I have a 6" sch 40 pvc 8' piece with removable end caps, I keep in the back of my truck for transporting rods. Also use in combination with socks to keep from getting scratched up. Never broke one caring them like this.
Forum: rodboard

Yes they most likely are and they do look a lot like Fuji KT guides. You can get SeaGuide guides from Rod Builders Warehouse on the right. How did it happen? I started recently using them and would like to know of any issues.
Forum: rodboard

A heat gun. Regular isopropyl alcohol might work but the flame may be hard to see. Also you could move out of the socialist democrat republic of California. Drive to Arizona or Nevada and pick some up at a hardware store, could also be considered.
Forum: rodboard

There is a possibility that the manufacturer of the resin made a bad batch. I work in Chemical plants that make polymers and resins and have seen operators mess up batches in production. If the lab considers the batch to be within a certain tolerance they will let it be distributed. Typically these types of epoxy resin are made in small batches where the margin for error is greater. Also because
Forum: rodboard

I switched to better brushes for a short time and cleaned them after use. I just thought it was a big hassle and it messed up a few of my finishes with brush hair coming out and what looked like small particles of hardened resin. I guess my cleaning wasn't all that great. I just went back to the Flex Coat purple brushes. Much easier and the cost is really about the same after you buy brush cleane
Forum: rodboard

For me it depends on the main type of use the rod is for. For a wading rod I prefer a a shorter rear grip and for something that will be used on a boat or on the shore (jetties / piers) a bit longer. Do what Ed says and I will add that I use my elbow as a guide or rather the distance from the butt of the rod to my elbow. Also consider how you land a fish and is the length of the grip going to be
Forum: rodboard

Phil, I have been looking at those grips and actually contacted Herb about them. When you say "elastic" I assume you mean it is somewhat spongy or soft? The core material will flex enough to contact the blank at the front end of the full wells where the winding check would be if not reamed out a little? Thanks, Lance
Forum: rodboard

I believe it is going to depend on the size of the guide ring and the height from the blank. I really haven't noticed that great of a difference, if any, when going from mono to braid. Of course I probably use too many guides anyway. I will put 9 guides on an up to 7' rod with the guide train being RV 6, KB 5 and the rest of the train being KB and KT 4s. Most of these rods come out to less than
Forum: rodboard

I believe originally they were using such large ring sizes that a graduated (cone) system cut down on the weight especially near the tip. Now we are using smaller guides and even "micro" guides and that is not an issue so much. On fly rods snake guides are so light that using the same size in the running train is not an issue. It appears we have made it less complicated and are getting
Forum: rodboard

The reason I asked the manufacturer and the model was because some blanks are supposed to have ridges whereas sometimes you will get a better deal on a unfinished blank that is offered. It does not reflect badly on the manufacturer.
Forum: rodboard

Graphite, Foam, Drywall tape and masking tape. Use them all sometimes in combination, as needed. I try to use as little masking tape as possible. I also wish those graphite arbors would be a little more consistent in diameter and density.
Forum: rodboard

Typically a blank designated as a spinning blank when bent at an extreme angle will flex more near the butt end of the same models. You may want that characteristic in a blank for a casting reel. This is not always the case though. In reality the soul of the spinning blank wants to one day, grow up to be a casting blank and be fished somewhere in a Texas bay. This is where I step in.
Forum: rodboard

Paul, This whole thing about ring material is a bunch of hipe. The main thing to me is to have the ring fastened into the frame where it does not pop out or even crack when light pressure is applied and the frame material doesn't corrode. That's why I got kinda of angry when Fuji quit putting the Alconite ring in the Titanium frame. Just made me go out and find other brands with what I was looki
Forum: rodboard

What kind of blank? Who makes it and the model number?
Forum: rodboard

Paul I would so you are good to mix and match. The RV is unique even compared to the Fuji KBs or KTs. As long as you use all the same guide model line between the RV and the tip top, you should be good. They used to not have the KBs so I used all KTs, worked great. Another alternative is SeaGuide between the RV and the tip top. They offer a Ti frame with a nice ring that is comparable to Torzite.
Forum: rodboard

A note for Lynn's post. In order to get mostly pigment from Testors, let it sit for a few days and separate from the thinning agent. The pigment will settle to the bottom of the bottle and you can just pour off the thinner at the top.
Forum: rodboard

Sometimes natural cork will have flaws that you do not see until you start turning it. The more you take off, the greater chance you have of finding it or breaking apart. I prefer to turn cork on a lathe first because of this. If it fails in an area I don't have to scrape it off the blank to start over. I have been turning the fine grain rubberized cork on many of my fore grips to about a 1/8&quo
Forum: rodboard

Here is how I look at it: Natural cork is the lightest material available but also good Flor grade cork is expensive. It is categorized in many different ways but generally Flor Grade is the best quality and it is expensive. Foam core Carbon Fiber is probably the next lightest followed by EVA. Winn has been in the grip business for well over 20 years, with my first experience with it in golf clu
Forum: rodboard

You will learn how to use whatever you get. Think of what you would like it do and get whatever is closest to that. I started doing everything by hand on my lap with a homemade stand and no motors. After doing it that way for almost 20 years I found a damaged Pac Bay wrapper with extra drying motor for $35 at a tent sale at the Cabelas in Gonzales, LA. I bought that and put an Alps upgrade chuck
Forum: rodboard

Put 2 coats of CP over your decals and you won't have that problem.
Forum: rodboard

The new gray / natural carbon colored Eternity blanks are very good but not the blue ones. The blue ones have an easy to break problem. Sharp hooks are good. VMC Cone Cut, very sharp.
Forum: rodboard

I do two light coats of FC High Build and it comes out great almost every time. The second coat is for leveling and cover misc. tag ends, or other flaws that come through in the first coat. I just keep it simple / stupid.
Forum: rodboard

The Fuji colors seam to match a lot of reel colors too.
Forum: rodboard

Although I am not a big fan like my brother, Tenkara may be the way to go if he wants it super compact. Otherwise like Dave said its a pain to try to put 7 pieces together straight. A 7.5' 4pc would only be about 23-24" in an aluminum rod tube. And yes those new fiberglass NFC blanks look awesome.
Forum: rodboard

ben belote Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Lance, it,s more like 2 or 3 guides per foot with > 2 or 3 or 4 more guides than feet length of the > rod..it looks like an equal distance guide layout, > no stress test needed..i just built a 50" glass > rod with 8 micro guides plus tip..i got every inch > of power squeezed from that rod and
Forum: rodboard

Albert, I also use two on my work table, one just won't reach from one end to the other. I got mine from a lab we shut down at a place I worked a few years ago. They were pretty high end so the lights in them were good and bright. Thanks to you, now I know I can replace them with LEDs when they burn out. Where did you get replacement LEDs from? Thanks, Lance
Forum: rodboard

Are y'all going to make any G2 fly grips? Full Wells / Half Wells?
Forum: rodboard

I have some other older high end Lamsons also, and to me the Liquid is just as good. Really like the light weight of them. You will not be disappointed.
Forum: rodboard

Most, if not all have ties to foreign manufacturing, so made in America usually means assembled in America. There is usually a pretty good chance that the epoxy resins in the prepreg are made solely in America.
Forum: rodboard

Do your own spacing based on the rods static test.
Forum: rodboard