I am interested in trying Titebond to bond cork rings together. It seems that some individuals have a strong bias toward Titebond III, but I can't seem to locate it in the hardware stores I have visited, including Home Depot. Can anyone suggest a source, or type of store, that would carry Titebond III? Thanks in advance, Jeff Shafer
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Jan, Rob makes a very good point about this blank. For me, the RX7 7'9" 3wt I build around three years ago does not cast a three weight comfortably up to 30'. I have had to use a four weight (I fish Double Tapers) to enjoy the rod on smallish trout streams. I do enjoy the rod, but not with a three weight line. The CCS data on this blank doesn't lie. Jeff Shafer
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I like Amtak, it levels very nicely for me. The hardener does go amber, but since I never use color preserver I don't have a problem with that. Recently I used Threadmaster for a rod and some repairs. To me, in my application situation, Threadmaster's pot life appeared to be a bit shorter. I personally don't time these things, just my impression. One thing I have been doing with Threadmast
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If you stick your finger into the bearing and spin the outer sleeve it should spin freely. If it doesn't, the bearing itself is providing too much friction and will overcome the rod's desire to rotate when you press down on the blank section. Another consideration when you obtain industrial bearings is to run a Q-Tip around the inside fo the bearing to make sure there are no burrs that will scr
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I'm with Tom, well sort of. After the first coat of epoxy I do use a thoroughly cleaned double edged razor blade to slice off nubs. But I try very hard to not touch the epoxy surface between coats. I am aware of no cloth or paper towel that doesn't give off some of its fibers if used to wipe a surface. Jeff Shafer
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Paul, I have had a few opportunities to fish my RX8+, built on a 905-4 blank. It is a very nice rod, a medium-fast action that allows me to present dry flies to rising trout accurately. It isn't the lightest feeling rod I have cast, and certainly not the fastest action, but comfortable to cast. The ferrules on the RX8+ have a very nice feeling as the sections are assembled, snugging down secu
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Stephen, You have received good advice here. I'd like to suggest that your fishing rod not be your first time applying finish to thread wraps. If you are able to get an old blank section, do some thread wraps on this, maybe even using guides in some of the wraps. Apply finish to these practice wraps and start out turning the practice blank section frequently, then less frequently as time pass
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I used the method Art suggested for many years but found that when I applied the technique to golf club shafts my supporting hand caused too much friction. So I rigged up bearings and used a third bearing on the tip of the shaft to eliminate friction. It was natural to apply the same technique to fishing rod blanks.
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It's even simpler than that, and doesn't take up bench space. Get the pair of sleeve bearings and orient them in the jaws of a Black & Decker workmate so that you can insert the butt section through both bearings. Lever down on the blank section and the spine pops right to the top. Remove the bearings when finished and store in a small zip lock bag. This, of course, requires a B&D wo
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Billy, The ideas provided are all good ones, but here is something really simple if you own a Black & Decker workmate. I own three sleeve bearings, two of which are the same size. I mount the same size pair into the jaws of the workmate about eight inches from each other and parallel to each other so the rod blank sections can individually be inserted down through the two bearings. I leve
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The only person who can tell you how to proceed with this is Dan Craft himself. I'm sure he'd be glad to discuss your experience with the ferrule and will tell you how to proceed. Any other action you take may void your warranty Jeff Shafer
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Your graduate degree supervisor may get over the dark charcoal color of the Rainshadow RX8+ if he has the opportunity to cast one. It is available in a five piece configuration. Dress it up with nice components and he'll be proud to fish it. It is somewhat fast, but not extremely fast. Jeff Shafer
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David, Advice to slightly oversize metal winding checks is sound. I know of one case where a rod blank manufacturer notified a friend that the exact fit of a metal check was the cause of blank failure right at the winding check. Another reason for slight over size is allowance for buildup of epoxy against the winding check. As for rubber, I use similar logic. A rubber check that is stretch
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If you do the Grizzly, try to determine in advance if your electric drill will fit the Grizzly drill holding collar. Mine did, but the keyless chuck didn’t fit through so I have to remove my chuck and re-install each time I use it. Or, buy the Grizzly electric drill that fits. The Grizzly lathe was a step up from the home made lathe I was using. Andy Dear’s mandrels are also highly desi
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Jim, Check your email, I sent you a link to where I bought mine. Jeff
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Terry, I still hand turn my rods to apply epoxy, and found my rod wrapping stand was too tall to allow me to keep my hands steady. So I built three low supports that allow me to brace my hands on my tabletop while applying epoxy. Take a look at the photo section to see the image I just posted. Sorry for the bad white balance. Jeff
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Thanks John, That's exactly what I do, and did on this rod. But apparently not quite enough was left behind. And I believe I may have over reamed at the top of the grip. Things happen.... Jeff
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Thanks to all of you for the overwhelming response. As noted, the gap was very small, maybe half a millimeter and maybe less than one ring deep upon closer examination. So I drizzled some head cement down into the opening. It was a fresh bottle so very free flowing, so the minor gap filled easily and firmly. All I was after was a filler, as this area of the grip won’t get much abuse. I usu
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Excellent idea Mick! Jeff
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If I anticipate applying three coats of epoxy, the first two stop at the edge of the thread. Then on the third coat I extend just a bit beyond the edge of the thread. By doing so I am not extending beyond the thread edge three times (once for each coat) creating too much overlap. This helps avoid a rugged edge. Jeff Shafer
Forum: rodboard

Yesterday I bonded a cork grip onto a fly rod and apparently too much of my Rod Bond was pushed down the blank. The result is that the top ¾” of the grip is not bonded soundly to the blank. There is a bit of a gap and that section of the grip ticks when I squeeze it. So I’d like to dribble some type of watery adhesive down the top of the grip before applying my winding check. Any suggest
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Using a tip sizer has often been suggested here on the board, but I have found mine to be unreliable. Using mine I have inserted the rod tip and determined that it was a certain size, then found that more than one tip top in that size didn't fit on. So the tip sizer alone may not get you there. Jeff Shafer
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I agree that all blanks will have a market and that an educated buying public will sift through all the information. And if the buying public was entirely made up of buyers who were educated in how CCS can benefit them, then I think that manufacturers and distributors would jump on the boat. I'm going to guess that in terms of buying power we're in the minority so thus far there hasn't been eno
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Though many here would like to see adoption of the CCS by manufacturers, it’s unlikely that many will benefit from doing so. Manufacturers sell “four” weights, “five” weights, “six” weights, etc. Each line weight is a subset of their product line offering and they already have to, through marketing studies, predict how many of each line weight will sell so they don’t under/over
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If you're willing to go to 8'6", give Dan Craft a call and talk to him about how you plan to fish this rod. I purchased his 863-4 FT blank and fish it exclusively with a DT 4wt floating line. This rod is fished on medium sized trout streams casting fairly large dry flies and some weighted nymphs. The 863-4 as plenty of power to handle a four weight line - IMHO - and is a fast action rod.
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I have never cast the Sage TCR so I can't comment on how it might compare to a Dan Craft FT. My experience with my FT 863-4 tells me that it casts a four weight double taper nicely on the somewhat large streams I fish with the FT. One day while I was at streamside reviving a nice trout a friend waded out into the current with my FT and cast to a rising trout - With an incredulous look on his
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I built an RP in the mid-eighties, then a couple of years later built an RPL, so maybe the mid-late 80's. Jeff Shafer
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Stuart, The dimensions of various nine foot rods labeled five weight will differ based upon the individual manufacturers' designs. So the butt measurement won't tell you if it's a five weight or a nine weight. I built on that blank several years ago and have the completed rod at home. The best I can offer is to do some measurements from my son's completed rod when I get home this evening.
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I've had good experience with a Gelly Roll Med pen. Before using it I did some tests with and without a spray fixatiff and neither ran when I applied epoxy. I got pretty aggessive with the test epoxy application over ink that had been allowed to dry thoroughly. That said, I would suggest that you experiment with any pen technique prior to application on a finished rod. Jeff Shafer
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Jim, It would be a good idea to either purchase the Grizzly drill, or take your lathe along if you're going to purchase a drill independently. I purchased a Grizzly lathe recently and found that the keyless chuck on my corded Craftsman drill didn't fit through the bracket on the lathe. This required that I remove the chuck, insert the drill, and partially thread the chuck back on. It works,
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