Thanks, Tom. The extra trim / inlay turn is so simple a technique I wonder why I have not seen it or thought of it before. Life just got a bit simpler. Thanks again.
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Mike What you are attempting to achieve is more easily done with thinned spar varnish - not epoxy - where the first and final varnish application(s) are frequently done by dipping the rod into a tube filled with varnish then slowly extracted. It's a different world than epoxy. Where two to maybe three thin applications of lite or medium viscosity epoxy almost always provides sufficient finis
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Terry What you are being advised is that you have two challenges, the first of which is you need to acquire NCP thread (in the Fuji world it is labeled "NOCP") or use a color preserver before applying finish. NOCP thread is the quicker and easier option. Secondly, white wraps on a dark blank can be difficult to do well. I am completing a build with white trim bands on a dark blu
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Chris You wrote that your prior builds using white blanks had yellowed. How long ago did those builds occur? Just curious. My understanding is epoxy yellows. Some yellow faster than others, depending upon the amount of UV exposure, but eventually they do all yellow.
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Tony It's not 9', and it is not inexpensive, but if you building up a portfolio of rods, a Tom Morgan Unity with the Universe 8 1/2' 2 or 4 piece 7 weight is wonderful. Less expensive is either a TFO BVK or Pro II, both of which are available in 9' 7 weights. And echoing the thoughts above, it would be helpful to know salt vs fresh water, species targeted, venues, and casting preference.
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Adam Using a toothpick or similar tool is a common and effective technique to 'fill the tent'. And from your description I'm guessing that as the guide support rotates to the brush the nice straight edge you had is no more and if you try to compensate by pushing more epoxy towards the edge you have too wide an edge with maybe still an insufficient amount of epoxy immediately beyond the guide
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Shawn Thoughts for you: Never mono for wraps. You can go for transparent (clear / invisible) wraps or translucent (light passes through the thread to the blank then reflects back) wraps. Regardless of whether you go for transparent or translucent, silk is your friend. Definitely do test wraps first to perfect your process and technique for transparent or to confirm color choice for t
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Michael Overall a fishable rod and solid first build. Just watch out - building fly rods is addictive! You asked what you missed. I'll not tell you because it is more important for you to learn to identify errors and then correct them, not by trying harder, but by building smarter. Try this. Put your rod where you can see it while doing something, anything, other than rod building and
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Danny ProKote will cure at 60 to 65, but it will take a long time, during which very bit of dust in the barn will head directly towards the tacky finish. If you're willing to change finish, U40 LS Supreme has similar properties (it too needs 70 to 80 room temperature) but it does not off gas, so no fumes, no smell, and mom is happy. After all, if mom is not happy no one is happy!
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Larry There are very accomplished builders who use heat. But if you observe or listen to them closely, their use of heat is quick and gentle, and their use of heat has been honed over many rods and years. There are, however, alternatives that are as effective with the added benefit of fewer to no downside risks. You wrote that you use heat to smooth the finish and remove bubbles, and you
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Travis You can add me to the growing list of Snake Brand devotees for snake guides. Both the Universal and the Lite Wire Universals are terrific.
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Bruce Learning on the fly with bamboo can work, but your odds are not so good. Suggest you first invest in some homework by reading Michael Sinclair's Bamboo Restoration Handbook or another similar work. My initial reaction to your question is two wrongs do not make a right. Maybe your old soldier ought be retired to a wall hanger as is, else properly repaired / restored.
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I'll second John P's suggestion; it's basic color theory. And for those of us challenged to get two socks of the same color on each morning it would be a value add. With regard to the Ultra Poly thread size, the current size is growing on me. I like it.
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Roger Don't use the alcohol to melt tip top glue any more. A lighter is quicker and easier for me. Plus with a lighter I cannot be distracted to the point I forget the thing and leave it burning on the bench, which I admit doing. Those of us who are not old but have been young for a long time are sometimes easily distracted. And I've recently given up on the thermoplastic tip top glue in
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Roger Don't use the alcohol to melt tip top glue any more. A lighter is quicker and easier for me. Plus with a lighter I cannot be distracted to the point I forget the thing and leave it burning on the bench, which I admit doing. Those of us who are not old but have been young for a long time are sometimes easily distracted. And I've recently given up on the thermoplastic tip top glue in
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Roger Don't use the alcohol to melt tip top glue any more. A lighter is quicker and easier for me. Plus with a lighter I cannot be distracted to the point I forget the thing and leave it burning on the bench, which I admit doing. Those of us who are not old but have been young for a long time are sometimes easily distracted. And I've recently given up on the thermoplastic tip top glue in
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Got an alcohol lamp on the work bench and real wood driver in the golf bag. Both are just for show. Cannot control and don't use either
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Phil I too rotate by hand, but usually for only 30 minutes, then the rod section(s) rotates on the lathe until the set aside, unused epoxy is cured to the touch. I've used about every technique known and the manual rotation produces the superior results for me. Your milage might vary. Close observation of the epoxy during the first 5 minutes of manual rotation is critical, t's a magic tim
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Brennen Good advice above to deal with the "nubs". However, as Roger suggests, the best case is to prevent them in the first place. Try this. Three or four wraps or turns of thread are sufficient to lock in the tag end of a wrap. But instead of inserting the tie off loop 3 or 4 turns from the end of a wrap, insert the loop 7 or 8 turns from the end. Then, instead of pulling a le
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Marc Your question was 1 vs 2 coats. I'm a 2 coat guy. Long ago I used Flex Coat high build and did just OK with 1 coat. But 2 coats of a medium or lite viscosity epoxy (I'm partial to the ProKote medium viscosity epoxy) results in far better and more consistent results for me. Those pesky nubs, stick ups and such are removed after the first coat, which is applied as thinly as possible. T
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Jim I primarily build fly rods and am blessed to have had the opportunity to build up some out-of-this-world expensive banks to what are best described as cheap, blue-light-specials. I characterize MHX as solid value, mid market blanks with no fit & finish or performance issues. And similarly to Phil E's message above, I really like Baston's and TFO's blanks from a value perspective.
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Tom Have always wondered how much waste was associated with mixing 3cc of epoxy, and now I have an idea, and, frankly, sort of now wish I did not know. The waste is somewhere between heart breaking and outrageous. Think I'll try a 2cc mix (4cc total) and see what happens. If it works it will reduce the cost by at least 30%. Certainly not as cost effective as your 1/4cc mix, but I'll take 3
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John With 8 years building experience, you know over 90% of what you need to know to build a fly rod - you just don't realize it. Nonetheless, a kit is a good idea to fix the cost, avoid false starts, and gain confidence quickly. The kit market is reasonably competitive and you get what you pay for. Most, but certainly not all, target the new builder and those seeking lower price points.
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David Another light (think very, very thin) epoxy application will solve your problem. The sanding marks will disappear and there will be a gloss sheen. It will not fix any remaining hills and valleys. You wrote that the finish was not smooth. I suspect what you saw was hills and valleys or a series of shallow footballs? It was most probably the result of applying too much epoxy. What
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Dave I used a Pac Bay manual wrapper long ago. It is simple, stored easily, and about $40 bucks today. But I primarily build fly rods and don't do weaves and other neat, complex thread art, so I truly do not know if the Pac Bay would be suitable or not. I suspect it will, but, again, no hands on experience beyond simple trims an inlaid turns. A dryer is in the $60 to $80 range. The feat
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Dave It would help if we knew what functions in addition to wrapping, if any, you desire, what types of rods you build, if you into thread art, etc. If you have a wrapper now, what manufacturer, and what do you like and dislike? And of course price point.
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David If you have not totally giver up on epoxy, search YouTube for the Doc Ski videos. As I remember it, Doc demonstrates over two videos how he finishes long wraps. The difficulty of achieving the nearly perfectly flat finish does seem to increase with the length of the wrap or area to be finished. But it can be done, and a picture (make that video) is word a thousand words.
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Robert Even color fast / NCP (No Color Preserver needed) nylon and poly will hue shift just a bit, usually shifting to a richer / deeper / darker hue. The only way to know how much hue shift will occur is to make a test wrap. And yes, the Fuji ploy thread is available in NCP.
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John Online retailers, such as Mudhole, offer preformed butt caps in a variety of materials. It's a bit like cheating, but there are no plugs to cut or additional sanding. You will, however, need to reduce the butt end of the grip to a tenon of the diameter and length to fit the store bought butt cap. And of course the overall diameter of the butt grip will need to nicely join the butt ca
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Roger What a great point! While I primarily build fly rods, and do not build rods for sale (and thus can take a moderate "what you see is what you got" attitude), my experience has been that the #1 issue driving a rod recipient's happiness is the grip, with balance a close 2nd. I sometimes have the luxury of having rod recipients available to try a variety of grip configurati
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