Trevor - I agree with David's helpful tips. Do use 1- 2 KB guides and maybe an extra running guide depending on the static stress test. The KR concept guide set up performs extremely well; you will be happy with it. Rather than tape use either the graphite or polyurethane arbors; they are both light and sensitive. Do not forget the winding checks for the SK reel seat, they are used to hide the a
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I have had two occations where the microwave stripper needed to be replaced. For one of these bought a new set of microwaves guides to replace the stripper, for the other replaced all of the microwave guides with Fuji KR guides. In both cases an expensive guide replacement. I have used the minima 4 guides only a few times, but so far no problems. Used the minima 4 match guides as stripper and
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That will depend on on person you are building the rod for. Some people like a longer handle some like it shorter it is a matter of personal taste. On a 78 inch rod the handle can range from 6 - 11 inches. However a more common range would be 8 -10 inches.
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There is really no difference in them as far as looks and durability are concerned, the only difference is price. You can not scratch either a nanolite or duralite ring with a hacksaw blade so both will hold up to any line you use. Just remember that they are sold only as a set, so if you break the stripper or transition guide you have to buy another set to replace either one. However, I have re
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Jim, I looked at several on line dealers and could not find anyone selling these new torzite kg tip tops. I assume these are the new arowana ti0 tops. Where can one buy these?
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The rod bond resin does have a tendency to crystalize making it stiff and grainy, but this does not hurt its performance. I just take out what I need mix it with the hardener and warm up the mix with a hair dryer, but do not over do it. This will smooth out the consistency and make mixing easier. Rod bond is a slow cure epoxy and thus takes many hours for it to setup. I usually let it cure over
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It does have a very nice translucence look which was characteristic of the high quality fiberglass blanks back then. The cheaper blanks of the day were painted to hide flaws in the blank. Unfortunately I can not tell what brand blank you have, but appears to be one of the higher quality blanks of the time. Some will say that they should have the manufacturers logo on the blank but this is not tru
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Now that I think about it the Fisher blanks had a spigot ferrule (in fact I think they invented this type of ferrule), and The Lamiglas blanks used a fiberglass sleeve to form the female ferrule. I think this is right but it had been over 30 couple years ago that I used these blanks. I think the Fisher blanks were at one time used by Winston, until they went out of business in the mid 80s. This d
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You are right the Fenwick blanks were very well finished. If my memory is serving me well, this blank does have a lamiglas look about it. The butt section of the lamiglas had a rough and unfinished look. This was where the handle would be so it did not make much of a difference. Both the fenglas and brown lamiglas blanks had a translucent finish and both were unpainted. Fenwick invented and pate
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Could be fenglas by Fenwick which were 'fenwick brown' (chestnut brown). They were very popular in the 70's through the 80's. I built a lot of rods on these blanks early on before graphite became popular. Just a guess. I also think lamiglas also made a brown rod along with the traditional gold colored blank. Back in the 70s and 80s Fenwick and Lamiglas were the two major blank manufacturers for r
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If you are using syringes for measuring your epoxy make sure they are not medical syringes. Most medical syringes are treated with a silicon compound and this prevents the epoxy from hardening properly.
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Have never seen metallic blue guide frames, but Alps, American Tackle, and PAC Bay all offer guides with blue PVD coated zirconia rings. This may be your best option. Painting guides just does not work, even baked on powder paint does not hold up very well. The blue pvd coated rings look good and are very durable. Hope this helps. Norm
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I use a couple of old text books on top of each other run the treads through the bottom book a different page for each tread. I do not use mugs just put the spools behind the books. If you need more tension add more weight on top. Been doing this for years works great.
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Matrix flyrod blanks are an extremely good buy. They perform as well as many higher priced blanks. As far as fly line is concerned you do not need a high priced one for what you want to do. Most flylines in the $35-$50 range will work very well, stay away from the really cheap stuff because the line coating will start to flake off within a year.
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I see the problem, your bait is larger than I thought! A cheap, tough/durable rod that is comfortable and good looking with a large enough tip to pass the sabiki lures sounds like difficult creature to make. Not a lot of options out thete. Sorry I could not help. Good luck!
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Never tried tru oil but tempted to try it to see how it compares.
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If you spend over $149 shipping is free everyday. Does take much to reach that level these days. Get together with a couple of friends and place an order. Not many places that offer free shipping everyday on small orders.
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There is a recent tread below on the next page titled 'color preservers'. You may find that tread useful.
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You are right about sharp going faster. I have had good results with sharp and also have had some very bad results, even when I thought I was being careful. The problem is when you hit a stubborn area and press a little harder than you should. So not to take the chance for disaster I moved to dull blades and got better overall results, with fewer problems. Then moved to split bamboo with no probl
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Sorry for the triple post! My finger is too quick
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I used the kbs (2-3) then went to the kts. Have also made casting rods with the HD mb843 & 842 and spinning and casting with the sj843 & 842. All good! The regular mhx blanks are also very nice and its hard to beat the price. I have built rods using blanks from a lot of different blank companies, some very expensive some not so. But all build nice rods; beauty is in the eye of the behold
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I used the kbs (2-3) then went to the kts. Have also made casting rods with the HD mb843 & 842 and spinning and casting with the sj843 & 842. All good! The regular mhx blanks are also very nice and its hard to beat the price. I have built rods using blanks from a lot of different blank companies, some very expensive some not so. But all build nice rods; beauty is in the eye of the behold
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I used the kbs (2-3) then went to the kts. Have also made casting rods with the HD mb843 & 842 and spinning and casting with the sj843 & 842. All good! The regular mhx blanks are also very nice and its hard to beat the price. I have built rods using blanks from a lot of different blank companies, some very expensive some not so. But all build nice rods; beauty is in the eye of the behold
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Just make sure that whatever you use that it is not very sharp. Sharp causes problems if you are not careful. A butter knife sounds good, but never tried one
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I caught a 7.5 largemouth and a bunch of 3-4.5 lb bass. No problems. This is an extra fast rod so it has a relatively soft tip but has a lot backbone. I have also caught a lot of good size red fish on this rod with no issues. In addition the softer tip proved to be great for spotted seatrout which have a very soft mouth. Norm
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Have built the exact same rod with the same guide layout, and it performs extremely well. It will throw unweighted senkos and swim worms as far as you want to throw them. It is also a nice rod for soft and hard jerk baits, top water and square bills. Built the first one for a friend he liked it so much he had me build añother. I then built one for myself. Using 10-15 lb braid with a 2500 Shima
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The best rod scraper I have ever used is a piece of split bamboo from a broken rod. The edge is very hard and holds up extremely well and will not cut or gouge the blank like a razor blade or utility knife may do. It is like a super finger nail! I use a hair dryer to soften the finish and go to it. I know having access to split bamboo is not a common thing, but if you can find some try it. Ma
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Just one soaking coat, can turn if you want to, takes about 15-30 min to soak in and dry to the touch. A second coat does not further penetrate the cork.
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Been using cork seal for years and like it very much. Besides sealing the cork, it enhances the feel and makes the cok tougher. There is no down side for using it.
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Never used a sabiki rod for catching bait. But wondering if something like a BnM Cadillac combo could be modified to make a sabiki rod by cutting back one of the telescoping sections so the sabiki rigs could pass. The sections could be glued in place to make it one piece. These rods come with a small cheap reel at the end allowing line to pass through the center of the rod. They are used for fres
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