Ricky - most of the rods I have built are ice rods. My recommendation for cork is to buy from place up here in MN called Thorne Bros. Their handles are bored out with a very small diameter and will fit most ice rods without a need to ream. I have turned some handles but I cant find rings with a ID smaller than 1/4" which means you'll need to build an arbor, therefore reducing sensitivity
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Mike - it ended up being pretty redneck. I had a piece of fiberglass ice rod blank that I taped tightly to a wood screw. I inserted into the butt of the blank and twisted until it loosened the tape from the sides. Once it was loose I used a coat hanger to loosen it up more and than tapped it on the ground, it eventually came it cleanly but it took a while and I actually had a screw come off in
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I know which St. Croix blanks are made in the USA, does anyone have a list of other blanks manufactured here? I'm primarily interested in walleye/crappie style blanks.
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Would the Immortal be comparable to the SCIII line from St. Croix?
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I know this is likely a Ford vs. Chevy debate so please keep it civil. Assuming I can buy the blanks at a similar in price (which I can) what does everyone here prefer, Rainshadow or St. Croix? Also, is the Immortal worth the extra cost? She asked for a black rod so I might be pushing it to go with the Immortals color and it would take some selling! My wife has asked me to make her a light
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John - thans for clarifying. Roger - I was turning it down on the blank, I wish it had only been in the cork as that would have been easier to shove out! This was a scare I don't want to experience again, I almost lost a small screw inside the butt as well and thought for a second I was going to have to cut the blank down 6"... For people looking to get into turning custom handles, pl
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Bill - that's a great tip, thank you! I will pay closer attention to that on my next one.
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Thanks everyone for the tips. I was able to get it out this morning thankfully!
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I can try that. The challenge I will face is that it pretty much fills the full inner diameter of the blank... Will leaving it in affect the sensitivity or integrity of the blank?
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This is likely a very unusual situation. Those of your who saw my last Topic know that I am turning a couple handles with the cork on the blank. Well...I put my first one on the lathe tonight and it actually went pretty well, I have the contour for the most part how I want it and only need to work on getting the butt cap put in flush. The problem started when I started to take the metal mand
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@Garry - why do you say it turns the wrong way?
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Thanks Herb. I will send it to you. I will have a rubberized fighting butt cap that I put on. My plan was to turn down the handle to march the contour of the cap and than glue it on once the handle is finished to my liking.
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@Herb - I will be using my power wrapper to do it. Unfortunately I don't have a lathe or power drill set up. I've used it for ice rod handles and it seems to work pretty well. I guess this will really out it to the test.
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Bill - I agree, however, I sm concerned about my ability to team a straight hole! If I do it in the blank I feel like it will be easier to ream 1 cork ring at a time. The other reason is because I will be turning it down very thin as this customer wants a very small handle. I don't have an exact measurement but it is for sure less than 3/4 inch. At this point in time I am open to any and al
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I am new to the open water rod building world but have built quite a few ice rods. However, turning a full custom cork ring handle is something I am both excited and nervous for. I am building a couple rods with custom cork rings handles and would like to turn them directly on the blank. I know using Titebond III is ideal for gluing rings to create a minimal seam, however, that won’t work in
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