I built a rod a while back, and decided to put a single turn inlay with metallic thread about five turns in from the start of the wrap at each guide foot. I was using NCP thread. I was happy with the results, so I decided to do it again with the next rod. This time however, I used the metal thread once again for the single inlay, but used regular thread for the wrap without the use of color pr
Forum: rodboard

"...if she learns on a shorter rod it may limit her overall conceptions about casting and everything else that goes with it. When she needs to cast farther because of different water, she will have to learn all over again with a short blank." I started fly fishing in 1968. I essentially spent most of my fly fishing time back then on the Esopus Creek in the NY Catskill mountains.
Forum: rodboard

That's a standard length.
Forum: rodboard

Les...I read your response with interest, and you made some considerably accurate comments related to the cost of materials vs the quality of the final product. Actually, cost is a non issue. I suppose I thought about it more from a weight of the final product perspective. On many occasions here on the site I have seen comments related to the benefits of eliminating excess weight to a build.
Forum: rodboard

Thank you for your replies. Just wondering...I hear folks recommend the use of various grades of sand paper to scuff up the finish a little before applying a new coat. I would think that great care is likely needed for this as sand paper doesn't exactly lend itself to the shape and contours of a previously epoxied guide, and likely runs the risk of creating new angles where none previously exis
Forum: rodboard

After almost two years from the time I purchased the components to last night when I thought that I had finally completed the rod, I enthusiastically gave it a good look over this morning only to find that I have a couple of spots adjacent to the guide feet on the first two reduction guides where the epoxy is a little thin. The thread in those spots obviously absorbed the epoxy, but the thread i
Forum: rodboard

I agree with John. If there is/are indeed a burr/burrs on the underside of the guide, sliding it in either direction will likely create scratches. But I have made the mistake of tapering the edges of guide feet so that they become razors. Sliding guides tightly pressed against the blank by any means with those razor-like edges may be OK (assuming no burrs on the underside) if you're sliding th
Forum: rodboard

Thank you for your replies. Perhaps I was unclear about my question. I was wondering whether one could get away with applying epoxy to the complete circumference of the blank the total length of the decal. By suggesting the tape, I was wondering if I could essentially tape the blank in such a way that what I have exposed is bare blank just slightly larger than the footprint of the decal. Epox
Forum: rodboard

This may be a dumb question, but I'll ask it anyway. So far I have built on two NFC X-ray blanks, but I have completely finished only one of them. Because of a little controversy related to the ribs on the X-rays in a discussion here in the past, I opted to run thread the length of the decal, apply epoxy to that and let it cure, and then apply the decal and epoxy over the decal. It turned out
Forum: rodboard

Thank you all for your responses. I have wrapped one other rod to date with KB/KT guides and locking wraps. Of course, I had similar results. I did fish with the aforementioned rod, but never in the least caught anything that might have challenged the guides in any way. So no....never had one pull out! :-) NORM...you state that you wrap right up to the guide stem and place one or two block
Forum: rodboard

I just wrapped a rod yesterday with a Fuji reduction train and a combination of KB and KT running guides. As per the recommendations of many, if not most contributors on this site, I decided to try using locking wraps on the runners. I do not know if I am doing anything wrong or missing something in my application of the wraps, but once completed do not look nearly as tight, neat and almost und
Forum: rodboard

Norm or Tom...not to drag this on, but if you have a straight blank so that applying the guides to the convex aspect of the blank (the straightest axis) in NOT an issue because there is in fact no curve.... would you apply the guides along the spine (weakest aspect of the blank) or perhaps along an aspect 90 degrees or so from the spine that is likely going to be considerably stiffer (stronger
Forum: rodboard

I have a bunch of NFC X-ray blanks yet to build. I like them. Does anyone have any opinions on or experience with the Delta series of blanks? How do they differ from the X-ray series? I'm looking to use inshore....trout/redfish/snook.
Forum: rodboard

"Add a little water to it and it really expands." Yes it does! I have never used Gorilla Glue for anything myself, but for those of you who keep it on hand, just a word of caution. As a practicing veterinarian, anyone in my profession who has been around a while knows what Gorilla Glue can do to someone or something (like your dog) that may have made the unfortunate mistake of swal
Forum: rodboard

Tom: you state "Generally the spine and the straightest axis will be somewhere from about 90 to 179 degrees opposite each other." Assuming you have a straight blank, the "straightest axis" is essentially eliminated from the equation, at least visually. That is, as you're looking down the barrel, rotating the blank along its long axis fails to highlight any deviation of t
Forum: rodboard

"I am not making this point specific to the company mentioned in this post. It’s my strong belief, though, that “wonky” tips are far from okay from any manufacturer. I would never build on one. It’s the part of the blank that is most going to influence most parameters of rod performance. Bent, bulging, or twisted fibers and profiles are just not going to perform according to design or at ful
Forum: rodboard

Bob...thank you for that list. I will have a look tomorrow. Norm...About that translucent look with the use of regular thread and epoxy......I agree 100% that it looks great...at first. I built fly rods many years ago that I fished for tarpon with in the Keys, and after several seasons using some of the thread in question here (regular thread without using CP...just epoxy), the long hours on
Forum: rodboard

I have about forty spools of various colored Gudebrod size A winding thread from days gone by. They have been stored in a plastic bag all these years, and when I went to take a look at them today, I found that ALL of the labels had sloughed off the ends of the spools, with the numbers identifying the colors by name loose in the bag. So of course I have no clue what label corresponds to the corr
Forum: rodboard

Since nobody has mentioned it so far, perhaps it is considered taboo now for some reason. But if so, I haven't heard anything! When trimming the thread and you somehow just miss a nice clean through and through cut, you can easily end up with the slightest strand that could wreak havoc upon the application of finish. Sometimes it's obvious, and sometimes you don't even know it's there until
Forum: rodboard

This question is probably a little embarrassing, but quite honestly, I'm getting too old to care. But in the interest of trying to learn something new every day, I will ask. I see that the "standard" way of assembling a rod is to mount the tip top after your reel seat is in its proper place, and mounting the remainder of the guides from the butt end forward. Why? I have always m
Forum: rodboard

El...for the sake of clarity... "But @ERNIE - when you say Gary said "..." you mean Loomis? Because he very clearly has stated the he believes all rods should be built on their spine and not on the straightest axis regardless of the bend in the rod (if there is one and it happens to not line up with the spine which he said is often the case anyway). He claims a there is a physic
Forum: rodboard

Thanks for your replies. Tom...Because I likely misunderstood the concept right from the get go so many years ago, I must admit that I have built many rods "incorrectly" if you will. What I used to do routinely was this. Assuming that the blank was pretty darn straight (and I think I have had many more than not that were pretty darn straight), I worked with the spine of the rod. A
Forum: rodboard

In the now infamous thread "Has NFC gone downhill?", there was some discussion by some pretty experienced people regarding the preferred placement of guides on a blank. As is often the case, there was also some disagreement among the participants in the discussion related to this. Because it has been bugging me, I decided to address it. First off, I agree with Ed Rose who in the di
Forum: rodboard

Norm has been very kind and informative since the time I first discovered this site. He has not only entertained my questions and concerns on the board, but has also entertained some questions via e-mail. Thanks Norm. I was enrolled in a Master's degree program in immunology at New York University back in the late 70s. I left the program to attend veterinary school, but immunology is an ex
Forum: rodboard

"And speaking of out of line ...... Considering we're talking about a stick of hot glue, isn't posting "Right now he's lucky I'm so far away" more than a bit out of line? Not only is it out of line, it's ridiculous. You're threatening someone because you got something wrong in an order?" Absolutely correct. Now...should we all call for the author of that statement to be ba
Forum: rodboard

Here's a case in point from another thread currently on the board: "Thanks guys, looks like I Got Bit. Lol. Supplier substituted ordinary hot glue for my Flex Coat product! (think snake oil) Right now he's lucky I'm so far away. John Cates has rectified the situation, but it shouldn't be on him! Thanks very much John." I'm betting that what happened here was just innocent human
Forum: rodboard

In my wildest dreams I never would have thought that the notion of "cancel culture" could possibly have crept onto this rod board. I love building rods, but I am simply an enthusiast who does so only for myself. I just find it fun and rewarding. For a non professional rod builder, I have purchased a number of NFC blanks over the past couple of years, most yet to be built, and one o
Forum: rodboard

In my wildest dreams I never would have thought that the notion of "cancel culture" could possibly have crept onto this rod board. I love building rods, but I am simply an enthusiast who does so only for myself. I just find it fun and rewarding. For a non professional rod builder, I have purchased a number of NFC blanks over the past couple of years, most yet to be built, and one o
Forum: rodboard

In my wildest dreams I never would have thought that the notion of "cancel culture" could possibly have crept onto this rod board. I love building rods, but I am simply an enthusiast who does so only for myself. I just find it fun and rewarding. For a non professional rod builder, I have purchased a number of NFC blanks over the past couple of years, most yet to be built, and one o
Forum: rodboard

If I may ask a question regarding the application of epoxy to the "tunnels" created by the interface of the guide and the blank...I use a turning motor whose RPM is about 4 to 6. I don't remember off hand. I'm pretty sure I bought it from Flex Coat, in about the mid eighties. A little slow perhaps, but it works great! I always find myself having to stop the motor after applying th
Forum: rodboard