Ken, As with so many aspects of rod building, it is a personal choice whether to fish if or hang it on a wall. I am certainly not qualified to appraise the rod but would trust Tom's opinion. Maybe Tom or someone else can offer how old it is. Personally, I WOULD DEFINITELY FISH IT!!! Since it is of minimal monetary or historic value, why would you want to display it? On the other hand, fishing a
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Norman, While extremely pleased with the cork you purchased for me back then, I supposed you are correct in not knowing how lucky I was (and still am). Now you're starting to make me feel guilty lol. Thank you for taking the time to weigh a few different grips and offer your findings here. With my initial (incorrect) weighing, I was surprised to discover the foam core was heavier than cork (whi
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Tom, Then a thanks to you is appropriate as well. I would have purchased more, but I think Norman purchased the last of his stock at the time. While I suppose anything is possible, I cannot imagine finding any better cork without paying $10.00 a piece.
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Ernie, Ultimately, it is best to not perform any "dressing" of a guide foot which does remove the surface "coating", be it paint, powder-coating, plating or passivated. If you do not have difficulty getting your wrapping thread to start and climb the ramp of the guide foot, leave the guide alone. Jim Ising of Anglers Resource (Fuji) and Norman Miller are quite insistent of th
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Tom, I attest 3lb/cf foam would supply the required crush resistance for a rod grip unless heavily abused or used to bludgen people. I used .375in thick 3lb/cf Divinicelll foam as the core for my 8ft Kevlar/CF micro boat and the only dent in the hull after all these years came from quite a substantual impact. But, as stated above, it does not machine or shape anywhere near as well as the heavier
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Tom, You are correct; something was wrong and it was my measuring; I stand corrected. I decided to check my weight measurements with my "clean" scale rather than the scale I use to measure epoxy which has been used extensively and thus been spilled on and the lens over the numeric display a little difficult to read through. Excuses, excuses; I should have realized I was adding a decima
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Phil, Thank you for your interest. The cork rings were weighed separately, without glue, but good point/observation. I cannot imagine the weight of the epoxy to bond the rings together exceeding 2g, probably less than 1g.
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Tom & Norman, You are both correct until factoring-in the weight of the actual foam itself which WAS NOT INCLUDED in the final weight of the piece. A 10in long length of CF sleeve (5.5g) added to 4g of epoxy alone = 9.5g which is considerably more than a longer, 14in length of similar cork rings (3.7g). Maybe I have extremely light cork rings!?!? Even with the weight of the foam-core exclud
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Although coming from the composite industry, I just recently fabricated my first foam-core, CF-skinned grip. Observations of the pre, actual, and post process has prompted me to offer my experience of the process and end results. Admittedly, they do not fall in-line with what I have learned to be the accepted properties/attributes/qualities of foam-core grips; specifically weight (objective) and
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Steve, Even without seeing them, you found and made a great purchase, if for nothing else = conversation pieces; I am even, admittedly, a tad jealous. If any of them are in good enough condition, GO OUT AND FISH THEM!!! You might be surprised how well they fish (if your arm can handle the weight) although don't expect them to match-up to a KR Concept rod. Norman Miller gave me a vintage folding
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Tucker, You would be hard-pressed to find a person who says a Fuji guide is a bad guide!!!
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And the saga continues; and will, most likely will continue to do so.
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Encelmo, Hook keepers are certainly a personal choice = they are neither right or wrong, good or bad. While I cannot really explain my reasoning, I use them on freshwater but not saltwater rods. There are many styles commercially available but I have never found a better, more versatile one than Norman Miller's "Open-end Hookkeeper"!!! They are quick and easy to make, as low profile as
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Tucker, You have received many good replies from respected veterans. It is no secret that I am a Fuji fan, employing them on 95% of my builds, but have tried the Minimas as well; both work but I like the Fujis better. While Lance's reply is the first I have heard proclaiming the KTs are LIGHTER than the Minima Fs, they are certainly very close/similar in weight which is important the further out
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As Robert suggested, Decal Connection!!! = very good quality, can make just about anything, helpful customer service, prompt shipping, all that for an affordable price.
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Michael, You are obviously a very generous man and are to be commended. Even those of us not in the need thank you!!!
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Alex, The above replies are very creditable concerning CTS Crystal Coat. While I have found the product to be exceptionally resistant to yellowing, better than any other thread finish, it also levels-out better than others but, as Norman mentioned, has an extended cure time. From Tom’s post, apparently there is a quicker cure rate now available. My 1 year old + bottle of hardener is only very sl
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Ernie, As long as you are using braided 20lb, the KL20-H set will be fine even though the size 4000 reel is starting to get big. To achieve consistent, progressive guide spacing throughout the rod, the reduction guide spacing will probably be a tad wider or shorter depending on if you use one more runner or the same number as with the 7ft rod. As for the tip top, I agree with Todd on all counts
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Marc, I purchase my disposable brushes from Walmart; I find them in the childrens art department. They cost $1.14 for a pack of 30 brushes = less than 4 cents apiece! They are similar to the Flexcoat brushes but 10-20% fewer bristles and a tad longer which I actually prefer, even when coating saltwater wraps. The smaller size is very nice for doing delicate work. I have never experienced a bris
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David, With all due respect, ultimately, Roger is indeed correct (i.e. the wrong way verses the right way; pay me now or pay me latter). Additionally, if the present epoxy does not harden-up, then cut it off and start over. But in the grand scheme of things, you have spent considerable time wrapping the guides and forcing the epoxy to cure could save you a lot of grief. While the improperly mix
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Robert, GREAT POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!
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Kent, The CH spiral-wrap method you described a few weeks ago is similar to the method I developed for myself over three years ago. As you, I concern myself with producing the straightest line path with the blank loaded (fish on!) as well as unloaded (casting). Additionally, I get the line to the bottom of the blank as soon as possible to reap as much benefit of the spiral-wrap as possible which
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Michael, You are exactly correct; it is the combination of thread and the matrix (epoxy) that creates the “rigid” structure. The thread supplies virtually all the strength while the epoxy simply keeps the fibers aligned so they can perform their duty but adds virtually nothing to the overall strength. All this “nano-filled” epoxy is over-rated simply a sales gimmick; OK, “nano-filled” epoxy cont
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Sean, While Joe’s and Roger’s suggestions are good ones, due to the blemish being between the stripper and next guide, a thread wrap may not look proper. If the blank is NOT painted but only a clear coat over the raw blank, using a razor blade held 90* to the blank to scrape through the clear and remove the underlying blemish will work well. After removing the blemish, feather the edge of the cl
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Because of this site, I have become a huge spiral-wrap advocate for my saltwater applications. As for freshwater, I am a trout guy, not bass, so I use spinning gear which automatically puts the guides where they should be; on the bottom of the rod. The positive effects of a spiral-wrap are so profound for my applications that I see no negative aspects, including casting distance when live-bait fi
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John, Very well stated and acknowledged = thank you.
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Danny, Yet again I agree with Norman; the KR Concept is awesome! KL-H reduction guides followed by KB and KT runners to a LG tip top = it does not get any better than that!!!
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David, You will save ALOT of time by acquiring a proper box and light bulb rather than waiting for it to (hopefully) go-off at 80*, even 100*. Suit yourself.
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Tom, Apparently you and I are on the same page concerning the strength of guides and thread. None the less, I am eager and anxious to learn from others, veterans or not, as well.
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Danny, I have found no reason to tie leader to braid with any knot other than the FG knot; it IS the strongest yet thinnest of any knots; why look further?
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