I've done the feather thing and it looks great. But it takes time to prepare the feather, more fiddling to position the feather with CP, then waiting for the CP to dry so you can apply epoxy. I now use acrylic paint (usually white) and a toothpick. A drop of paint on the end of a toothpick is all that's needed per dot. Yep, alignment can be the occasional issue, but 'do overs' are quick a
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The short, jerk, and most unfortunately true answer is no one. The grading schemes are subjective and relative. Thus a cork ring less objectionable than another is too frequently rated AAA or flor. Time was when using filler was unnecessary and unseemly but it is no more.
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Adam Ferrule reinforcement wraps add essentially no additional "stiffness". They do add weight but the trade off is small fractions of an ounce in weight vs a potential blank failure. I've built more than a few glass rods with spigot ferrules, have made their reinforcing wrap lengths equal to 1.5 times the OD of the female ferrule, have also reinforced the male side, and never ha
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Don't worry about making mistakes; enjoy the build.
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Scott Most hardware stores including the big box variety no longer sell what was known long ago as "long oil" spar varnish. What they sell are urethane products labeled spar varnish. The long oil spar is being abandoned as a result of government regulations for VOCs. The good news is a wonderful long oil varnish, Epifanes, is available on line. The bad news is Epifanes is the n
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I'd be tempted to use 10 guides = blank length in feet rounded up plus one. Yes, it adds more weight than 8 or 9 guides but ought to be a sap to get a near perfect guide locations vs taper via load testing. I'm not a single foot guide guy. I'd use an ATC MicroWave MW18 stripper, followed by a single #4 snake then #2 snakes for the rest. I'd also use an over sized tip top loop.
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What Bill wrote regarding YLI and the Natural color, which used to be color #212. Do not confuse Natural with White. White is dyed white and will not work. Definitely do test wraps. By the way, my formula for the first epoxy application for clear wraps is 3 ml of ThreadMaster Lite resin and 3 ml of ThreadMaster Lite Hardener mixed for 3 minutes, then add 3 ml of acetone and mix for 2 minu
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Perfect, Roger, just perfect.
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Another option is an ATC MicroWave double foot, 18 mm to 8 mm casting and fly stripping guide with TION frame and Nanolite rings followed by a single #4 snake then 7 or more probably 8 #2 snakes to the tip top. The ATC MicroWave is effectively two stripping guides in one reducing from 18 mm to 8 mm. Maybe more important than stripping and running guide sizes for 8 weights and heavier is to
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Mark: YLI (upper case letter I - not the numeral 1) is a Japanese silk made in Japan and formerly in the U.,S. (I've not heard that the SC plant has re-opened.) 100 weight means it is about 1/2 the density (mass) of 50 weight which is nearly the same diameter as size A nylon. Said another way 100 weight silk is sort of skinny. Silk is strong so despite the small diameter compared to size A
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No question about it; YLI 100 weight is the best of the best. Everything else is exactly that - everything else.
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Well . . . maybe . . . sort of . . . What if the novice caster's current casting style and competency favor a rod and line combination not so appropriate to the novice caster's favorite target species or venues? Should the novice invest in a custom or factory rod that might be quickly outgrown as competency improves? I would agree a brand new fly fisher person might be well advised n
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It's not about guide foot texture. You want a thin toe with a smooth, shallow ramp up. If you need 30# braid for a tie off loop my guess is your tension is way too high. And some braids contain contaminates to help them run smoothly through guides. That's good for casting and is a potential issue with epoxy. I use white (dyed white not natural white) 50 wt silk for pull through loops. Whi
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Kimono 100 wt is a smaller diameter than nylon size A. YLI makes a 50 wt that is darn near size A. The only issue with 100 wt or smaller diameter silk is the guide feet preparations need to be well done; you can sometimes get away with a poorly prepared guide foot using size A or larger nylon but probably not with 100 wt or less silk. I've no idea why you wrap with excess tension and I have
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Have you considered abandoning the dark side of the thread force in favor of silk? Seriously, if you crave translucence and vibrance then you ought to give a test drive. And regardless of silk or nylon, always test wrap in the grip or reel seat before committing to a color. Two of my favorites on a dark gray or black blank are Kimono silk color #370 or #314, but that is just me.
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First let us know whether your main, clear wraps will be nylon or silk. I prefer silk but that is just a personal preference. As a general rule the diameter of the trim material ought not be larger than the diameter of the main wrap thread. For example, if your main wraps are 000 or 0000 silk, size A nylon trim bands might look odd. If this is your first clear wrap project I encourage
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Don't know volume and edition of RodMaker, but here is a link to a Mudhole video to get you started
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Have not built on one of Matt's bamboo blanks - yet. I have built up several of Proof's glass rods, purchased seats and supplies over the years, and found Matt to be a straight shooter who ships timely. I am inclined to think the bamboo blanks are what Matt represents them to be. One of the Proof bamboo blanks might be my winter build this year.
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Call Mike McCoy and ask him why his web site does not recommend the black snakes for the salt. Mike's a super nice guy you will enjoy talking to.
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There is also a demand issue. My guess, and it's only a guess, is 1, 2, & 3 weights enjoy less demand that 4, 5, & 6. Got no idea why a 12 weight ought cost more than a 7, 8, or 9. Just proves that marketing types do strange and mysterious things.
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Don't know who or what entity determines what is "normal", "under", or "over" sized guides. My thinking is close to Ron Weber's but I'd use a 10 mm agate or 8 mm ceramic followed by a light wire #2 snake then light wire #1/0s for the rest. After all it's a short, 2 weight; it will not be the rod for 70' casts!
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It's probably not the thread brand. In no special order of importance, thread tension, rod support locations, guide feet preparation, and how the guide is temporarily affixed while the wraps are started are all more critical the closer the guide is to the tip top. Again in no special order of importance thread tension cannot be too tight else the rod will bend causing you to add tension causing
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Greg The newer s-glass makes for a bit stronger and faster rod than the older e-glass. And the s-glass is a bit lighter in the bargain but not nearly so light as carbon fiber for the same rod length and rated line weight. Many are 3 piece blanks but more and more 4 piece s-glass blanks are beginning tp appear. My experience has been that the more modestly priced (cheap, x brand) blanks
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Welcome to early 21st century USA.
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Mike Two thoughts, the first of which is the answer to the guide numbers and locations question can have more than one correct answer. Secondly, the acid test to determine the optimal locations to distribute fish fighting stress is static load testing. Twelve guides for a 10' Euro nymph rod strikes me as one too many, but that's just me.
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Yep, you're doing something wrong; you're slinging fish. Rods are designed to cast lures or line and to fight fish. Slinging and dead lifting fish are sure fire ways to "high stick" (over stress) a rod. And an over stressed rod will sometimes not fail immediately but rather will fail well after the damage was done. Did you determine the final guide positions by static load tests?
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Golly, Phil. The marketing types have to make a buck to eat too.
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Well, I'm not a fly fishing guide or casting instructor. Maybe that is why I thought (perhaps mistakenly) a rod's ERN & ELN, the species targeted and casting distance typically required are the more important considerations.
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OK, I'll bite; how so?
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Think on it this way. The thread wraps bind the guides to the blank regardless of the thread wrap finish which adds minimal binding strength. The finish's job is to protect the wraps so the wraps can do their thing for a long time without fraying, rotting, unraveling, etc.
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