My check is on it's way. First #1 special edition was very good, looking forward to getting this one.
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Richard the guys here have made a couple of good suggestions. Look around at the major brands and you'll find what you're looking for. The vendors on the left have a large selection of various blanks. But the Batson and St. Croix are a good choice.
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Ooops first time user error everything is here. Thanks for the reply.
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I ordered and received my Turncrafter Pro VS Lathe TCLPROVS but when I opened the box I noticed the tail stock has no handle and no screw mechanism. I was of the understanding this model had a 4" tail stock travel to be able to do boring. Is this the wrong lathe or is the traveling tail stock an option? Any help is appreciated. I'm new to using a lathe. Andy Dear's video shows an adj
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I just want to thank everyone for their input and Mark thanks for this link to Amazon. Is the 4-jaw "scolling" chuck you show what I need for rod building?. I understand the tail stock chuck. Sorry for all the questions but I've never used a lathe.
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I currently use a bench top drill press turned on it's side as my "lathe" and threaded rods as mandrels. It does an OK job for reshaping pre-made gripsand the like but I notice things can get out of round easily. I've been reading about lathes and viewing the amazing work I find on this site. I build about 20 rods a year and am adicted to rod building. Is investing in a small l
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Go to the hardware store and ask for a "collar" and thumb screw (not a set screw). Basically it is a short spacer 1/4 - 3/8 in long with a threaded hole drilled in the side . Ask for 1/4" or 5/16" I.D. hole in the colloar itself. (as the rod is threaded you might need the 5/16" I.D.) You silide it over the threaded rod then tighten the thumb screw. Easier still is buy
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I've been reading a lot about the new micro guides and how people are getting more casting distance using them. But I'm a bit confused on exactly what's making the difference. If the same blank, say a 7' casting rod, is built with guide sizes 10, 8, 7,6,6,6,6,6,6 vs 6, 4,4,3,3,3,3,3,3,3's, and casting the same weight, why would this be true. Is it due mainly to reduced weight? Straighter li
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Mike, for waht you are describing the 3C66LF is a good choice, however if your friend is going to throw heavier line / lure (i.e. 8 lb. , with weights to 3/8+) I'd go with the 66MLF it's a good all around spin rod.. Roger just a question - why an 8" rear grip, I usually go 6.5 - 7" on a 6'6" spin rod?
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Most times when I do Diamond wraps I use several strands of threads at once, not one at a time. If I want a wrap that has (5) strands of red in the center I'll put those down first and as the others say get it lined up straight (usually with the guides). Then I'll wrap the next color, maybe (2) strands of silver on each side of the red, then maybe (4) strands of black on each side and so on. I
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I've done a lot of woodworking and one way to dull a glossy finish is to use some 0000 steel wool and lightly buff the surface. This will take down the shine. Pumice and water rubbed lightly will also dull a glossy finish down. I have not tried it on rod blanks or epoxy finish but it should work.
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I've built on the Cabelas Fish Eagle II's a geeen blank and used black as my main wrap with gold as the trim band. I'd suggest you try black (main) with silver then red trim bands about (6) truns on the trim bands and don't use any CP when finishing. The red will darken and not look "Chrtismassy".
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I have built on a few of the Fish Eagle II blanks both spinning and casting and like them both. They are an IM6 graphite with good flex and the price is right. Weight is pretty good also (not heavy). I used their cork grips the rubberized cork on front grip and rear grip (spinning) they make a nice combination. I would however stay away from their IM7 blanks as they are not very durable, very
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I build a few rods a year for freshwater mostly for friends / relatives and of course myself. I build manily spinning (med-light to med /heavy) and casting rods (med to heavy power) and a few fly rods. A couple of years ago I switched from size A to size D thread on my spinning and casting rods. I did this because the epoxy finish was cracking where the guide foot meets the blank, especia
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Any comments on the Pac Bay epxoy mixer with the 24 RPM motor? I'm trying to improve my finsihes and I read the article about eliminating bubbles with the mixers. I'm looking to buy one of these, hoping it will work well. I haven't tried one before or tried to make my own.
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Thank you guys for the comments, it sounds like I've made a good decision. As Tom said I was pricing out the individual components and then I saw these. They are a better deal and I wanted good quality cork too, as I'm building the St. Croix 3C68MXF (for myself) that everyone has been recommending. Sounds like 'll be using more of these on future projects..
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Has anyone used the St. Croix casting or spinning handle kits from Mud Hole? I was wondering how good the cork is on these as compared to the individual grips Mud Hole sells that they call AA.. Also does anyone know if the St. Croix kits have the rubberized cork butt caps? I'm trying to decide whether or not to try the kits vs. buying individual peices (as I usually do) I typically use pre-
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Her's a question about using CP on part of a wrap but not on another part. I've got a black rod blank. I want to do black guide wraps with a metalic silver trim band and then a dark green trim band, both about (6-7) threads wide. I normally do not use color preserver but on this one I want the dark green band to stay it's original color. Can I just apply color preserber to the green trim ban
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I agree an 8" handle would be what I'd use also. I usually go with a 7" rear handle on a 6'6" rod and 8" on a 7' rod.
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On bass casting rods I've built so far I've used double foot casting guides. I see the "bridge" guides, are they used as running guides for casting rods in place of the double foots? What is their intended purpose are they a replacement for double foots? Are they more durable than the single foot fly guides? Seems like most of the guys are using (2) double foot casting guides then g
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I have in the past used cork, masking tape and string as arbors under the reel seat. When building a spinning rod for example with a 17 mm reel seat it seems to take too much of a build up of masking tape. In this case I've used the string which can be bought in different diameters. I apply epoxy to the string then most often sand it down a bit to get a good fit. I'm wondering how these flex coat
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Chuck I read the article, it was very informative. After reading this I'm sure that my friend, who as I mentioned can be abusive, probably did high stick or bend it back past vertical. In fact I've seen him do this when I fish with him, especially on a snag or a hang in a bush. Even on the one I broke I could have done the same (I really did lean into that hookset). As I mentioned these were v
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I've heard the term high sticking before, what exactly is this? Does it occur when guys swing the fish directly into the boat? Or is it mainly overbending of the rod tip like if a fish was directly under the boat and you rear back on the rod past vertical?
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I built (7) spinning rods using the Cabelas IM7 blanks in 6' 6" and 7'0" 'med/fast 6-12 line models. I built (4) of these rods for my freind, (1) for my son and (2) for me. We have broken (5) out of (7) rods. I asked both my freind and my son if they were being over abusive (as they can be) but no, they weren't doing anything unusual just putting pressure on the rod when it broke.
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Thanks for all the inputs they do look cool and reduce weight. But I agree you have to size them for the application and customer needs. One last comment, I tried a split grip on an IM6 moderate action spin rod with poor results. I had to add a peice of rod blank into the butt section to add stiffness. I did this because when I was casting (with 2 hands) it felt like the butt was flexing in a d
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I see a lot of rods now using the split grip rear handles. Why are these becoming so popular? Is it just a way to saving some money on cork? I've made a couple rods with split grips but have used a 4" rear section because I cast with 2 hands, but many rods have stuby little rear grips..
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The only recommendation I can make is to be sure the butt section of your rod is "stiff" enough for a split grip. (Although a 10' rod should not cause a problem) . Let me explain, I recently built a 7' Med action IM6 spinning rod and made a split rear grip. It came out looking very nice BUT when I cast the rod it was horrible. The butt section was too flezxible - when I cast the rod (an
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Is Tru Oil the same a Tongue oil? I have used tongue oil on gun stocks before. It pentrates well and dries so you can lightly sand in between coats. I think tongue oil would be a good application for the wooden handles as well but I would not use it over the epoxy.
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Personally I stick with components that have held up well on the rods I have built. I prefer fairly simple straight forward stuff (i.e. I always use cork grips for freshwater rods to me EVA foam is cheap looking.) I use a lot of Fuji hardloy guides also because they last and I have had virtually no breakage. I also have a buddy for whom I build rods. If the rod and components used stand up to his
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I too am a hobbyist as my local dealer tells me. I started building rods because I could not afford to buy a good fly rod. It kept going from there, bought some books, some blanks, parts, etc. I tied flies before that and in general love working with my hands. I've built about (70) rods in total and sold about (25) of them, excluding repairs, mostly for friends family and business associates. I
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