Try RodHouse France. Also Cork4US, they are in Portugal. Norm
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Search for caning supplies. A lot of places sell rattan. Norm
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I mostly use the flex coat hot melt tip-top cement. CRB also has a hot melt tip-top cement and so does Fuji. The Fuji tip-top cement comes in a red lipstick type of tube, it may be the stuff you got from Cabelas. These are all made for installing tip-tops and work fine. Have to be careful with the stuff you get in hobby stores, some melt at lower temperatures and are not suitable. Use the hot mel
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Never thought about it, I just taped the guides on and wrapped them. Didn’t give it a second thought, and the guides are still there. You might be over thinking it. However, I do a locking wrap on all my single foot guides. I personally don’t think anything bad is going to happen whether you use a locking wrap or not. Norm
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I have several of the original unsanded NFC X-ray rods that I’ve used over the past few years since they first became available, and they have shown no real signs of wear. However, I treat my rod pretty well. Norm
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By using an arbor you will do a better job at installing an ESCM reel seat than Kistler does. If I remember correctly Kistler uses a hidden thread hood to hide the end of the reel seat. In my opinion, by not using an arbor Kistler saves both time and money in making a rod. Norm
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The Fuji ACSM exposed blank reel does not require an arbor. It is sized to fit the blank though out its length. It has internal ribs that make firm contact with the blank. If needed it can be easily reamed. I think Hydra also makes an internally ribbed exposed blank reel seat. Also two piece casting reel seats are exposed blank reel seats. I used to use a lot of the PacBay Minima casting reel sea
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I arbor the barrel end of the ECSM reel seat with a 1” piece of polyurethane foam arbor and then ream it to fit the blank. It works for me and I think the foam arbor is lighter than the gob of epoxy needed to fill the gap. Never had a failure doing it this way. Norm
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Yep, you are correct. Did a search and found that It can be thinned with either water or alcohol. I learned something today, and I’ve been using it for a longtime. Norm
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This was covered in a previous thread. Norm
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Which ink did you get? I use Dr. Ph. Martins iridescent calligraphy ink. It is a metallic ink, which is opaque, waterproof, uv resistant, and permanent. It can be thinned with alcohol, but not sure about water. It will not run or smear when coated with epoxy, in fact I’ve coated it with PermaGloss with no problems. Been using this stuff for a very long time, and it’s the best ink I’ve ever used.
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Shake the ink very well to make sure it is throughly mixed. The pen nib is dipped into the ink about 1/4 of its length, a small amount of ink will be held in the nib curve. Immediately draw a few lines on a piece of scrap paper to get the ink to flow and then write on the blank. If the ink doesn’t flow easily onto the paper or blank, then add a few drops of alcohol to the ink to thin it, mix wel
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When I wrap small guides near the tip I hold them in place with a very thin strip of tape. the tape is wrapped around the guide foot and then I make a couple of wraps immediately behind the guide. This little dam of tape behind the guide helps prevent the guide from moving forward when wrapping with thread. Once you have enough thread covering the foot to hold it in place, remove the tape and the
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Don’t really need two inches. You will be supported at both the front and the back ends of the reel seat. However, if you want to use 2” then go ahead and do it. No problem either way. Norm
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I just measured the ID of the threaded barrel of Fuji ECSM casting reel seat, it is right at 15 mm. Since it’s an exposed blank reel seat, the back half of the reel seat is sized to fit your blank. So, epoxy about a 1” arbor the front half of the reel seat, and once cured then ream it to fit the blank. One of my favorite reel seats. Norm
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I use the SpeedBall 102, 107, and 108 nibs. You can by a set of holders and nibs for about $10. Inexpensive but work well and you can buy them at most local hobby stores. Norm
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I don’t think so, but that’s me. Norm
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Not my terminology, it’s Fuji’s and it’s their concept. Like it or not, terminology changes. If you think about it, the older term we used for a KR choke point is not technically the same as originally defined for the NGC. I’m sure we will still keep using the terms reduction guides and choke guide, but understand their meanings in the context of choking guides, and belly guide as synonyms, respe
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The number of guides used in the reduction train has not changed. It’s still four - 3 choking (reduction) guides, and 1 belly (choke) guide. Nothing else has changed, except for versatility. Small improvements are still improvements. I do agree the larger KB5.5 in the running train is probably not necessary; a KB5 would work just as well. However, the weight penalty is not great, so it’s still
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David, it certainly sounds like you getting a good feel for setting up a KR spinning guide train. It’s not that difficult to do once you realize there’s a lot of flexibility involved. The KR concept gives you the versatility to set up the guide train you want for the way you fish. Norm
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Mike, sorry about that! You were referencing something completely different. Norm
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You might be surprised Mike. The KR concept really works great. I can feel and measure the difference between the KR concept and the NGC on the rods I build and use. Once I tried it I never looked back. However, I primarily use braided line and on some occasions very light mono or fluorocarbon line. Much of what I’m going to say has been said before, but I think a quick refresher might be neede
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Haven’t used the 20H,10H, and 7M, to a 6L choke, but have used the 25H,12H,and 7M a 6L choke on a 9’ heavy salmon rod. and it worked very well. I have used the 20H, 10H, 6M, and 5.5L combination on a few rods and it also worked very well. The Fuji guide placement link posted by Micheal Tarr shows a RT length for the 7’ rod using the 20H, 10H, 6M, 5.5L guide combination as 22.6” (57.5 cm) not 27.9
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I use Dr Ph. Martin’s Irridescent Calligraphy ink with a fine nib pen. It’s the best stuff I’ve ever used. You can coat it with finish epoxy without any fears of it smearing, even within a few minutes after it dries. Easy to erase mistakes using alcohol. I use gold, silver, or black. Norm
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Which KR guides are you using? What’s your distance from the butt guide to the tip top? Don’t be afraid to to push the choke guide (high belly guide) further out. Pushing the choke out a little may make it easier to get the line you want. Fuji calculates the reduction train (RT) length by multiplying the distance from the butt guide to tip by approximately 0.45. The KR GPS uses a multiplier of ap
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Although different, they are close enough; a few thousandths here a few thousandths there. Sorta like hook sizes, which vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Pick the style and shape you like. To add a little more to the subject, it should also be mentioned that American and English snake guides differ in both shape and the direction the wire is twisted. Norm
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From what I understand, snake guide sizing is not uniform from one manufacturer to another. So, snakes guide sizes are not standardized. This is in contrast to ceramic ringed guides, whose sizes are standardized among manufacturers based on the OD of the ring in mm. I think the best you can do to size your stash of snake guides is to measure the ID and/or OD of the guide loop and compare them t
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Here are some charts that give measurements. Norm
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Roger, that is the concept behind the old cone of flight (COF) guide layout. It gradually reduces the line coils by using multiple sized guides. It is not only much heavier than the more modern guide trains but also less efficient. Norm
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If you haven’t used decals before, make sure you remove the outer protective layer of the decal. The NFC decals are a sandwich decal, with the center portion being the actual decal. You remove the bottom film to expose the adhesive so you can stick the decal to the blank. Once on the blank the outer protective layer allows you to burnish the decal to the blank to make sure the decal is completely
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