Not that it needs it, but to justify Ron’s remake and link, I went offshore fishing on Monday and was amazed with the number (30-40) container ships anchored outside the breakwall of Long Beach and San Pedro harbors here in SoCal = never seen it like that! We couldn’t even plot a straight course to our fishing destination through all those ships.
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Colin, I am from the school that believes the length of a spinning blank has no influence on the reduction guide size and/or spacing. Guide size is determined by the size of the reel (spool), the up-sweep angle of the reel, and the size of the braid. A longer blank will simply use more runners while a shorter blank will use fewer; an extremely short blank may put the choke-point at or very close
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Phillip, U40 Perma Gloss, as Shawn suggested, is pretty much the industry standard. Apply to the sanded blank with a very fine, open cell foam pad; cosmetic pads work very well. Some builders use coffee filters which may be a good idea also, although I have not tried them. While PG may be widely used, it is not as bullet-proof as many suggest; it will chip. Nonetheless, PG is what I use. If
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Scott, Composite fishing rods / blanks are FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastics). Due to the “plastic” part of the equation, they can and will “take a set”, especially given the parameters on which your Bucket-of-Rods were subjected. I suppose the “warping” could be reversed, but it may take an equal amount of time that they lived in the bucket and also close monitoring to not go too far the other way
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Jack, First off, DNA (let alone whatever the Ethyl / isopropyl blend is you referred to) is not really compatible with epoxy as is acetone. You will not find any alcohol in a composite shop, but you will find plenty of acetone. That being said, there are many rod builders who use DNA, but it is a poor substitute for acetone in this case. Additionally, acetone is still readily available in Califo
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Ben, I am uncertain if yours is a true question or sarcasm. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Since trim bands do not really serve any purpose or function other than cosmetics they will obviously not make a rod “better” regarding function but could very well from a cosmetic standpoint.”A better made rod” is again up to the beholder; some people prefer bare-bones, basic wraps while others l
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Chuck, I am certainly not an expert on the subject so take that into consideration. However, I am a cheap bastard and hate to throw away anything. Since U40 Cork Seal cleans-up with water, I would assume it is a water-based product. I would try adding water (possibly even distilled water) to see if the semi-dried remaining product thins-out and comes back to life. If the reconstituted mixture is
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Michael, You are certainly welcome. Even if only one person, at least my efforts helped SOMEONE. Due to the lack of responses, I can only wonder how many builders realized they were already using A&DT but simply did not know how versatile it could be and applied to narrow trim bands and fades. Or maybe I confused the heck out of them; I understood what I wrote perfectly lol. One way or the o
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I just got back from fishing; I think I’ll go back out!!!
Forum: rodboard

“Over 1200 articles in print to date” and yet people still ask how to perform a trim band = go figure. Hopefully my efforts helped a few of them anyway!
Forum: rodboard

In the past, a number of members have inquired about how to make trim bands for their guide wraps. Most often, the replies suggested using the “nail knot” method to make a separate trim band from the main wrap. But the narrower the band = the more difficult (if not impossible) to execute and having to make two separate wraps rather than simply extending the main wrap from the trim band seems awkw
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Michael, Replies to your post could very well be endless!!! Being the cheap bastard that I am, I rarely spend more than $50.00 for my UL reels, 50, 75, 1000, 1500. Personally, I have not found a need to spend more for my lighter, trout reels; my heavier saltwater reels are a different story. I was a Shimano man for 40+ years and they were fine; tried a few Diawas and they also were fine as well
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Come on, Tom; be nice.
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Robert, I am uncertain exactly what you mean by “...and have wrapped the butt end and have not done anything else to.” I can only assume you mean that you have painted the blank and installed a thread butt-wrap ahead of the fore-grip but not installed any guides / thread wraps. At this point, the safest bet is to not clear-coat the remaining exposed blank which might lift / react to your sprayed
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Daniel, As chris mentioned, X-wrap shrink tubing can certainly be applied over Hypalon. The majority of my saltwater builds use X-shrink over cork tape and it could certainly be applied directly over a blank or anything else for that matter. You may find the combination even better than the hypalon alone to firm-up the grip; many consider hypalon and/or EVA too soft to begin with. As far as dura
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Joel, While possibly close, I am uncertain how close to 150*F is obtainable in a parked car so 1 or 2 extra days may be required. Might be a good idea to put a thermometer in the car to find out. While I am hoping the “post cure” heat will cure the epoxy presently on the rod, it should be enough to at least help it get closer to full cure so that a final, final coat can be applied.
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Rick, Especially with a 130lb rod, if the planned EVA is for the fore-grip, there are many (myself included) who consider it too soft after a long fight with a large fish; cork tape covered with X-flocked heat shrink tubing may be a much better bet. If the planned EVA is for the rear-grip, it will not withstand the abuse from a rod holder and will be extremely difficult to remove from the holder
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Joel, All may not be lost! A post cure of 150*F may just prove enough to “cover your boo-boo”. It may take as little as 12 hours but plan on 48 hours, maybe even 3 days. David’s suggestion of a cardboard box with a light bulb inside is a quick and easy way to find out. But monitor the temperature so as to not exceed 160*F, even if with only with a cheepie meat thermometer. Good luck and let us k
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Brent, You have received good advice from previous reliers. Allow me to add that while sanding scratches will indeed disappear with an additional coat of epoxy, attempting to remove ALL the sanding particles may ultimately prove to be (more of) a problem. Consider shaving-off the outward “shells” of the bubbles with a razor blade and recoating. I suspect the original problem arose as (when) the
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Daniel, Both of the Johns are correct. However, I agree with Mr. Cates and always use tip tip adhesive (hot melt). Just because there may be a 200lb BlueFin tuna on the end of the line does not equate to 200lb of force trying to directly pull the tip top off; I doubt there is 2lbs of force. Just make sure the tube of the tip top is full of melted tip top adhesive and oozes out when installing to
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Justin, Robert and Tom said it for me = I agree. Allow me to add to Tom’s suggestion; cut the end of the masking tape square and wrap three rotations around the blank (without wrinkles) and cut it off squarely just short of where you started. This will keep the thickness of the tape the same and concentric all the way around the blank. Also, if the blank diameter is large enough, bottom-out the
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Jacob, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you like it, that is all that really matters = go ahead and (re)build it. From your last photo, the only “single strand of fiberglass that has delaminated for about 1"” I see may not actually be FG from the blank but rather a stray thread; if it were FG from the blank, I would think it would be a straight splinter. If you are in question, plac
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Scot, Thank you for the post.This topic has come-up a number of times prior, but I have not learned of a suitable reply. I will be following for my own, personal benefit. Come on guys, help us out!
Forum: rodboard

Phil, You are comparing apples with oranges. If you insist on there being a benefit of knowing how much force is required to crush a blank and any resultant, corresponding “physical abilities of a rod blank”, please provide us with your data; I am certain it will be extremely factual and scientific. But don’t expect someone else to do it for you.
Forum: rodboard

“Hoop strength” is a term used in the structural composite industry (which includes fishing rod blanks) to ONLY describe the crush resistance of a tubular laminate. It is not a “measurement” of the force required to break a tubular structure, such as yield strength. To achieve the greatest longitudinal strength / stiffness for the least amount of material / weight, well more than the majority of
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Roger to the resume! Very nice diagram easily describing the crossing of the wires on the switch.
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Bob, The new variable speed dryers probably use DC motors which are easier to vary the speed than AC motors. But the DC motors will always turn in the same direction unlike the “random” direction of the AC motors every time it is turned on (and,no, I cannot explain it; some AC motors do while others don’t). It is very possible to install a reversing switch on a DC motor but can be confusing to s
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Shawn, While I have not built with an ECSM seat, I see no problem ”converting” it to hidden threads. Purchase either a KDPS(16 or 17)BC/ASH if you want the metal hoods or a KSKSS(16 OR 17)ASH for the SK2 seats with a contoured nylon hood.
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Tom, I have wondered about the structural strength of typical thread epoxy with its 1-to-1 mix ratio versus structural laminating epoxy with its basically 1-4 ratio; they are obviously two different animals. I am surprised to learn you consider PG, a atmospheric-moisture curing urethane “stronger” than the majority of catalyzed, two-part thread epoxies. I would have lost money betting otherwise
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OK, I’ll assume the role of devil’s advocate. Personally, I do not see the point and do not care for CP but recognize and appreciate others' preference to use it. There is no yea or nay, right or wrong but simply personal preference. I suspect the biggest issue concerning the use of CP is cosmetics; unless attempting to create a certain effect, CP is basically required for regular nylon (polyeste
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