Thanks Mike, The procedure you described is exactly how I apply Rod Bond to my rings, scraping the ring's surface after application with a craft stick. The very small amount that oozed out at the seams was a bit spongy when poked with a fingernail as of this morning, so I decided to wait until tomorrow. I mix my Rod Bond on duct tape applied to the surface of a portable workbench. In order
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Thanks Wylie, After writing the post, I pretty much resigned myself to not turn the grips until tomorrow. Our weather here in Eastern PA is really mild right now so it would have been a good day to get the turning gear out on the back patio and let the dust fly. But I raked leaves instead.... The English Oak in my front yard doesn't dump its leaves until mid-January. Jeff Shafer
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Around twenty hours ago I bonded cork rings with Rod Bond. The packaging states a 24 hour cure. The bonded rings have been setting at around 65 degrees, and the seams still feel a bit rubbery. What am I risking if I try to turn the grip before 24 hours? Jeff Shafer
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Am I asking for trouble if I attempt to bond a small spinner blade directly to the rod blank just above the fore grip on a spinning rod? Similar to a feather inlay, then epoxy coated. The risk I see is that the rod may flex and the metal spinner blade won't. Jeff Shafer
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Jeff, The edges of my guide finishes improved when I built three very short supports to lay the rod on for epoxy application. The supports are made from 1x4 wood and have V's cut out similar to my simple wrapping stand. Like the wrapping stand, the V's are lined with felt. The benefit to using these short supports is that both of my hands are allowed to rest on my table, steadying them consid
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Mike, Another benefit is that if your epoxy is a bit heavy it may become obvious while stopped. I first pause with the guides up so any sagging drops away from the guide feet, not up onto them. Jeff
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I have encountered two types of epoxy irregularities since going to a motorized turner for the drying process. Ripples seem to form if I apply too much epoxy, especially on a long wrap, then place the test wraps on the dryer without removing the excess. The ripples will form slowly but are very obvious by the end of the drying time. Removing sagging excess epoxy avoids ripples. Of course yo
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Ordered some this morning. Jeff Shafer
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Your post got me thinging about a glossy dark grey 2 piece Loomis I built in about the mid-80's. It's an F1026 96% Graphite rod. I haven't fished this rod in ages so I can't comment on whether I like it with a six weight line, but now that I've dug it out I can't wait to do a CCS on it. Jeff Shafer
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Thanks Ken, Interesting point, in fact I believe there is an embossing heat gun somewhere in the house, a leftover from one of my kid's hobbies. I'll have to dig it out and experiment with it. Fortunately the fried blank was very inexpensive. Jeff
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This afternoon I decided to strip down a short fly rod that wasn't working out. Thought I'd scavenge the components and maybe try the blank as an ultralight spin rod. While using heat from a hair dryer to soften the residual epoxy things were going well until I noticed an unusual ripple in the blank finish. Suspecting that I softened more than the thread epoxy I tested the blank by flexing t
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A bit forgetful myself. Mine is the 9' five weight, I think all IBIS are four piece. Jeff
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My notes tell me I had to slightly file out a .420 ID wood insert to fit the butt of my Winston IBIS blem, so slightly over .420. Unfortunately I didn't document the tip top tube size. CCS data if you're interested: ERN = 5.65, AA = 65. I've been fishing it with a DT five weight. Jeff Shafer
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Tom, Yes, that was very helpful, and relates very well to my limited CCS experiences. Not long ago I finally got around to setting up an area to perform CCS measurements. I started out measuring a factory graphite rod I purchased in the early 1980’s, a rod I fished for a couple of years before starting to build my own. This rod had hung from a beam in my workshop for quite awhile until I
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Tom, I have read the CCS articles several times and still don't seem to be able to use the CCS data the way I'd like. Some flyfishermen choose the line weight they want to cast based upon conditions, size of fly to be cast, mid-range casting, etc., and want a rod they feel comfortable fishing that line weight with. So I'd like to be able to use the CCS to target a blank if I want to fish w
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I don't recall asking a question. Again, sorry for posting.
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Sorry for Posting
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Every once in a while there is a flurry of postings about threads not designed for rod building. There certainly is a large color selection, thus the attraction to them. Last year I purchased two spools of Mettler Poly Sheen and since I was doing some test wraps with other threads that would be coated with epoxy (No Color Preserver), I added some wraps of the Poly Sheen. I found the Mettler
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Steve, I just emailed an Excel file to you. The file is one of the tabs in an Excel file that I use as my rod building journal. In the file I correlated the nickel silver winding checks that Cabelas offers to bare blank diameters, to the same diameter with one coating of size A nylon thread, and to the same diameter with two coatings of size A nylon thread. I like having one layer of thread a
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Ed, When you mentioned a 9’, 5-6 weight rod I immediately thought of Dan Craft's FT blank. Talk to Dan directly about how this blank will handle a five weight, and also a six weight line. To me the CCS ratings on these blanks are not indicative of their line casting ability. The ratings would seem to indicate that they won’t cast their designated line well - too powerful. But my experien
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I’ve seen this phenomenon often in the flyfishing world. While fishing a fairly well known stream here in Pennsylvania I have great success with a particular fly. This fly has been shared with other fishermen I’ve come to know, who when presented with this fly come back to tell me that it didn’t work at all for them – on the same day that I have had fine success. Maybe it was in the pr
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Today I selected from two reel seat inserts I have for a U24 Struble reel seat. The blank is a Rainshadow RX8+, 905-4. Guides will be Fuji Titanium SIC's, first rod that I've done with single foot guides in many years. And the thread colors will be determined after some test wraps are wrapped and coated tonight or tomorrow. Jeff Shafer
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Bruce, My preference on fly rods is to run my thread up against the cork grip, and slide my metal winding check over the thread wrap. I use a very small application of five minute epoxy to hold the winding check against the cork, and to seal the wrap in place. This practice requires that you obtain a winding check with the proper inside diameter. This isn't always the easiest thing to do whil
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The underlying message here is that Bill would like to see pre-made cork grips have structural integrity. If pits in the cork are filled, I believe he would like to see it done in a manner that allows the filler to stay in place. Utilizing a process that results in the filling being temporary is a bit of a misrepresentation. The grip is window-dressed temporarily and the buyer might be misle
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I should point out that my post above wasn't a knock on board sponsors, just a statement about the quality of cork for sale these days. My point is that cork filling isn't the answer. Hopefully better days are just ahead. Jeff
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My experience with pre-formed fly rod grips has not been good. A few years ago I tried grips sold by some well respected reel seat manufacturers, and from some well respected board sponsors. All were >$25 in price and in some cases I was able to inspect the grips prior to purchasing. In all cases the grips shed a considerable amount of filler after a short time of use leaving me dissatisfie
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If you own a Black & Decker Workmate and a pair of Sleeve Bearings, you have a very simple spine finder. My Workmate frame unfolds into an upright position, and has fold-out legs that raise the level of the deck to its highest level. First I unfold the Workmate frame then unfold the two legs on the right side. This causes the top deck (the jaws) to be angled from low left to high right.
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I prefer to glue mine against the top of my grip. If the particular winding check self-centers on its own, I like that. If it's slightly larger than the blank, I try a layer of thread under the check. Either way I adhere with five minute epoxy and if not centered on its own, I simply hold the winding check against the grip for the time the epoxy takes to start setting up. Jeff Shafer
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Ken, Andy Dear had a variety of fast tipped, single piece rod blanks that may meet your worm rod requirement. Discounted to a nice price as well. Jeff Shafer
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Around 1985, mostly for personal consumption, or to help a friend out. Jeff Shafer
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