The funny thing is that for so many years I've had to try and convince potential customers that my custom rods are more than just run of the mill rods with "fancy" thread work! Really, that's the sort of thing I hear all the time, that our custom rods aren't any better than factory rods, they just have fancy thread work on them. Sort of a of stigma that I've felt I had to live down and
Forum: rodboard

I think they were sold not too long ago. Nice to see them making a new commitment to the custom rod builders. Nice to have them back in the thick of things!
Forum: rodboard

I've never understood why anyone would argue for mediocrity. Dump the tape and do your best. You may thank yourself in a few years. The arbors would be great but the drywall tape and Rod Bond is how I've done them. Works great! And I'm sure it's really strong and durable.
Forum: rodboard

It's the best rod building event in the world! I can vouch for the fact that nobody else at any other show does so much for the builders or the vendors. You really put everybody else first and it shows!
Forum: rodboard

My thought is that you have a few options. I wouldn't move it up but I would either buy a double foot #6 or make the other 180 guides larger like a size 10. If you think that will add too much weight then take the #8 you have now and either replace with a #6 or rebend the foot and frame to get the ring closer to the blank. I've done several rods with the bumper type arrangement and only had w
Forum: rodboard

Incredible and unbelievable. I had no idea it was going to be anything like it was. I thought it would be good but wasn't prepared for what I actually witnessed there. I don't normally think of custom rod building as having an event of this quality and size. Great job guys.
Forum: rodboard

On another forum I saw a problem that I am having at the moment. The ferrule does not seat fully. The end of the female seats down tight on the male but the end of the male up inside is not tight so it moves or clicks when I cast or shake it. Is it wise to apply some sort of finish or epoxy to the end of the male ferrule to enlarge it and then sand to fit? This seems to be the consensus.
Forum: rodboard

I have built myself a small library of fishing and rod building titles. I was wondering how many books on rod building have been written and published and what would have been the very first one? Anybody know?
Forum: rodboard

I guess this is sort of a poll question. I was wondering what other rod builders thought were the most important things you can do to actually build a better rod. Better than factory off the rack rods. If you want to be able to show your customers just why your rods are better than what they get at the local sports shop or tackle store what are the things that you can really use and prove to be t
Forum: rodboard

I would have no interest in starting or running any such thing but I do have some ideas. These are just possible ideas for somebody to consider. If the organizers worked with existing companies to acquire certain package benefits then maybe they'd have something. Let's say that they got Tom to sell them tickets to the big show at a discount, magazine subscription at a discount and then maybe s
Forum: rodboard

You could always paint them but I've turned a lot of hair grey trying to paint blanks white.
Forum: rodboard

Rodmaker has set a new standard in many ways. I think the validity of the information presented in it is much better than previous rod building publications. I also once thought that there was only so much in the way of rod building techniques that could be presented. In Rodmaker I've seen new ideas and topics that have never been covered elsewhere. It's this thinking outside the box that I like
Forum: rodboard

Exactly. Try to keep the line off the blank by spacing with enough guides. Under very full load you may not be able to keep the line entirely off the blank but that's okay. Just position them so that the line follows the natural curve of the blank and only touches it under a full load. In no case do you want the line to fall underneath the rod blank! I've seen that happen on some rods and that me
Forum: rodboard

Because I've never seen a rod that was broken due to not having an underwrap I guess it's never occured to me to bother with them. I know that on even medium plugging rods for surf you can tell a big performance difference on rods with underwraps. I don't use them and the metal guide feet haven't hurt any of my expensive graphite blanks yet. But its your rod and you can use them or not. Up to
Forum: rodboard

Try rodmaker@earthlink.net.
Forum: rodboard

I build a lot of surf and boat rods for bottom fishing. Always use CP if I want to keep the colors bright. Don't use it if I use black thread. So far as I know no failures with the rods I've made with CP. My personal saltwater rods all have CP on the wraps and the guides seem fine even after many years. Just my experience.
Forum: rodboard

I've been looking for similar information. Already have the feathers down but would like to improve my cross wraps. Maybe Visualwrap is next on the Christmas list.
Forum: rodboard

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Same deal. No matter what you call it this show or exposition or symposium is the best out there!
Forum: rodboard

Marine Goop is not a good product for this!!!!!!! It's soft and rubbery for filling holes and leaks and that type stuff. It's a lot like silicon rubber. 2 Part epoxy is the product of choice for assembling permanent real seat and handle parts on a fishing rod.
Forum: rodboard

I"d say the publicity he's gotten in this thread is just as good if not better than any sponsor.
Forum: rodboard

My first attempt was the pits! The brass stock I used wasn't thick enough and the etching solution ate all the way through the stock!!! Next time I went one size thicker and didn't leave the stock in the solution quite as long. It's a fine line between getting good depth and not going too deep. After 3 or 4 tries I feel that I've gotten pretty good at it. I use the brass etchings on my rod tub
Forum: rodboard

I had the same questions as Tom but then I went back and saw the topic head. A steelhead rod! A lot of people use 10 footers now. Personally I stick with a 9 foot rod in a 9 weight. I also have some 8 weights. They are a little more pleasant to use because they are a little lighter. I like a moderate/fast action and have been using Single Foot guides mostly. I use wire on the smaller trout stu
Forum: rodboard

Have you ever done something for so long and thought there could only be one way to do it because it was so simple that nobody could mess it up? I have been using water slide decals for 30 years. I've used them on plastic models as a kid and later on HO scale model train cars. Then when I started building rods I used them for making my signatures. Everybody knows how to use a water decal right? Y
Forum: rodboard

People forget that most successes are never reported on forums. These forums are a place where people come when they have problems. So a thousand successes are never reported but two or three problems get reported and make it seem like there is a constant problem with something. FWIW I've used color preserver for years and never had any sort of problem with it. I use the Flex Coat type and it
Forum: rodboard