Duane, Very perplexing!!! You have been building rods for quite a while, have used various thread finishes, you say there is no contamination, typical turning speed, yet the finish is repelled from the edges and “balls-up” in the middle. I have never experienced your phenomenon so I can’t pinpoint the issue. First and foremost, something in your routine has changed! Obviously, the finish is th
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Kevin, You have received quite a few good replies containing suggestions to eliminate the scratching of your blanks while static load testing. As Michael stated, 2-line static load testing does not require the guides to be held all that tightly; many suppliers sell surgical tubing in different diameters which can be easily cut into bands = get all the sizes and use the appropriate one. As you, I
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That may be true, Tom. Nonetheless, the angler needs to let the line drop when jigging or let the line out to the preferred wake behind the boat while trolling. In either case, this “under conventional reel” seems as though it would be quite awkward to use. I’ll stick with my typical conventional or spin reels. But a person cannot blame someone else for trying; at least they were thinking (how we
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Interesting concept. My biggest concern is how the angler would “thumb” or stop the spool? I must be missing something.
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David, CF and FG respond quite well to machining; Aramid (Kevlar {including Spectra and Dyneema}) absolutely NOT. All are quite abrasive (Aramid in particular) to tooling and require a very sharp tool to reduce fraying as you mentioned = start with a new tool or properly sharpen an existing one. Although the matrix (resin / epoxy) encapsulates and holds the fibers, the matrix is basically plasti
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Sterling, Decal Connection may be your best source = they can do just about anything regarding decals. They even have many vintage logos on file BUT they are very respectful of copyrights and trademarks, and rightfully (possibly unfortunately for us) so. I applaud their respectfulness! I have been down that road with Chuck at Decal Connection and while I obtained permission from the new owner of
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Maybe that should have been “idiot, see!” But what do we all know; after seeing and testing Tom’s “Oddball” reduction train, all of my bets have been withdrawn.
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And it’s not even April 1st yet!!! But, lo and behold, there it was on that website. Tom, don’t be worried about not being polite; “idiocy” is way too kind; but there should be a “t” between the “o” and “c” to leave no doubt!!!
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Even with the (expressed) habitual hair-splitting involved in rod building, I am certainly comfortable with Kevin’s weight measurement difference of .042%!!! Hannerman’s implementation of using “common” pennies was brilliant to conduct CCS easily and without the need for fancy equipment. While that may serve us in the USA well, I think it is fair to say that Hannerman failed to account for people
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Steve, Do not use thread wrap epoxy for bonding structural applications!!! Will it work? = barely at the very best. They are different epoxies with different formulas to produce different characteristics for different applications. Did I mention that they were different? When designing the process to produce my tapered, tubular FG ferrules, CARL (Constant Arc Rod Link), I decided to test a ferr
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From what I have learned, post-1986 pennies (2.5g) are the one to use while conducting CCS measurements. While that may be all fine-and-dandy for us here in the US, obtaining the PROPER pennies in other countries might pose a problem. I propose that IP measured in grams (g, not grains = gr) is the best UNIVERSAL solution.
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Granted, time out of the water tying knots = less time to hook a fish. While it may require a little more time to tie an FG, I can tie one in <60 seconds.
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Obviously, any knot which holds under extreme conditions is a good knot; the FG just happens to be the best. Lament, learn, and like the FG knot; you’ll never look back! While there are numerous methods to tying an FG, the above afforded link is just about the best.
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I think it is pretty safe to say that 95% of the anglers who learn to tie an FG Knot will never use another knot after that; it is the thinnest and most secure knot for line-to-leader, at least in my opinion (quite a few others as well). But, like many others, I fumbled trying to wind the braid up the mono and then back down and keep the opposing spirals even and neat. I found a video 4-5 years a
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Kevin, YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!!!!!!!!! You deserve a great deal of gratitude from anyone who fishes in general and from rod builders in particular. Ever since Dr. Hannerman devised CCS over 20 years ago, very few manufacturers have realized the benefit of including that information on their blanks and / or rods. I sincerely commend those who have!!! But you have taken it a step (no, make that a LEA
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Steve, One would need to first establish a baseline; weight or durability being the most obvious two. If the baseline is weight, then run the foam core in its raw form, but durability will suffer. Conversely, if durability is the baseline, then a woven sleeve material such a CF, Aramid (Kevlar) or even FG would be superior. In between would be foam which is simply painted or coated of some sort.
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Marco, You are asking for quite a bit! I certainly do not have any suggestions, but Maybe Rich Forhan has some “Magic Wand” recommendations.
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I have already stated that I have built 1 MW rod and it fishes fine, not stand-out or stellar but fine. Others like MW guides and that is also fine. I typically stay with Fuji due to their vast resources, investment into R&D and subsequent products, and commitment to the fishing industry, all which is attempted to be copied by many other manufacturers. While Les’ and my opinion, in that resp
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Mike, I agree with Tom; ~8lb foam would probably offer the best density / rigidity to weight ratio. While higher density foams would be OK and really wouldn’t add much weight due to the rather small size, lower density foam may not be as resilient to the repeated forces applied under a reel seat. One also needs to consider the actual type of material used to make the foam. Most rod building foa
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Brandon, Why take a chance when you can use the “industry standard” PermaGloss with its proven track record? As for Ross’ observation and comment “...Use: Concrete, Masonry…Sounds a lot like Permagloss” = I didn’t know that I could seal my driveway and bricks with PG lol; more versatile than I ever imagined!!!
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Brandon, Rather than feeling stupid, consider feeling enlightened and to have learned something! I seriously doubt that wiping the blank with acetone prior to applying the epoxy had anything to do with your dilemma! Yes, there are those who say (if not stress) to never use a solvent to wipe the blank without sanding afterward. I understand their point but respectfully do not totally agree. It is
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Forced to say regarding MW runners = they are ugly, heavy and I cannot perform my version of a locking wrap as with Fuji KBs or KTs.
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Brandon, PG is certainly another option, but acts / reacts quite differently than epoxy; another avenue for you to explore at another time, but let’s try to resolve your present issue. PG over your prevailing issue will only compound your nightmare further.
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Brandon, A number of years ago, Norman suggested that I try Threadmaster, which I did and still use it although I prefer the lite version rather than the high build like Norman. I also use Flex Coat lite and for special applications CTS Crystal Coat. The point is this; all the various thread epoxies are basically variations on the same theme and they all work remarkably well. The slight variatio
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Brandon, You have just included another variable not disclosed earlier; thread wraps = OK but decal area not. I suspect you applied one batch of (PK) epoxy to the wraps and a different batch to the decal area. Apparently, the wraps cured but not the area over the decal even though given the same amount of time in the same environment to cure. By process of elimination, ambient temp is not the cu
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david, I suspect it has to do more with MicroWave’s unconventional appearance than anything else. I have only built one rod with MWs simply because I could and for the experience. My biggest objection is having to purchase a complete set and I do not like the runners. It fishes fine but nothing stand-out or stellar. I’ll stick with my Fujis and SeaGuides, possibly Minimas on occasion. Yet, there
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I simply tell her to stay out of the shop lol. I hope she doesn’t read this.
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Brandon, Something isn’t right; temp or ratio. I used to use ProKote, both low and high build, and neither required more than 24 hours to set, usually overnight, at anything over 65*F. But all may not be lost. As Norman suggested, elevate the room temperature or better yet, give it a post-cure of 150*F for 6 hours. A post-cure can easily be performed with a low wattage (~25W) lightbulb in a car
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Frank, I have gone both ways; building a spinning rod from a fly blank and, inversely, building a fly rod from a spinning blank = they all work if certain aspects are needed by the individual angler; the fish certainly do not know the difference.
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Sterling, It is quite well accepted that virtually all epoxy thread finishes will yellow with time, some possibly more than others. While such yellowing may obviously be more noticeable over a white base, remember that the thickness of thread finish is rather thin which will minimize the appearance of the discoloration. That said, the best thread epoxy which I have found regarding yellowing, flo
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