Has anyone used the Angler's Workshop house brand of guides? I was looking at the single foot titanium fly guide. Premium price at $3.19 each. I wonder who makes these guides for them?
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You don't need additional guides with single foot.
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I am building 3 rod blanks with ridges. Ridges make thread wrapping with size A or silk a bit more difficult.
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I have used single foot guides on a number of fly rods that I have. And I like them as you only need to make half the wraps and their performance seems just fine. Some people and some retailers indeed refer to them as single foot snake guides, not sure why. To secure a single foot guide on a fly rod some recommend using the Forhan locking loop. Here are some good comments on guides by a r
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Have not fished the MHX fly rods, but they get good reviews overall. If you are looking for a more medium to medium-fast action rod, less fast than a BVK, I would try an updated IM6 blank like a Batson Unity, or take a look at the Rod Geeks blanks. basically a St. Croix Imperial.. I am finishing a NFC 9' 8wt and it is pretty fast, but you may want to look at the NFC Classic blanks.
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As stated above, wraps should be snug but not so tight as to break thread, unless you have some bad thread. Instead of going to size D, try some size B, just a tad bigger. Pull the loop through smoothly, not too fast and hard and not too slow. I pack my thread every 4 or five wraps, mostly with my fingernail. Burnishing tool is fine too. Make sure to get your first six or seven wraps set
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How much you want to spend on blank and components is a key issue, along with what type of action you like in a rod -- fast, medium, slow.
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Lemke seats are among the best available.
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As stated above, straight application of Acetone could harm the blank finish or even the blank wall, as it is a fairly strong chemical. I would suggest you use DNA (denatured alcohol instead) and don't believe you need to first coat threads with a solvent as a first coating with a sufficiently DNA thinned epoxy will do the job. If you do want to first soak the threads, you could so so with DNA
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9 ft. 5 wt is fine unless fishing small streams with lots of trees. How much do you want to spend on the blank or total build?
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I have used both traditional two foot snake guides and wire single foot. I have not noticed any real difference in fishing them. Single foot may freeze up a bit quicker in cold weather, if that is an issue. Single foot of course only require half the number or wraps, though some will contend you should employ a Forhan locking wrap on single foot guides, which is no big deal. Look at the
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I just completed a 9' 5wt. LMX FAF rod, and I in the process of a 9' 8wt. LMX FAF I think guide spacing is the same for 5-8 wts, but check their charts. As to guide size for 7 wt: I would recommend a size 16 stripper to a size 12 (same type of guide as stripper), and from there you can either decide to taper your running guides or not. Single or double foot snake guides are your option.
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Generally I build a rod to be light. I only build fly rods. Most fly rod blanks for a 9ft rod will be 1.5 to 3 oz, depending on the rod's line weight. Fly rods reel seats can vary in weight from .75 to 1.5 ozs, but so long as they are 1 oz. or so I am fine. Grip is usually around 12 - 14 grams, or slightly less than half an oz. Throw in guides, wrap and epoxy and you wind up with a finished
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All the above are good advice. KISS would be to clean and put on another coat. if you only want a thin coat, put some drops of denatured alcohol or acetone into the epoxy mix. If you want to scuff up the current epoxy use at least a 300 grit paper and avoid anywhere where the threads are exposed. Five day warning is optimal, but don't worry, and only deal with the guides in question vs do
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For bonding epoxy, such as bonding reel seat or grip to the blank, I have never had issues with epoxy from 5 minutes to 24 hours, but I keep a fresh small syringe type on hand given the low price, or buy a new one if the old one has been around and open for a while. I also make a lot of golf clubs. I don't like the 5 minute type as it sets up to fast. I have found that Permatex 30-minute wor
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Thanks all for great feedback. I am going with a 7" full wells grip with composite cork accent fore and aft, Pac-Bay channel lock titanium reel seat with the two locking nuts, Recoil double foot snake guides.
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From my POV, tough to do a nice job building your own cork grip or reforming a purchased grip without a lathe or tool to spin it at a high RPM. Andy DIY suggestions without a lathe? Or on how to make a make-shift lathe, such as with hand drill?
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Thanks. I did look at a lot of rods at the Denver FF show and most 7 or 8 wts seemed to have about a 1" fighting butt, some a bit shorter, others at most 1 1/4" to 1 1/2." Seemed no real standard of rhyme or reason. I guess I'll test fit a few.
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Going to build an 8 weight 9 foot NFC LMX fly rod with fighting butt. I have never built a rod with fighting butt before. What do folks think is the best or right length fighting butt for an 8 weight fly rod?
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Yes, the typical Euro nymph rod has it's stripper located closer to the reel seat than a traditional fly rod. A size 10 is fine. Many Euro nymph rods use singe foot guides, but that is not a requirement. A down-locking reel seat with small fighting butt will help balance the rod better and the butt will give your forearm a resting place. You can buy a packaged downlocking reel seats with rece
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I built a 9 ft. 5 wt Hook and Hackle Xi rod about 4 years ago. I got the blank on a ridiculous 50% off deal they used to run. I think now they are selling at 40% off. For that price they are certainly worth it. They are not fast rods, so avoid if you want a fast rod. My rod has good sensitivity and I would call it a medium to medium fast rod. Good all around stick, and it is particularly go
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I've done single foot and double foot snake. Can't say I notice any real difference.
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I have seen various iterations of blanks called "Xi." The true XI blanks I am aware of are an in-house brand of Hook and Hackle, and I have found them to be decent blanks. I have seen other blanks called Xi that were less expensive than those of Hook and Hackle. I believe Hook and Hackle is soon coming out with an updated Xi lineup. You can also check Custom Fly Rod Crafters in Al
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Sand bottom of the guide and around the edge of the front of the guide. When you grind the guide for an easer wrapping angle you can often create burrs or a downward point at the tip of the guide.
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The high RPM rotation motor helps. I only have a rod dryer motor set up and it is much slower, and I think a bit more challenging to get long sections of epoxy smooth.
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Why not live stream?
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I would try black auto touch up paint or an acrylic you can buy cheap from Michaels.
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I know the Epic Carbon G blanks are produced in Korea in a factory that makes a number of companies' graphene resin blanks. All the Epic rod tapers are designed by Carl McNeil of Epic, whom many consider a true master in rod design.
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On those long epoxy stretches, I put on a thin coat with DNA, then sand with 300 grit or more paper to even it out, and finish with one or two more coats after that.
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I just finished a NFC LMX FAF 9t 5wt. I applied a hook keeper just up from the winding check so that the threat started at the winding check on one side of the hook keeper and then wrapped thread on the other side of the hook keeper, Then I measured the size of the decal and placed a similar sized wrap as used on the hook keeper a quarter inch further down the blank than the length of the decal
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