Gabriele and chris, Sorry if I am a little slow. If the original question was how to wrap a MN tip top, then simply treat the tang of the MN like a guide foot and wrap over it. I find it difficult to believe people cut off the tang because it is an extension of the leg braces and NOT AFFIXED to the tube = the leg braces would be almost worthless. Wrapping the tang is the only support for the leg
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Ken, Thank you for the update on the Kingfisher. It sounds like you had productive fun; there is just something special about experiencing a vintage rod beyond recognizing and appreciating how good we have it today with modern advancements in rod construction, CF in particular. I enjoy and actually prefer my vintage FG Conolons compared to my stable of store-bought CF rods even though many othe
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Gabriele, At the risk of sounding rude, your actual question may have been lost in the translation; “anyone have any ideas on how to tie this tip top on.”?? “The step is very high.”?? Was thing of wrapping a thread underneath.”?? Please do not take offence, but I am a bit confused as to what your actual question is. Apparently, chris is equally confused; why would anyone purchase a MN tip top an
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Lance, Most on this site know I am a big Fuji fan. I am additionally a big fan of Alconite rings for their best-bang-for-the-buck status; Torsite and either SiC or SiN may be smoother and SiC dissipates heat better than any other guide material, but Torsite is VERY pricey and SiC and SiN are quite brittle and susceptible to fracturing / breaking under rough treatment. Again, I am unfamiliar w
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Lance, I admittedly have no experience with REC Cerecoil guides so I cannot answer your question directly. Large fish and heavy drags not only induce more strain on a guide train but, more importantly, the line itself as well. For rods up to 50lb or possibly 80lb, a quality ceramic ring is a safe bet while over 80lb rollers are by far the best choice. I have learned that rollers are becoming les
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Gary, I am surprised to learn proper hot-melt tip top adhesive has reportedly failed, even for heavy-duty rollers. Even under extreme conditions, it is not like the tip top is subjected to, say, 20lb of force trying to pull it directly off the tip of the rod. I will stick with tip top adhesive to facilitate replacement if required down the road and readjust my perspective if and when I ever enc
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Tom, From your statement “By its very nature, graphite does not like to take a very sharp bend over a very short area” within you outstanding “Building Live Bait Rods” article in RM magazine, it would appear you have an understanding of CF properties. That statement was/is very true; your present statement that CF is not brittle is false. chris, Be careful how you use the term “strength”; for
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Russell, Your comments are acknowledged, understood and accepted. I also like your saying, “Different horses for different courses”. I have not heard that one before, like it, consider it to be very true and will probably rip-you-off. I am anxious to test my “identical” old casting and new spinning rods back-to-back; who knows, maybe I will end up agreeing with you.
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Roger, The only CF guides I have seen were roller guides; and if you thought titanium guides are expensive, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! The fishing rod and component industry is highly competitive and hence manufacturers are looking to be the first to discover, offer and increase sales with the newest products and materials, whether fad or functional. One cannot really blame them; it’s a dog-ea
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For what it is worth, given the same ring size, Fuji KH-Hs are a bit taller than the others I have seen; Minima Ms may be the closest.
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Bob & Ken, To be honest, I am actually in the process of building a ~20lb saltwater spin rod, basically for Calico. But there is always the possibility of hooking into a 30lb Yellowtail of 50lb WSB. The rod will be a spinning duplicate of the casting rod I built from the same Conolon blank, just for comparison’s sake and simply because I can lol. Most guides, single or double foot, are inh
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Michael, An interesting concept for a reel seat. I am curious what you were attempting to accomplish with two moveable / adjustable hoods?
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Mike, It is common knowledge that not only the ring diameter but the height of the ring as well are important factors in a KR Concept reduction guide train; the whole concept involves smaller rings atop higher frames. A size 20 ring is a good choice for 20-30lb braid and your 2500-3000 reel. I do not know the height of your LZR but a Fuji KL 20-H is 50.8mm.
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Rick, Trim bands, or “accents” as you call them are basically produced by simply “adding and / or dropping” threads. Search for such here or facebook videos which might prove easier to understand than lengthy text explanation attempts. If not, come back or email me directly.
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Bob, Personally, I would use a conventional reel / rod but if you are H-bent on a spinner, stick with the KL-Hs, KBs out to a MN tip top. Also consider stepping up to a 50lb braid with a 20-40lb leader. A KL 25-H, KL 12-H, KL 7-M or 6-L with appropriate sized KBs out to an equally sized MN tip top will get the job done. Obviously, single-foot guides are not as robust as double-foot guides which
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Ernie, Although I have never had a guide pull-out in the 60 years I have been fishing, I always employ a locking wrap on single foot guides for the added insurance. Also, it is obvious evidence the rod is custom and that the builder took the extra time to do it. I developed my own method but most simply use the Fohan type which only requires an additional 30 seconds max. Lee, Thread the locki
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Guy, The links to Anglers Resource provided by Cris are invaluable to know, understand and apply to all spinning rods. Granted, only Fuji guides are listed, but for someone just starting out in rod building and to make it much simpler and less confusing, stick with Fuji! Even after gaining experience, many such as myself stick with Fuji. Rods used with conventional / bait-casting reels do not
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Roger, Since I live in LALA Land on the Left Coast, will you ship my rods for me? I’m jealous.
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Steve, All of the above replies are very good although Tom’s and Roger’s “3 hour = set enough” seems a bit iffy and premature to me; it's probably OK , but…… There are three factors involved with the pot life and cure rate of epoxy; the epoxy (catalyst) itself, the curing temperature, and the thickness of the epoxy applied. Different epoxies exhibit different curing times and I have found with o
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I have noticed a number of posts taking issue with their long lead-time; maybe they took exception. Although I have not personally built on a NFC blank, many of you speak very highly of them and it is unfortunate they are no longer a sponsor.
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Ken, I am glad to learn your plotted-out rod refurb includes new components = you will not be disappointed. If it was a rare, historic or valuable rod, RESTORING to original specs would have been the proper approach. Using modern materials will produce a better rod than the original and you will not have to worry about the PG “bubbling”. Liquid strippers may or may not affect the old glue but wh
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Jess, “Patients is a virtue” / “absence makes the heart grow fonder”; = old-school sayings / wisdom from an old guy. If it is exactly what you want then wait; anything else will never become adequate.
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JIM ?!?!?
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Eric, You have received very good advice from three respected, veteran builders and in-the-end, they basically agree. I (admittedly a humbled rookie) have always followed the KR Concept recipe of 16, 8, 5.5 and have not even considered a 12, 6, 5.5. If a compromise 14, 7, 5.5 does not appeal to you (lol), Lynn’s suggestion of no-ring Minima Ms is valid. I hope you try the 12, 6, 5.5!!! Nothing
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A testament to Batson’s commitment to the rod building world. I applaud them as well.
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Ken, You mention “refurb” so I am assuming you are not “restoring” the rod using old methods and materials. You have an opportunity to experience the best of both worlds; the nostalgic feel of a bamboo cane rod combined with the benefits of modern components to produce a much improved version of the original. That is what I did with my Dad’s old cane blank. After removing everything off the bla
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Fred, You’re doing it right if you’re not!
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Arthur, 45lb of drag is huge and can be humanly dangerous for stand-up fishing; you are obviously a better man than me. With that said, I would stick with Calstar or Seeker.
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Norman, Thank you again. While weight is always of concern, especially the further out toward the tip, strength / durability of the guide train is a higher priority with this application. I try to adhere to “Form Follows Function” so, at this point, I am leaning toward KB-6 runners even though I will end up with a size 8 tip top; something for me to lose sleep over the next few nights lol. While
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Norman, Thank you for your knowledgeable and informative reply;. I can always rely upon you. I have only used size 5 KTs for (barely) micro builds and it seems reasonable the foot size will increase with the ring size. While it is safe to say most guides are much stronger than required, I would feel more comfortable using the stouter foot of the KBs, especially in the mid-rod stress area for thi
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