I must say that Russell’s comment,”...make your first build a re-do of a favorite rod. Convincing yourself you can improve on the performance of a factory rod inspires confidence” is great, well stated advice. Good one Russell. Andrew, It should already be obvious that there is a plethora of opinions, ideas, methods, products, new and old within the rod building craft. While there may rarely be
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David made a good observation, which I missed, in that no KBs were included. Whatever size is decided upon, 1 or 2 KBs should be included as per typically done. I take that a step further and include as many KBs as the blank diameter allows, favoring the robustness of the larger foot compared to the KTs. The larger foot is also easier to wrap. Yes, it comes with a hair-splitting weight gain but i
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Kendall, That is a good idea! I may not actually have a need for it but nonetheless can see its merit and usefulness. Thanks for sharing.
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Salvatore, When you say aluminum seat, I am assuming the blue is ANODIZED and not painted. While Aarons suggestions would certainly minimize the chances of scratching the seat, they may not be effective. Nonetheless, you’ve got nothing to lose so give it a shot first. Otherwise… The anodized finish is basically aluminum oxide = very hard. Unfortunately, it is also employed to promote better bon
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Andrew, Welcome onboard. Be careful, though, as rod building can become a journey to “The House of the rising Rod” ( a spoof on a vintage song). Congratulations on doing such a thorough job with your homework / research. While kits can certainly be a good idea for some just starting-out, as Aaron mentioned you apparently know what you want and have basically made good component choices. Althoug
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John, Sorry, but I cannot be of more help. With so many veterans onboard, someone must have an answer to your original question.
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Glenda, I believe you are on the correct track / tact. Since your email is hidden, contact my personal email if you care to do so.
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That is unfortunate news to me as I have recently become quite fond of Lew’s spinning reels. Hopefully, it is not across-the-board. I have no clue on which guides they use for their rods.
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Ralph O”Quinn remains a rightfully respected and extremely knowledgeable man; our industry is at a loss without him anymore. Tom’s link to his “Repairing Broken Rods” article is a fine example of his intellect and willingness to share with the rod building (repairing) world. Anyone would be hard-pressed to find or offer justifiable disagreement with his observations, statements or opinions. With
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Richard, Congratulations on teaching a rod building class. While I am unfamiliar with Project Healing Waters, it sounds like a worthy cause. Good luck to you and your students! With all due respect to Dale Clements and Wayne Cattanach (whom I am admittedly unfamiliar), if you are teaching a present-day rod building class, use present day technology. There is no better method for EFFICIENTLY spa
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Glenda, You apparently understand that ANY repair, be it a spigot, sleeve or wound roving, can add quite a bit of stress to the blank at the ends of the repair, just one reason to use a lower modulus material for the repair. I would think FG, E-glass more so than S-glass, would be a better material than CF. Another point of concern is the direction of the repair fibers. Many people do not realiz
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Glenda, Sorry, I did not answer your original question of where to find appropriate material. Soller Composites offers a great selection of composite fabrics as well as other “ingredients'' for the composite industry. While they offer unidirectional fabrics and roving as well, I often simply pull strands of fabric from woven cloth (up to 48in). It is your choice whether ordering single-strand or
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Glenda, First off, anyone and everyone needs to realize, understand and accept that a repaired broken rod WILL NOT be identical prior to being broken, PERIOD. There are those willing to accept the compromise, and many may not be able to notice the difference anyway. With the numerous methods invented to repair a broken rod comes an equal number of criticism to those methods. Each method of repai
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How much more closely am I supposed to read (into) your statement “Generally the taper of the rings should not exactly match that of the reel foot taper or there will be no "wedge" effect to lock things into place.” I found the exact opposite to be true and hence, designed and machined an 11* (included angle) Acetal male mold on which to fabricate my composite rings which do not loosen
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To each his own. I will rely on more surface / contact area to secure my rings rather than a “wedge” effect which digs into the cork and does not lay flat = less comfortable. My composite slip rings never loosen, weigh <1.5g each, are somewhat flexible and they even look nice.
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sebastian and Lance, First and foremost, get a copy of “Stand-Up Rods” in Volume-21, Issue-3 of Rodmaker magazine, an invaluable, must-have source of information! As Robert mentioned, a “stand-up “rod will typically be shorter than a “fighting chair” or “gunnel” rod, aluminum butt or not. A good starting place would be “stand-Up” = <6ft, “chair” or “gunnel ‘ = 6ft or over. With a chair or gu
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sebastian, I admit to not knowing EXACTLY what the difference(S) is(are). I do know there are measurement specs for a rod to be considered legal by IGFA = 40in minimum from reel centerline to the tip top and 27in maximum from reel centerline to the butt. Other than that, hopefully Tom or other qualified people will answer your question. I am here to learn. Allow me to urge you to obtain, read,
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sebastian, As with many aspects of rod building, you will find varying opinions and preferences. For a stout rod as yours, I would definitely go with E-glass. While it may be heavier than CF, glass is more durable and resilient to max flexing. There are FG blanks available with a few wraps of CF in the butt section which is OK, such as a Seeker CTF63XXH (100lb) which is a nice blank. I trust See
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With all due respect to Denis, a .035in taper is insufficient for typical spinning reel feet; a simple look at the taper on the feet will reveal this. This will cause the rings to “cock” and not lay flat on the cork while only affording a small area of contact on the feet resulting in the rings slipping / reel loosening as well as digging into the cork = the bane of most THs and the reason most p
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John, Congratulations on choosing a Tennessee Handle; I have become a big fan! The versatility of positioning the reel anywhere along the length, along with the ability to use either a spinning or fly reel, is often overlooked in favor of a typical tube seat. They can also be lighter and more comfortable in-hand than tube seats. But without TAPERED rings, any TH is doomed to failure due to the
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Tom, I prefer a “knobby kneed” rod to match my personal silhouette when wearing shorts while fishing. Sorry to be of no help but couldn’t resist.
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Jim, Thank you for the reply. I totally understand and agree the RV would be lighter due to the smaller ring atop a higher frame. However, casting Form-Follows-Function out the door, and pursuing the ”look” of the LC or HB, it is nice to know reversing them is not wrong.
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Eugene, Tom is correct in that metal ferrules are the quickest and easiest way to section a blank, a direction many blindly take. But, even the really nice nickel/silver (NS) ferrules produce flat-spots in the flex-curve of the blank, and I have spent $125.00 to have a custom size NS ferrule drawn for a vintage rod. The cheap metal ferrules offered by some suppliers are just that = cheap, and in
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Jim, Thanks for correcting me; I mistakenly thought the RV ring was vertical. Since it is actually sloped, the single leg must be toward the reel. Hopefully, you are still following this topic and can tell me yeah or nay regarding “reversing” a LC or HB with their single leg toward the reel.
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While many of you may have noticed this before, I have not seen reference to it here on this forum since joining the site 6 years ago, hence wanting to share my observations in hopes of possibly enhancing your epoxy “lenses” over threadwork, especially the longer ones which are more susceptible to waves and irregularities. Although not a “solve-all” method to achieve that perfectly level, flat le
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I feel indebted to Norman and fortunate to have such quality cork at such a relatively good price. Only he would be eligible to receive some of my remaining rings = sorry Lynn. Without a universally accepted and consistently applied grading system, be it Tom’s or another, purchasing cork today is basically a crap shoot, with “crap” being the opportune word. However, one can get lucky from time-t
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Louis, The above replies coincide with Fuji’s intent; single leg of the RV toward the reel. However, Tom alluded to a good point that, with its vertical ring, the RV would function in the opposite direction as well, given that it was positioned properly. I have applied Fuji’s reversed-leg theory of the RV to the LC and HB as well with great results and eliminating any possibility of line slap on
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Tom, While we, including Norman, have talked about these particular rings before, this is the first time hearing they were from you. They were (actually still are because I treasure and still have some only for use on special builds) very nice indeed. Actually, half were CG-1, and the other half CG-2; Even the CG-2 are better than most other available rings.
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I have never had a digital caliper fail… because I have never owned one! The same medium-quality dial caliper I have owned and used for >30 years works just fine! Same for my micrometers, depth and height gauges.
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Lance is correct on all counts. I don’t know if cork rings are subject to being pre-filled as are premade grips, but the very nice quality rings that Norman Miller purchased for me at the 2018-19 Expo were not. I tend to be less concerned with the number of long “pits” than the size / diameter of them. With rings, the size, number and location of the “pits” is quite obvious on the ends. I typical
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