No Ray, not tonight. Happy Birthday !!! Jeff
Forum: rodboard

This weekend I prepared an area to perform CCS measurements. Before mounting a rod or blank into my setup I though I'd inquire about potential technical problems. Has anyone had a mishap while performing a CCS measurement? Broken blank? Rod/Blank slipped out of holder? Split ferrule? Thanks, Jeff Shafer
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As a casual rod builder, I also have gotten by using a drill and threaded rod to turn my grips. I have found recently that using one of Andy Dear's mandrels provides a much more stable rotation than threaded rod, which tended to wobble. Inexpensive and you can use the same drill/jig you used with the threaded rod. Jeff Shafer
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Andy, Will your product be sold through any distributors? Jeff
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Tom, Do you have some blank color / thread color matches in mind? For example, the Dan Craft is a dark gray, nearly black in matt finish. And the Rainshadow RX8+ is a bit darker, also matt finish. Would black be your thread choice? Jeff Shafer
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Robert, Take a look at the REC website (sponsor to left). You will be able to see a variety of reel seats, but more importantly you will be the ability to see the specifications of their seats, including inside diameter. Take note that some reel seats can be purchased with wood inserts available in more than one inside diameter. Then look at the component sponsor sites and look for reel sea
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Bob, You didn't mention whether you would be removing the guides on the butt section, or the diameter of the wood under the old cork. If the guides are off and the wood under the original cork is of a small diameter, and is parallel, would it be possible to ream out a cork grip and install over the wood? Then again, if the wood is bulbous in shape that may not be possible. Jeff
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My only experience is with inletting cork for round hoods. First I center the round hood against the lower end of the grip and press enough to leave an indentation the size of the hood. Then I secure the grip horizontally in my Black & Decker workmate vise. Next I use a dremel tool with a barrel shaped grinding wheel that is smaller in diameter than the hood. The flat end of the barrel sha
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I attempted making my own decals using inkjet printers, but since they lack the ability to print white letters I was unsuccessful. I also found that other colors looked fine on the clear waterslide decal, they nearly disappeared when applied to a blank. Many others have had experience with making their own decals, and have shared their results here on the board. Give the Search function abov
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Bill, I placed some of Dan's guide spacing in an email to you. Jeff
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Bill, If you're talking about the FT blank, I came to the same conclusion and have five guides in the tip section. I used light wire snakes on mine and the lowest guide on the tip section is on the ferrule. Dan had provided me some generic spacing which I modified. The result was: 1 - 4.00" 2 - 8.75" 3 - 14.00" 4 - 19.50" 5 - 25.75" 6 - 33.00" 7 - 41.50&
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Thanks for the clarification Richard. I meant no harm with my discussion above, simply trying to understand whether any conclusions could be drawn from FT users' experiences with varying line weights. My personal conclusion is that the FT will handle (due to the soft tip) the prescribed line weight well, even at short distances. I also have found that with the 8'6" 3wt, a four weight do
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Richard, If I am understanding you correctly, the FT904 rod seemed to handle the seven weight line nicely until the tip broke off. If that's correct, and I could see where someone using the CCS data (8.35 ERN) might come to believe that the rod will handle a seven or eight weight, it may be necessary to develop some form of CCS conversion table for the FT blank so users don't unknowingly overlo
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Thanks all, At this point I will add my experience. I've only built the 8'6" 3wt FT and have had fishing experiences using DT3F and DT4F lines. When I built the rod I did so with the intent of using it when I wanted to fish mostly dry flies using the DT4F, and the rod casts nicely with that line. On one occasion though, I loaded the wrong reel in my vest and didn't notice I had the wrong
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Now that the Dan Craft FT blanks have been out for awhile, users have likely formed opinions about the selection of line weights for this blank. I'm interested in knowing how many anglers use the FT nameplate line weight, how many cast a lower line weight, and how many cast a higher line weight for their specific use. Information about specific uses, if they impact the line weight selected, wou
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Located some Titanium SIC's, but other than the Angler's rsrc/Fuji link, which doesn't appear to do retail, I'm having trouble locating the Alconites. Jeff Shafer
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Thanks Doug, Would you have the model number of the single foot Fuji Titaniuim SIC? And source? Jeff
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Steve, Can you provide the specific model number for the titanium frame SIC's (and source if known)? I have a couple of 9' five weights to build this winter. From a rod I stripped down I have a like new SIC titanium stripper and tip, and a set of REC Recoil snakes, but while fishing the other three rods I built with Recoils I've become pretty annoyed with the zinging sound. Time for a change
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I built a six foot light action spinning rod this summer and find now that the rear grip is too long. It's only seven inches, with a two inch foregrip, but it's constantly catching on my fishing vest. This rear grip causes me to swing the rod out away from my body when casting, and when retrieving/working the lure I have to hold the butt section between the front panels of my vest. I'm afraid
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Chris, Continue to gather CCS data on any blanks under consideration. I have found that with light line rods, especially where you’re going to cast short distances, you want a rod that isn’t too powerful for the job. A couple of years ago I bought two different 7’9” three weight blanks, both of which I had CCS data for. Both rods CC’d in the mid 4’s. Both rods fail to cast a th
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David, A variety of different types of pens have been used to write on blanks. Some use gel pens, and some use pens that require dipping into either ink or paint. You will find many writings on this subject here on the board. Rather than try to re-create even my own writings I will request that you use the search button near the top of the page. You will uncover may suggested methods to try.
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I hadn't mentioned that my guides are snake guides, and the line does contact the wrap on each guide foot. Jeff
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While cleaning off one of my fly rods I noticed that the guide wrap epoxy was getting dull where the fly line brushed against it. I don't think that I noticed this happening with a non-epoxy finish I had used in the past. I don't know off hand which epoxy I used on this particular rod and will have to check my documentation, but is this a normal occurrence with modern thread wrap epoxies?
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Line weight and river size aside, do steelheaders prefer fast (tip action) or slower rod blanks? A friend complained that his current steelheading rod bent too deeply into the blank and he didn't have enough backbone to stop/fight the fish. When he said he wanted a fast action rod, I suggested that he try Dan Craft's FT blank. Then I ran into someone who claimed to be deep into steelheading an
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My personal experiences with LS Supreme were the same. For me, better results were obtained with other epoxies. Others, though, enjoy working with LS Supreme. Jeff
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Neither, When I spine my blank, my marking is black marker on a ring of masking tape (one mark on each section). I mount and then wrap the guide closest to the spine marking and make sure it's right on the spine marking. Next I do the guide on the other side or the mark. From there I'm aligning each guide to the one closest to it and make sure all guides are aligned before epoxy coating.
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Andy, Can you elaborate a bit about your fondness for Snake Brand guides? I'm always interested in learning more about appearance, foot taper, hardness, etc.. Thanks, Jeff Shafer
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Regular masking tape does give off some of its adhesive, but painter's masking tape doesn't. I've purchased painter's masking tape in the regular tan color, or more often I see it in blue. I cut a bunch of 2" strips, around 1/8" wide and double over one end. They're stuck all over my jig by the time I finish a rod, but that method works for me. The wire tie idea also seems attract
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I also use a V block device I made many years ago. To do the tip top I move my thread caddie outside of the upright so that the upright is pretty close to the tip top. I also use less thread tension. Someone on this board also suggested using a fly tying thread bobbin to wrap the tip top and I found that works also. Good Luck, Jeff
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BTW, I wasn't trying to be insensitive to all suppliers that support this board. One that I deal with phoned me as soon as they realized that they were short on an item from my order. Their call gave me the opportunity to drop that particular item and order it next time. I really appreciated that and will continue doing business with them. Jeff
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