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
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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
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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
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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
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I think the PB731MLF is an excellent choice. Even though it’s listed as a ML it has a lot of power in midsection and butt. Its intrinsic power is right at 600 grams, which is more powerful that most ML rated blanks. It will cast a wide range of lure weights. I think you will be extremely pleased with its performance, especially using a KR concept setup. Norm
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I just store it in the refrigerator in an air tight jar with desiccant. This methods is recommended by Trondak. Stored this way it lasts a long time and I have had no problem using all of ii before it goes hard. If you just put it on a shelf in your work room, the next time you go to use it it may be rock hard. If you store it at room temperature the use of a small paint can, as Tom mentioned, wi
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Permagloss can be used as a wrap finish but it is very thin and it takes multiple coats to get a smooth finish, I think it works better as a clear coat on a blank, because it is so thin and light, but also extremely hard and durable., and it cures very quickly. Using epoxy gives a thicker and heavier coat. The automotive clear coats also give a thin, light coat and hard finish. Crystal Coat is ne
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CTS, a NZ company, has Crystal Coat finish. I don’t recommend wrap finishes for clear coating a blank. Try an automotive clear coat for your blanks and an epoxy finish for your wraps. Norm
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The slim Sic ring Is used only in K series and RV guides with the black Titanium frame (T2) or the stainless gunmetal (GM) frame. So you do have a choice of either titanium or stainless frames with these rings. I really like the looks of the T2 Black titanium frame, and it’s the same price as the regular titanium Sic guides. Norm
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Yes, Coat first then wrap on the guides. Don’t know anything about availability of rod finishes in New Zealand. Check with some local rod builders. I assume there are a lot of rod builders there, and they know what is available and where it’s sold. They have to get there supplies from somewhere. Norm
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I have repaired a lot of rods that have been broken in the tip section by adding a new tip. However, this requires having a a bunch of broken rods available. I remove the first guide or two past the break, and then start looking for a tip section from another broken rod that will slide on over the break. If I find one that fits, I push the tip against the ceiling and look for I nice smooth bend
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Permagloss is a U40 product. It is a very thin, and water clear urethane finish that will not yellow. It is catalyzed by moisture in the air. It cures very hard and clear and will not yellow. You can use it for finishing wraps but requires multiple coats to get the proper depth. It is the best clear coat I have used on rod blanks, and it is extremely easy to apply. Because it is moisture curing
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There are two major reasons why I almost exclusively use Fuji KR guides. First, they are excellent guides,, very strong, durable and well made. Second, I love the KR concept, it is truly a performance enhancer in my opinion. Very few manufacturers make guides that can be used to mimic the KL-H guides. There are a few copy cats out there, but Fuji exhaustively designed and researched this guide c
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Whatever blank you.get build it using the Fuji KR concept, it is a performance enhancer in my opinion. Norm
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A number of people have recommended using Citri-Strip and a scotch brite pad for removing the old paint. Others will use a blade held at 90 degrees to scape the finish off. Once the paint or finish is off the blank, you can be wet sanded with 800 to 200O grit wet/dry sand paper to get rid of any trace of old finish. This wet sanding is almost like polishing the blank rather than sanding it. Once
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Should start another thread on them. I use them a lot on UL to M spin rods and on some casting rods. I use the M and F guides to mimic KR concept reduction and running guides, respectively, and the double ft T guides and F guides for casting rods.Their major claim to fame is their lightness and low cost. A whole set of Minima spin guides will weigh less than a single stainless ceramic ring stripp
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As I mentioned, for most inshore and freshwater fishing I do, Alconite performs as well as Torzite, and I stick by that comment. I don’t fish for giant hard fighting fish. The hack saw demonstration was to demonstrate that all were very hard and capable of holding up to braid, nothing more nothing less. I have fished with rods having all of these various ring types, and I was underwhelmed by the
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For most freshwater and light inshore fishing the Alconite set of guides will perform and last just as well as the Titanium Torzite, and Sic sets. However, the titanium guides are corrosion proof, not corrosion resistant, and are lighter, but you pay a premium for these features. The guide rings on all of these guides are extremely hard, you can not cut, or even scratch, one sawing with a hacksaw
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And if you’re planning on a KR spinning rod. The list price comparisons between Titanium Torzite, Titanium Sic, and BC Aconite for a 9 guide set plus matching tip top containing KL20H, KL10H, KL5.5M, and KB/KT4.5 guides are as follows. Titanium Torzite = $155.70 Titanium Sic = $116.93 BC Alconite = $32.07 Again they are all excellent guide sets, just depends on what you are willing to spend.
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List Price comparison between a 9 guide plus tip set for a casting KR setup for freshwater or light inshore fishing with kW10, KW5.5, and KB/KT4.5 and matching tiptop. Titanium Torzite = $113.61 Titanium Sic = $85.86 BC Alconite = $26.88 Fuji makes great guides, and all are sufficiently hard and durable for everyday hard fishing use. If you you have deep pockets and want the very best and lig
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A Terrible misfortune,to be mowed down while mowing. I know it’s not funny, and I hope you have a good sense of humor. I really feel for you. Hope you get well sooner rather than later. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Norm
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Best place to have a rod break. The repair will have little effect on it’s function. Either an internal plug or external sleeve will work. If you don’t have a stash of broken rods, you can go to your local fishing tackle or sporting goods store and see if they have any broken rods that have been returned. Many times they will give them to you when you explain what you want them for. Can also try
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Here is an article from the library. I guess I’m more of a refurbisher than a restorer. Norm
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Adding a finish will add to the weight, and it may take a number of coats to get a smooth finish. In my opinion, the best finish would be Permagloss. All unsanded blanks I have seen have these ridges due to the cellophane wrapping process. These ridges are not graphite but rather the resin that seeps out. The resin is not very hard and sands very easily even with very fine grit paper. If you want
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I Know nothing about your Lamiglas XPS blanks, so I’m not much help on trying to match it with another blank. You could contact Lamiglas and see if they have a replacement for it. If you want to try something different, I would recommend a Medium or Medium Heavy 7’3” or 7’6” Point Blank. These are phenomenal blanks, very light in weight, with a great fast tip for throwing a very wide range of lur
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I told you were going to like that blank. Point Blanks are one of my most favorite rods to fish, they are both light and sensitive. I have built on most of them and they are absolutely phenomenal blanks. They have a great tip for casting and plenty of power in the midsection. What I really like about these blanks is how well they throw both light and heavy lures almost effortlessly. Norm
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I think all three rods would benefit from more guides just to spread out the forces involved in handling large fish like Kingfish. Do a static test to determine where the guides should be placed. I would use more modern types of guides. Guides are much better now then they were back when these rods were make. Norm
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The old style Cone of flight (COF) guide layout used most guide sizes to gradually reduce the line flow to the tip top. The New Guide Concept (NGC) introduced the term reduction train where guides of appropriate height were used to reduce the line flow to a choke point guide and from there to low profile running guides. With this concept not all guide sizes where used just those of the appropri
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All of the X-ray blanks are unsanded, thus showing the resin ridges resulting from the cellophane wrapping. To remove the ridges just wet sand them with 320 to 1500 grit wet/dry paper. If worried about the 320 grit start with a 800 grit. It only takes a few minutes to smooth them down. You will be mostly removing the excess epoxy resin. Or you can leave them as is. Norm PS - This is also true
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Sure, it will work just fine. Might take a few seconds longer. If you want you can apply a second coat within 30 - 60 minutes or any time after that. Hard to screw it up using the foam brush as Tom shows in the video. However, the drill will also work just fine, if you are worried about speed, just put the drill in the # 1 speed mode. Norm
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