When these rods were made, the finish that was used was some form of varnish. Such modern finishes such as epoxy or PermaGloss (urethane) had not been developed. Rod Dancer makes a water based Varnish that I have been experimenting with and I like the properties (so far). If you wish to renovate these vintage rods, you might want to try the Rod Dancer Product. Mike Blomme
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Hi Mark, I date from that era. I started building rods in1959. My first rod was a light action spinning rod built on a Conolon (before becoming Garcia-Conolon) blank. The blank was a medium Brown that allowed you to see the fibergLass weave. I also built on Harnell blanks which were a Glossy Black. I also used Sila Flex blanks which were a rich Honey Yellow. At that time I lived in Santa M
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I used an 8 weight for pike in The Boundary Waters Canoe Area in upper Minnesota. I also used a wire leader. For Bass you could go a bit lighter and not have to use a wire leader. Mike Blomme
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Robert I'm not sure, but since both the resin and the harder are soluble in denatured alcohol, you might try to remove the resin with denatured alcohol. After thorough drying you could then try another batch of epoxy finish. I'm not sure this will work, because I don't use epoxy finish on a regular basis. I prefer Perma Gloss. What you could do is make a simple wrap on a piece of rod blan
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I think Thomas and Thomas--at least they used to. Mike Blomme
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Well I know I'm getting old. When I opened this post I couldn't imagine what an underpin closed face reel was. I knew what a spiniest reel was, but never felt that there was an an advantage over a conventional casting reel or a spinning reel. I just goggled the undercast reel and I still wonder why this has become common. The advantage of the guides being underneath the rod is certainly valid
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You might look at wood grips. I make fly grips from Maple Burl, Curly Maple, Spalted Maple and Spalted Tamarind. These are light enough so that weight is not a serious problem. I have also seen some of the acrylic esters that pen builders use to make grips. These come in a large variety of colors and patterns. My only concerns is the weight and the softness (easy scratching) of these plastic
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Hi Phil, You are posing two interesting questions. I have two bits of data. About five years ago I decided to rebuild a surf spinning rod that I had built in 1961. I used CP and varnish ( all we had at the time) for finish. There was no sign of cracking on that rod and only one small bit of corrosion. The corrosion was on the tip top which had a nickel Silver frame and a tungsten carbid
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Like Roger, I keep s supply and replenish it when I see that I'm getting low. I prefer the metal winding checks. When I build a rod, I wrap thread where the winding check will be. This cushions the blank. When you put tiny dab of epoxy glue on the bottom side of the winding check, the winding check will be fixed in place permanently. If you only build one or two rods a year, you should ask
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you might look at: Pac Bay QuickLine Batson Eternity2 St Croix They are all good. but at lower price. Good Luck with your project. Mike Blomme
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I use foam arbors to fit in the over sized spool holes. The arbors already have a quarter inch hole. Make sure the arbors fit firmly. I use a threaded rod for my tension device so even the large cone shaped thread spools work quite well. When I,m done, I simply use a dowel to push the arbor out so it can be used for the next spool. Mike Blomme
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I use foam arbors to fit in the over sized spool holes. The arbors already have a quarter inch hole. Make sure the arbors fit firmly. I use a threaded rod for my tension device so even the large cone shaped thread spools work quite well. When I,m done, I simply use a dowel to push the arbor out so it can be used for the next spool. Mike Blomme
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Steve, I had the same problem late Last night, but everything is fine this morning. I think Tom is correct. Mike Blomme
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Hi Mike, I use red/black color twist thread a lot. If you give me your e-mail address, I will send you the info you need to get the color twist thread. Take Care, Mike Blomme
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Hi Mike, I use red/black color twist thread a lot. If you give me your e-mail address, I will send you the info you need to get the color twist thread. Take Care, Mike Blomme
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I have looked at the tiger threads, but the one tiger that I like is the rust/black thread. The other colors I don't care for. The other two color thread is similar or a copy of the trimmer thread from Gudbrod. It consists of a metallic "fiber" and another color. For those who like to use metallic thread, it is a good choice. Mike Blomme
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Jim I would love to see you add some classic color twist thread colors. These include" Red/Black, Green/Black, Orange (rust)/Black, Red/Green (dark forest green). We lost these when Gudbrod went out of business. I would like these in size A. Thanks, Michael Blomme
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I was reading somewhere that Varathane 900 was used as a color preserver. Is this true? Mike Blomme
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John The only concern I have with a rod kit is that they very often include several different size running guides (snake guides) when you only need one size. A typical 9 foot fly rod that you want to use a six weight fly line with needs one stripping guide (size 10 or 12) and the running guides. In terms of action this is really a personal choice. People who are just learning to fly cast o
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David, If you have sanding marks, you might want to try to remove these marks by lightly sanding with much finer grit. You can get such sanding materials where people do auto paint refinishing. I have used emery paper up to 12,000 grit to remove sanding marks. I use wood grips on a lot of my fly rods and find that there are sanding marks even when I finish with 800 grit. Using even finer gri
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Hi Bill, I know, but I am a very paranoid guy. The CP is overkill, but it lessens my fear of making an error. You should see my five solvent brush cleaning method. Heck, when you are retired from your day job, you have plenty of time to indulge you worries. Have a good day. Mike Blomme
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Like Roger, I use a Speed Ball Pen with a fine nib. I use Opaque Acrylic Speed Ball ink. I usually get my supplies from Jann's Netcraft. As Roger pointed out you need to keep the nib clean. I use a piece of gray 3M pad to scuff the blank. This pad is quite fine grit and just takes the gloss off of the blank. After writing on the blank. I allow the ink to dry and then spray the inscription
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The only reason to apply CP is to prevent the color of the thread from becoming dark. If you like the color of the thread you use for your wraps, the only way to retain those colors is to apply CP, The CP is not used to prevent damage to the thread wraps. The finish is applied to protect the wraps. If you like he dark color when CP is not used, then there is no reason to apply CP. Since I
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Marc, I use double foot guides because I like the look on a fly rod. I just started using guides from one of our newer sponsors, Sea-Guide see their web site on the list on the left). The make a variety of guides with a variety of ring materials including silicon Nitride. You can get frames made from stainless steel or titanium. One thing I like about their guides is the double foot guides do
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Good Morning Marc, Like you I prefer downlocking reel seats. A few weeks ago a couple of our sponsors were putting downlocking reel seats on a closeout sale. I bought several for some rods I am building. I am not convinced that the downlocking reel seat leads to an unbalanced rod. Since the article on wood grips appeared in Rodmaker magazine several years ago, I have been putting wood g
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Jeff, You might want to try Batson's Revelation blanks. They are listed on the left hand of this page, Mike Blomme
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Jim, I have been using Riddance ChromaSeal CP. I think it has the best color retention. There are many others that various rod builders use and they seem to be satisfied with them. All Cps currently being manufactured will work. You will have to try them and se which ones you like. Mike Blomme
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What color is it? Gudebrod use to make a CP that was clear (like water) called 811. Before they went belly up, they had problems with the 811 and changed to a milky type color preserver. I did not find that color preserver very good. So if your bottle is opaque and white I would do a test on it before using it on a new rod. If it is clear and not viscous, you might be able to use it, but I w
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What about your labor costs? Mike Blomme
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Jason, If this is going to be a Cone of Flight, the easiest way is to place the reel on the rod blank with grip and reel seat installed. Remove the spool and tie a piece of line to the spool axle. String the line to the tip top. Now tape the guides along the blank until each guide just touches the outside of the guide ring. Alternatively you could place the guides so that the line is centered
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