to agree with every one that this site is slow, probably the slowest one I visit. Yes, I agree it's a busy site, but a few others I visit are at least this busy, if not more so. It can easily take at least 20-30 seconds for this site to load initially, and about the same to open a thread. And just as long to go back to the main page. And, this is with DSL! I have never paid for access
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I'd have to agree with every one that this site is slow, probably the slowest one I visit. Yes, I agree it's a busy site, but a few others I visit are at least this busy, if not more so. It can easily take at least 20-30 seconds for this site to load initially, and about the same to open a thread. And just as long to go back to the main page. And, this is with DSL! I have never paid for access
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Here's as good a place to start as any:
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I've called Pacific Bay twice and continue to be told it will be "going out shortly". I had sent in the coupon at the end of August. This was a followup to an earlier thread where someone had suggested I call the store where the wrapper was purchased to see if they could help.
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As mentioned in an earlier post in this thread, I called PacBay twice and was told they would be getting them out "shortly". The 4-6 week fulfillment is now up to 13 weeks.
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Just spoke with Cabela's customer service and they said that because it's a promotion run by the manufacturer, I must deal with them directly, much as I expected. So, buyers beware. Whatever the problem is with PacBay, be prepared to wait substantially longer than the 4-6 weeks they advertise for fulfillment of the "FREE" Rod Dryer. It has now been 13 weeks.
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Just spoke with Cabela's customer service and they said that because it's a promotion run by the manufacturer, I must deal with them directly, much as I expected. So, buyers beware. Whatever the problem is with PacBay, be prepared to wait substantially longer than the 4-6 weeks they advertise for fulfillment of the "FREE" Rod Dryer.
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Dean, I wish I could say it was purchased from one of the forum's sponsors, but it wasn't. It was a birthday gift from my wife who purchased it from Cabela's. Although I suppose it's worth a try, I have a hard time feeling they would go out of their way for something that should be the responsibility of the company making the offer, and rightly so. Think it's worth trying anyway?
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Yeah, I sent in my coupon in late August with 4-6 weeks delivery time for the free dryer and I still haven't gotten it. Called PacBay twice and they keep saying "shortly".
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On one hand, we seem to agree on this forum that the spine of a rod is the outside curve when performing the technique to determine rod spine. Simple enough. Not! . . . I get the new 2006 Mud Hole catalog and on page 4, lower right section on "Determining the spine of the rod", I am now told that "The inside of the curve is the spine. Mark the inside of the curve with masking ta
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I would appreciate opinions by users/builders of Gatti Rods. I have a very good friend I am thinking of building a rod for. He appreciates fine, high quality gear and things that are less common. I think he might really enjoy a Gatti. I recently got started in building rods and this would be a great excuse to start another. How do they stack up against rods like I am more familiar with, li
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I've read references to the "credit card" method of applying epoxy instead of brushes and would appreciate more info. I did a search and I couldn't find detailed info as to exactly how to do it. Is the rod rotating as you use the card? If so, I can see where it may be easier on the portion of the wrap over the blank area such as on a ferrule wrap or over lettering, but how do you man
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Thanks guys! I think I'm just going to try a healthy third coat, and a fourth if necessary. The finish is not thick at this point and can easily stand a total of four, if necessary. Jim - I used PacBay green thread that was included with the H&H kit I purchased and did not use CP. I think if I had used CP, I probably would have had to start completely over. This rod was meant to be stri
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While working on my first rod, I applied the first coat of FlexCoat Lite in a thin coat, just enough to soak in but still see the individual thread wraps easily. I then filled in the tunnels and gave the wraps a second coat a few days later, a little thicker than the first, which pretty much filled in the thread and created a smoother finish. I cleaned the wraps well before applying each coat by
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I have read Tom's book, as well as Art Sheck's and L.A. Garcia's. Of the three, I would say that the most "to the point" book is Tom's. For the most general information, background info and details on rod building, I would say Art's book. The one I would not bother buying if I had to do it over would be L.A. Garcia's. As always, there were a few points in all three where the
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OK - I'm "Cured" ; ) Heat is part of the curing process. Applying heat during the curing stage will lengthen pot life to a point, but it is only a very temporary, short-lived fix. I really do appreciate everyone's response. Thank you!
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Exothermic reaction, great - I understand it now! Thank you. BUT - Tom, you said "One thing that does cause epoxy to set faster, is heat." And Jesse said ". . . I can get up to a half hour working time by reheating the epoxy with the prophane torch . . ."! If heat causes the epoxy to set, how can you extend working time by applying more heat?
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. . . would someone please explain to me the following: I have read, both in these forums and in numerous rod building books, that if you want to extend the pot life of a batch of mixed wrap finish once mixed, to place it on a flat lid/aluminum foil for it to spread out. The thing I don't understand is that, normally, if you spread something out and cause more contact with the air, the dryi
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Mick McComesky Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ralph, the small syringes aren't meant to store > the epoxy. You fill them for measuring just as you > are ready to use them. That is why there aren't > any caps. The instructions are referring to the > residue when you are done using them. > > I've never really timed the pot life but o
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