Josh, Remember that any generic guide spacing chart is just that, generic. While they can afford a good starting point, there is much to be gained in rod performance by employing the 2-line static load testing for the ultimate guide placement/spacing.
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Danny, Tom is correct on all counts. The only time a blank “needs” finish is when the ultimate end-user prefers it. In that case, U-40 Perma Gloss is arguably the industry standard and produces very nice results; it is a one-part, moisture-curing urethane, is very low viscosity and dries to a very thin fairly hard coat extremely quickly. All the vintage FG Conolons I use come in a dull, sanded c
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Mark. To you as well and everyone else. This has been an unprecedented, trying year for the entire world and hopefully 2021 counters with unprecedented peace and harmony!!!
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Jim, as always, thank you for your informative/interesting reply. For my trout adventures, I typically use 4lb mono/floro, sometimes drop to 2lb and rarely use 6lb or greater; the KL-16H stripper has always performed flawlessly. From the gracious replies, it seems stepping-up to a size 20 stripper would be required for anything larger. Thank you to all the responders as well. Simply due to th
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Russell, Thank you for another reply. I agree with your comments, especially heat dissipation while fighting large, powerful fish under heavy drag settings. However, it seems as though you prefer ceramic ring guides over rollers; coming from Florida, you must build quite a few heavy saltwater rods so I am interested in your comments. It seems to me the best way to ELIMINATE heat is to employ rol
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Wade, Thank you for describing your FG ferrules. The reason for my interest is that I developed a method of fabricating tubular ferrules (both outer sleeve and inner spigot) using woven FG cloth sleeves. The blank itself is utilized as the “mold” which produces inherently identical tapered ferrules. If you are interested, search “Self Fabricated FG Ferrules” around 02/2017. I call them CARL (Con
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Michael, you are point-on in your assessment, “A combo rod is a combo rod. Why would anyone expect that a rod that can do both jobs somewhat well would do either as well as one designed to do only one?” This is undeniably true! Yet we all assume compromises in rod building and if one is willing to accept the compromise, the versatility of a combo rod can certainly be very rewarding, especially fo
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I continue to enjoy and learn from the tangent replies to this topic; but one in particular perplexes me. Replying to a “coefficient of friction” reply, Tom stated,” The hardness or "slickness" of the guide rings would have no measurable effect on casting distance. Friction requires more than just two surfaces in contact - it also involves the amount of pressure forcing the two surfaces
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Wade, While I will not argue with the purists who nay-say a combo rod, there are those such as Ben, Sam and myself who have had good luck with them. I have found a Tennessee handle to be very effective in a number of ways and relatively easy to construct. I AM EXTREMELY CURIOUS AS TO THE FIBERGLASS FERRULES YOU MADE; PLEASE TELL ME MORE!!!
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Mo, I have not heard of AT guides and my older 2015 AR catalog does not list then = I suspect they were discontinued more than 5 years ago. Consider contacting Norman Miller; it is very possible he may have a few lying around.
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Joe, I never have issues, let alone problems while building a rod… yah, right! Don’t feel rained-on; it must happen to all of us. If it were too easy, everyone would be doing it. One of the worst things to happen is what Danny experienced = having thread wraps go “boink” while applying finish; bad enough when the wrap unravels prior to finishing which can just be re-wrapped but it is a true test
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Touché Mr. Erickson.
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David, My cause for consternation stems from a very small percentage of those who are the first to complain or condemn yet are notoriously the last to compliment or contribute; you and the vast majority of responders are certainly not amongst that group. I have admittedly been flattered with the abundance of posts offering a wealth of knowledge to a topic I started and indeed hope they continue
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Unfortunately, there are those who continue failing to understand the purpose of my War of the Worlds test to simply discover the casting difference between the old-school COF and modern KR Concept guide systems. The objective was to eliminate as many variables while including as many constants to produce the fairest test possible between the two guide trains; I am confident such was accomplished
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Lynn, Thank you for the approval and kind words. I am flattered “War of the Worlds” has received almost 1000 views; apparently the context and sparked replies were well received by many and I could not be happier to have been allowed to present the topic. I have received an enormous amount of information, ideas, support and general assistance (not to mention new friendships) from many veterans o
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Lynn, Thank you for the approval and kind words. I am flattered “War of the Worlds” has received almost 1000 views; apparently the context and sparked replies were well received by many and I could not be happier to have been allowed to present the topic. I have received an enormous amount of information, ideas, support and general assistance (not to mention new friendships) from many veterans o
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Good points from Tom and Joe = thanks. When all is said and done, all aspects of insuring a fair, simple casting distance test between new-world and old-world guide systems was taken into account; I am comfortable in accomplishing that and pleased to offer my findings to those interested.
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Phil, Thanks for your reply. As stated in the original post, both sets of guides were Fuji, not different “brands”; KR = KL-H reduction followed by KB and KT runners with a LG tiptop; COF = all LVs with a LG tip top. The “guide placement distances” are immaterial as such would be different on every blank to which they were mounted; both guide trains employed the 2-line static load test for guide
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Ben, Your last post was an enjoyable read (certainly not to say your others are not). Funny thing is I have tied a hook and bait directly to 50lb braid while calico fishing and caught fish; maybe not quite as many as with leader, but caught fish none the less. So maybe bass, weather fresh or saltwater, are totally line-numb. My fishing buddies always tease me of only catching the blind fish. That
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Joe, Thank you for your input as well; informative and interesting.
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Ben, you are correct; the KR Concept was designed around the use of braid, especially for the higher pound test lines. However, many concur 2lb or 4lb mono/fluoro is so thin and consequently/inherently/relatively limp to make a minimal if any difference; 10lb is a different story. The pristine, high elevation lakes and streams of the Eastern Sierra are so clear it is not uncommon to see the botto
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Ed, Consider consulting Norman Miller prior to spending the time, effort and money.
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Tom, I will certainly take your word for it that the difference between a NGC and KR rod will be minimal; I have had enough testing and reporting for awhile. Norman, thank you for replying with your respected veteran knowledge, experience and insight; your comments are always cherished by any and all. I know you prefer CF rods, braid and Minimas for your UL-L builds and who can blame you; so do
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David, Thank you for your in-depth reply; you are almost as long-winded as I am LOL. From my understanding, NGC was quite an improvement over COF just as KR is quite an improvement over NGC. I was curious to learn the difference between the extremes, COF verses KR; while I would think the difference between NGC and KR would be noticeable, maybe only half as much as between COF and KR; but that is
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I just realized/discovered the KR rod employed a size 16 DPS seat while the COF rod used a size 17DPS; dang rookies! I can only assume that is what made the COF rod balance further back than anticipated. Without any lying around to weigh, does anyone know the weight difference between the two?
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I am pleased with the number of replies and input = thank you! Ben, as stated initially, the max distance achieved (for both) was approximately 6ft further than the average and the shortest distance was approximately 4ft less than the average; embarrassing proof I am not the most proficient at casting. Tom, after viewing Fuji’s KR Concept R&D video attempting to tame the chaotic coils comin
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Ben, Thank you reading and responding as well. Please see my reply to Russell above.
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Russell, Thank you for reading and replying. At the risk of sounding rude to your request, the answer is NO for a number of reasons; 1.) This was a test of guide train concepts, not line type, 2.) I do not use braid for my Sierra/Rockies trout fishing so purchasing braid to replace my mono/fluro simply for your suggested test only to strip it back off and replace it back with what I normally use
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Now that I have your attention, this is not actually a battle between the two but simply a test of the old world COF guide arrangement versus Fuji’s modern KR Concept. A few weeks ago, I stated desire to learn the (casting) difference between an old-school COF rod compared to the present day KR Concept rod and it apparently sparked some interest from others of you on this site as well. If you car
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I second the remark on consulting Roger; his input was invaluable to produce the perfect wrapper/turning electronics for my self-fabricated unit!!!
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