Will, The possible reason no one has replied is that they may be confused on what you are trying to accomplish. To me at least, a rod built for 1-2oz jigs would certainly not be considered an UL rod. While any conventional, guides-on-top rod can certainly be spiral-wrapped instead, light rods (loads) will not benefit (anti rod twist) nearly as much as heavier rods (loads). Although with less tha
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My shop space is about half of the 20 X 20ft garage. Extending 32in into the space, the left wall has a metal workbench, floor drill press (soon to be a drill/mill), large shelf area, washer/dryer and my smoker. The BMW 2002 I bought new in 1972 is stored on the east side. Up against the car in the middle of the “shop” is a 24 X 48 X 39 composite curing oven, two 30 X 30 X 39 thin-drawer cabinets
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William, You have received very good replies to your question. Roger told me about the economy children’s brush a number of years ago and I have used them ever since. I purchase mine from WalMart in 30-packs for $1.24 which is a tic over 4 cents apiece. They have longer yet fewer bristles than the FlexCoat brushes so are not quite as nice but they get the job done for less money. I have never t
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George, First, allow me to apologize for my relative rod building newness and not recognizing who you are; also to Spencer for bringing it to my attention. Secondly, I am humbled by your interest. In fact, rollers were used for this spiral-wrapped tuna rod. It is my understanding the only rollers designed specifically for spiral-wraps are those from All American Roller Guides. They are personal
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Eric, I am surprised and even more disappointed you have not received more replies. Don’t be shy; post another request for help, pleading if needed.
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George, At 66, I am not the stud-muffin I used to be and had a smaller 2-speed reel with only 24lb of max drag. I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt the spiral-wrap was a huge factor in enabling me do battle that long without wasting energy/stamina death-gripping the rod to keep it from twisting; otherwise my arms probably would have been mush. I strongly suggest you at least consider spira
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The RodMaker article, “Stand-Up Rods” in issue V-21, I-3 was a wealth of excellent information. I commend Tom and his associates for a job well done. Armed with that insight, I built a 6ft, 80lb, spiral-wrapped roller guide rod for my personal use and it performed flawlessly on tuna to 120lb; a real joy to use especially with the spiral-wrap. I do not know when the original article was written, b
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Michael W., Things get more complicated and costly when attempting to perform both lower speed/power wrapping/finish/curing AND higher speed/power turning/shaping. It is obviously better to isolate any turning/sanding operations in a separate area/room considering the dust factor, but my limited space dictated consolidating everything into one unit. With the relatively low cost of mini and midi
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Mike L., Thanks for the acknowledgement but Roger is the (electrical) brains while I am only the (fabrication) brawn. I knew what I wanted to achieve; a single, powerful motor with the ability to adjust the RPM from 5 to 200 for thread wrapping, finish application and curing (although I built a heated curing cabinet) but also 100-3000 RPM for turning/shaping, hopefully without the need for step
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Eric, I do not do cross wraps except the two when I first started wrapping just to try it out. Hence, I am not qualified to answer but there are many who do on this site and I am certain you will receive very qualified answers. In the meantime, there a many Utube videos if you look under “How to make a thread cross wrap”. That is how I discovered the basics. Sorry to learn of your condition a
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Dennis, ???
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Darrell, Pit Paste, as Herb mentioned, is probably the industry standard but I have not used it. Another option is Elmers Wood Filler in the golden oak color which I have used with adequate results. Just make sure the tube is fresh so the contents are not set-up inside the tube. Personally, I prefer to not fill cork grips and accept the small voids as part of cork’s distinctive charm. I would (o
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Nate, There you have it from the man-of-the-hour, Jim Isling. I have also been using Fuji LGs but either CCLGAT or BCLGAT, not SiC. While SiC possesses the best heat dissipation of any ring material and is surpassed only by Torzite in other considerations, it is my understanding it is quite brittle and can be easily fractured leading to the ring coming out of the frame. Although I consider mys
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Kendall, It is refreshing to say the least that someone as you would acknowledge the benefits gained from this forum and commend so with a thank you! All too often, I have witnessed new members asking questions, and then receiving qualified, heartfelt replies only to POOF, there’re gone, to never hear from them again without a simple courteous thank you. I have been chastised for remarking again
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Coming from the composite industry, I am used to measuring by weight rather than by volume. However, I totally agree with Norman that for rod building with the typically miniscule amounts of epoxy to be mixed, measuring by volume is much more practical, even more precise and easier when employing the syringes and self-sealing bottle caps. Unless spending a fair amount of money, most scales will b
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Brett, You have a very logical approach and plan for the two builds. For your Minima rod, still consider using a LG tip top; a half or one size bigger than the runners will keep the ID opening similar if that is a concern. Hopefully you get an opportunity to fish both prior to your Grandfather’s memorial tournament to compare both set-ups back-to-back and then report back to all of us with your
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Vic K., Thank you for your post which reminded me of wanting to try the product Victor mentioned, Seymo Matt Varnish. PG is a urethane whereas the Seymo product is an acrylic if that matters. There was a post on the rodboard early in 2018 concerning the same desire for a matt finish and somewhere among the replies it was stated that due to the dull finish, intricate thread work lost some of its
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Mark B., When designing the power-head upgrade of my self-built power wrapper, a similar issue occurred with the foot petal not producing a nice, gradual speed variation; more like an on-off switch as you mentioned. Actually, it was Roger Wilson who discovered the issue and he was able to correct the issue with his electrical knowledge and wizardry. Listen to Roger and understand what he says/as
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Shizen, My experiences with CC mimic that of Phil. Even at 90*-100*, 12-16 hours were required before applying an additional coat. Even though you are probably certain there were no mixing errors, such is most likely the case. The scale might be the problem; if it will weigh 5lbs or more, it may not be accurate enough for just a gram or two. To solve your present issue of uncured finish consi
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Rick, 2X Michael’s comments and avoid the cardboard box.
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Bruce, At the risk of sounding remote or uncaring, LET THE BUYER BE WARE! In most cases, a blank that seems too good to be true, probably is! But that is not to say to not try the $85.00 blank. When one considers the amount of time required to produce a hexagon, split cane, bamboo blank, that $85.00 seems quite reasonable. Johnny Kuehn (RIP) of Angler’s Roost supplied affordable bamboo blanks to
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Brett, Sorry to step on your post. Norman, Thank you for the additional input and clarification for me and anyone else following this topic. You have precisely explained everything I was wondering about concerning Minima M guides. Actually, about a year or so after starting to build rods, the first guides I used other than my exclusive Fuji, were the PacBay ZVs. My novice state was (and to th
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I am a slow typer! I started my reply after only Tom had replied. Thanks, Norman = you are always a wealth of reliable information.
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Brett, I typically use Fuji KL-Hs for my KR Concept builds, CCKLAG or BCKLAG to be exact. While admittedly not the lightest, they are very stout, the Alconite ring will never groove, and I have never experienced a problem. Unless a customer demands it and is willing to pay for them, I cannot justify spending 2 to 7 times as much (depending on the size) for the TI versions, TKLTG. When weight is
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Michael, Contrary to what some may say, the SAME MOTOR can be used for drying, wrapping and turning if the electronics are performed properly; I employed Roger Wilson to properly design the electronics for my upgrade. The single motor is a 1/3 HP, 130 VDC and reversible. Using the speed adjust on the enclosure for turning, finish application or drying (although I have a separate curing cabinet)
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Paul, I agree with all of your received replies. The easiest way to momentarily stop the rod from spinning, without having to stop the motor, is to employ a Slip-Clutch which are available from just about any rod building supply business. I could not live without one; I even use it while thread wrapping so I can easily back up if needed and can also be an aid in fine-tuning the thread tension.
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Jay, I totally with Norman that the KL-Hs are the way to go. Make certain the last reduction guide is a 5.5M and not the 5.5L. I typically use BCKLGAs because they are 5X to 7X cheaper than Ti with SiC or Tozite.
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I have followed and read all the previous replies and cannot personally find anything to disagree with; the general consensus amongst us rod builders is that performance prevails over pretty or form follows function or guts over glitter, however you want to explain it. If you are reading or replying to the original post, it is safe to say you understand and employ methods to produce a rod with pa
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Dean, Are you still with us? What did you decide to do?
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Good job, Roger. I want to be just like you when I grow up.
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