Micheal, here is a post by Mark Talmo concerning ferrule fabrication. He loaned me a rod which he outfitted with his ‘CARL’ ferrule. I was quite impressed with its performance. Norm
Forum: rodboard

Herb, thanks for your legwork in getting Crystal Coat to the US. It’s greatly appreciated. Still absolutely no yellowing seen, I’ve had the product since February. I think the recommended volume to volume ratio of 3 parts resin to 2 parts Hardener ( 3R:2H) works best for me. I think my scale may not be as accurate as it should be. It Cures slowly but gives a beautiful finish. Norm
Forum: rodboard

I really like my Point Blank PB691MLXF for speck fishing. Has a faster tip than the Immortal and a larger butt, and does have a different feel. It throws very light lures a long way and has plenty of power in the butt section for handling good size reds. Its lure range is greater than indicated and will throw a wide variety of lures effortlessly. Love feeling that tick when jig fishing. Besides
Forum: rodboard

I really like the carbon fiber foam core grips, I put a coat of Permagloss on them just to give them a little sheen. I find them quite comfortable. However, they are very hard, and some people don’t like them because of this. Some prefer cork which is not quite as hard, and can be sanded to fit your hand if needed. Others like a softer grip such a EVA or Winn grips. The nice thing about building
Forum: rodboard

The best glue is contact cement, it holds up to frictional heat very well. If you use epoxy it will rapidly break down when being used under power due to frictional heat. Norm
Forum: rodboard

If you mixed hardener and resin at the proper ratio, it should cure. If you mix them improperly they should cure to a point but will remain tacky. You mentioned that there was no curing at all which makes me think you mixed hardener with hardener or resin with resin. I have done that before when I was paying attention, but haven’t done it two times in a row. If you are sure you used each syringe,
Forum: rodboard

Before NFC went to their factory direct marketing strategy, Batson was the exclusive distributor of NFC blanks. However that has changed. Norm
Forum: rodboard

One thing I quickly learned when building rods for others, is that everyone is different with different likes and dislikes. Some like very stiff, others soft, some like long others short, some like bling others like plain, etc,etc. What I like someone else will not, and vice versa. There is nothing wrong with this, once you realize everyone is different. Get what you like, not what someone else l
Forum: rodboard

Yep, different people are different. If everyone liked the same thing, then we would all be buying the same blank. I have no problem with people having their own opinion on what they like, but that doesn’t change my opinion. You have to decide for your self what you like, not what some else likes. Norm
Forum: rodboard

Went fishing this afternoon for about 4 hrs and exclusively used my PB691MXF. Threw a Texas rigged worm with1/8oz tungsten weight, and had no problems feeling either the bottom/structure or bites. Switched over to an unweighted fitness worm and later to a swim worm, again no problems detecting structure and bites. Wound up catching 16 bass up to 3lbs, nothing huge but a lot of fun. The rod was m
Forum: rodboard

I also like the Batson carbon fiber fighting butt very much, it also matches the CFX grips. The Batson carbon fiber grips are also very nice, but are slightly heavier than the CFX grips because they use a denser foam core. I like to coat carbon fiber grips with a coat of Permagloss, to give them a little more sheen. Norm
Forum: rodboard

The CTS affinity fly rod blanks are fantastic. Recently built a CTS 8 wgt for a fiend and used the carbon fiber grip, but did not use a winding check. Just did a thread wrap and it looked great. I have use the rubber/vinyl winding with several other CFX fly rod grips. They are very light, will stretch to fit snuggly, blend in with the grip very nicely, and are inexpensive. I have gotten to the p
Forum: rodboard

The resin will crystallize just warm it up a little and the crystals will disappear. It does not affect the epoxy from curing. Norm
Forum: rodboard

I have to agree with Michael, the line used is a very important part in the sensitivity equation. I use braid almost exclusively, because it casts great and increases sensitively, due to the lack of stretch. I use a leader joined to the braid via an FG knot. I also understand many people don’t like braid for a variety of reasons and prefer fluorocarbon or mono. Different likes and dislikes. Norm
Forum: rodboard

Good words Anthony. Norm
Forum: rodboard

I have found all of the Point Blanks I have used to be as sensitive or more sensitive then any rod I have ever used, I have made and used most of the very high end blanks manufactured, as well as many of the mid and low range cost blanks, and have had no real problems with sensitivity with any of them, even with my old fiberglass rods. The Point Blanks have become one of my favorite rods I love t
Forum: rodboard

Roger put together a DC motor setup for me on my Renzetti . Extremely fine speed control, with reverse capabilities He did an outstanding job. Roger knows what he’s talking about when it comes to electronics. I just wish I could get use to power wrapping I use the 1/10 HP Dayton motor for turning grips. Thanks Roger! Norm
Forum: rodboard

I like down locking, some like up locking. It your choice. When I use to use up locking reel seats the reel kept coming loose, but didn’t have that problem when I switched to down locking. In fact this issue was one of the reasons I started building rods. It’s totally your choice. Norm
Forum: rodboard

What was the Gudebrod color #? Norm
Forum: rodboard

Herb give it up! Your blather is driving me crazy. If you knew something about titanium alloys I would respect your opinion more, than I currently do.
Forum: rodboard

So now we can’t call titanium guides titanium any more? Do we have to refer to titanium guides by their alloy composition, such Ti-6Al-4V guides? Or should we refer to the titanium grade such as titanium grade 5 vs grade 2I guides. Maybe it would it be less confusing to talk about alpha vs beta titanium alloys? Get REAL! You can call them any thing you want! I’m still calling them titanium guides
Forum: rodboard

Make sure you label the syringes for the next time. I have used the same set of syringes for years. Norm
Forum: rodboard

Good choice! Norm
Forum: rodboard

I just cut my masking tape into thin strips with a pair to scissors, I can make them as thin as I want. I wrap the tape over the foot with the toe exposed, and then make a turn or two behind the guide to act as a small dam to prevent the guide from moving forward when you wrap your thread up the toe. If the thread keeps slipping off just touch up the toe of the guide with a file, I use a diamond
Forum: rodboard

Rick and I had a nice telephone conversion this morning and we are still friends. Rick said I may know a lot more about titanium and it alloys then most, but I still find it very hard to believe that most rod builders don’t know that all titanium guides are alloys. My posts where meant to educate, rather than confuse. If I confused people I apologize, but I personally have no problems with the te
Forum: rodboard

Rick I am sure you understood exactly what Geoff was saying, as well as I did. He meant 100% titanium ‘alloy’ versus titanium coating. If you meant otherwise, then I have a problem with your snarky and sarcastic 100% post. You two are competitors, and you should have known better. You can hype your product on your own post but not on your competitor’s.
Forum: rodboard

I did not miss the point, I believe you did, But that is beside the point. When people refer to titanium guides they know they are all alloys, and there is no guides made of pure titanium. I think everyone understands that point, especially those in the components business. It is convention to refer to titanium alloys as 100% or solid titanium. Similar to the situation with steel, or even aluminu
Forum: rodboard

I don’t think so. There are also titanium coated steel guides which are not not a solid titanium alloy but rather titanium alloy coated steel. Some companies may call theses coated guides titanium, although they really are not. Rick sells SeaGuide products and their titanium guides are a titanium alloy, He know that all guides referred as solid titanium are an alloy but they are generically call
Forum: rodboard

Pure titanium is a relatively soft metal without a lot of tensile strength, and needs to be alloyed to gain strength and hardness, along with heat treatment. Even highly refined titanium contains impurities, so 100% pure titanium is not really available. Therefore all titanium fishing guides are an alloy, and the type of alloy used may be proprietary.. One of the most common titaniumalloy contain
Forum: rodboard

Yes, I’ve used the larger third reduction guide when transitioning to a larger runner size on longer rods with heavier line where the person does not want or can not use micro guides. Usually, I use a fourth KL guide as the choke guide like a KL7L or KL6L to smoothly transition to the KB/KT runners. I love the KR concept because it is extremely versatile and performs exceptionally well. In additi
Forum: rodboard