Installed the grips and real seat yesterday. This time a success. I reamed the 0.5ID a bit (rod diameter was 0.57 at the but and 0.65 at the proximal portion (2-piece) and lubed the heck out of it. Thats where I messed up previously as general instructions for doing this assume you have more rod to work with allowing the epoxy to inside the grip before it gets snug. I had a spare blank laying aro
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Dan, addressing your question. First coat placed 22-24 hours prior in all 3 (only) cases. And that's not a bad idea about trying another brand but I've got a but ton of the prokote. But if I don't make progress with the next build maybe I will switch it up. Probably just a matter of practice and taking the advice I've gotten already. THanks again for all your suggestions.
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In my limited time building I've ended up with both of those (lump and football) and agree 100% with the above, especially what Donald pointed out. When I ended up with a lump I had too much epoxy and was slow to turn it (done manually initially then went to the rod turner).
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Thanks for the great advice.
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Mixing 3-5 minutes by hand. Applied within 20-minutes (I believe). And yep the footballs I get with the second coat do come into play when I've applied it heavy.
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I don't think its the potlife. I do take some time in doing it but the consistency of the epoxy is the same. The first coat is generally dry to so the brush doesn't stick. What gets me is the rod looks better with the first coat than after the second. Heck the rods I've done may not even need a second coat because it generally looks good. Do you guys just touch up spots or reapply over the
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Need advise on applying a second coat of epoxy. Using prokote. First coat goes on no problem and looks fairly good. Second coat applied ~ 24 hours later makes it look worse in that it goes on uneven and streaky ?perhaps not bonding to the first coat. If applying to much to ensure that it doesn't go on uneven/streaky it then will become wavy (football-like) and difficult to smooth out. Even when
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Thanks all for the great help. I really appreciate it. Not sure what i'm going to do yet but I wont go trying to another wrap on top of the original one. I'll probably strip it down though as its part of the learning process and I know I can do better now.
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Thanks Jay. Good point.. Emphasis on the lube which I clearly didn't do well last time. And as Tom said the grip I used acted like a squeegy and took the lube I had on the blank with it. That grip only moved an inch or two. Lesson learned - hopefully.
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I have my first rod I built last year that I put together in a hurry for the practice. I wrapped the guides in a metallic gold size A. Looking to rewrap it in blue with the gold as trim bands. Can I simply wrap over the original wrap allowing me to keep some of the gold on the edges or will this just look bad? Do I scuff the original wrap with scotchbrite pad prior to wrapping? Thanks, Mark B
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I started just a year ago. Its addicting. Look at rod kits from some of the sponsors on the left. The kit will have everything you need to get started and the one I picked up had a rod building book from T Kirkman. Great resource. The folks who sell these kits are great and easy to talk too. Not sure if I'm supposed to mention names so you can pm me if you'd like , and I can share some more info.
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thanks for all the suggestions, I've already got a few guides on the top section (2-piece) of the rod so I'm not going to mess with it. There's no guides on the butt section so my plan is: I'm going to ream it closer than before , lube the heck out of the inside of it (something I didnt do before) and start from the butt section mounting the fore grip first, reel seat , then rear grip (again the
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Shoot, or do I put the 2 piece rod together (I tried installing the grips without the rod assembled) and then put the grip on according the the instructions above? If so, sorry for the rookie question. Im now thinking I should have assembled the rod
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Can' t follow all of the instructions because: The second piece of the rod is only 28 inches and between the rear grip , seat and foregrip it will take up the entire section. I will not have any rod to lube up prior to putting on either the rear grip or foregrip. Because the diameter of the rod is larger at the top (0.65inch compared to 0.57 butt ) of this second piece of rod I tried putting t
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Built just a few rods so far but loving it. I messed up with an EVA rear and fore grip. 2 piece rod. Bottom half 28 inches and its tapered from 0.65 to 0.57(butt) (yes thicker up top). Foregrip 8 inches 1/2 diameter. Rear grip 14 inches 1/2 diameter. Did some reaming of the grip but not a ton. Mixed the resin part a and b accordingly and put a fair amt on. Had no luck at all sliding it more than
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