Hi Lou, Thanks for responding. I tried all of the different CP I had. I wish I had had some old Gudebrod 811 to try but that is long gone. I have tried the same tests that you are running, but on metallic threads. Some of those fade in just a few days when exposed to sunlight. My goal was to prevent the cord from darkening since I liked the bright colors. I have used different CPs since th
Forum: rodboard

Hi Lou, Thanks for responding. I tried all of the different CP I had. I wish I had had some old Gudebrod 811 to try but that is long gone. I have tried the same tests that you are running, but on metallic threads. Some of those fade in just a few days when exposed to sunlight. My goal was to prevent the cord from darkening since I liked the bright colors. I have used different CPs since th
Forum: rodboard

Hi Lou, Thanks for responding. I tried all of the different CP I had. I wish I had had some old Gudebrod 811 to try but that is long gone. I have tried the same tests that you are running, but on metallic threads. Some of those fade in just a few days when exposed to sunlight. My goal was to prevent the cord from darkening since I liked the bright colors. I have used different CPs since th
Forum: rodboard

Hi Tom, First, I was planning on using Tru-Oil or PermaGloss which I use on both wood and cork grips/reel seat inserts. Second, I rebuilt a surf rod about two years ago and used a nylon cord for the grip. This cord was black except for two green cord inlay rings. I covered that with Tru-Oil and The green trim rings turned almost black. I realized I hadn't used CP so this time I decided to
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Hello folks, I have been working on a surf rod and I chose to build a cord grip on the rod. I chose a forest green color to match the guide wraps. The grip looks nice and I decided to put a finish coat to make it easier to clean it and to prevent water intrusion. I decided to put a coat or two of color preserver to prevent darkening of the cord. The cord is a mixture of polypropylene and ray
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Marc, I built a fly rod several years ago using a Powell rod blank and a Powell real seat. The Pac Bay A7, A8, A10 series of real seats are built very similarly to the Powell real seat. Batson also has a couple of models that that is similar to the Powell real seat as well. I like to buy the skeleton forms of the real seat so that I can make my own inserts. i hope this helps. Mike Blomm
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Since metals contract more than the birch bark and the glue, you might put the mandrel and grip in a freezer for 24 hours or so. Then remove the mandrel quickly to a vise and twist the grip. It should break loose. You can use a threaded rod, but it needs a thick coating of paraffin wax before gluing the rings together on the mandrel. Mike Blomme
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Hook and Hackle used to sell blanks from Pac Bay and Batson Enterprises. The IGF904 is most likely Hook and Hackle's Number. PacBay uses RF904 for the Rain Forest Series and Batson uses IF904 for their Rainshadow series. I hope this helps. Mike Blomme
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Several years ago--perhaps in the 70s or 80s, an article appeared in a well-known fly fishing magazine where they touted the use of oversized snake guides. As I recall some commercial rod manufacturers adopted this idea. I tried this idea and found I could not cast any farther with over sized guides than I could with "normal" sized guides. Adding extra weight on the tip section of a
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Thanks, Bill. Mike Blomme
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Hi Maryann, I've only built three rods using the minima guides. Two of them were built using the minima 4s and the other using minima 3s. So far I haven't seen any fraying of the line. I think I used the rod about six times last year. Now that Bill mentioned that, I will watch more closely. The rod I built using the minima 3 guides is an ultra light spinning rod and I am using 10 pound bra
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Hi Roger, I know that is what is stated, but here is the quote that I found: Below I have listed the difference between the Minima 3 and MInima 4 guide rings. There is not really any functional difference between them. They just have to be made differently depending on whether the ring and frame are the same color. I have made a note to clarify the descriptions in the next catalog version. Th
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Maryann, I just looked up a previous discussion of minima guides and found a response by Geoff Stables from Pac Bay where he describes the differences between the two guides. Both minima 3 and Minima 4 guides have double swaging, but I believe the minima 3 has a lighter amount of swaging on one side. If you do a search, he will explain this much better than I can. I did a 90 day search. I hope
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Why not contact Pac Bay and ask them the difference between the minima 3 and the minima 4 guides? I believe a representative from Pac bay recently discussed this topic on this forum. Mike Blomme
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Kevin, In tests with epoxy only and CP covered with epoxy, the former is found to be slightly stronger. However in either case the guide is destroyed before it breaks loose from the rod. I cannot think of a fish that could do that damage. I think you are more likely to step on your rod and break the guide before you lose the guide from fishing. If you want to retain your colors you will nee
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John, I add a few drops of Xylene to the empty can and allow it to evaporate with the lid lightly on the can. I then fill the can with Perma Gloss and then fasten the lid on the can. When I remove some liquid from the can, a space is created above the can that becomes filled with the volatile components in the PermaGloss ( PermaGloss has a pretty strong odor and therefore it must have volatile
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What I don't understand is why they don't make all of the colors in the Minima 4 configuration and drop the minima 3 line since the cost difference between the minima 3 and minima 4 configurations is minimal. Mike Blomme
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If you look at the websites for Lamiglas, Batson, Pac Bay, and American Tackle who are sponsors and listed on the left side of the screen, your question will most likely be answered. The most likely has to do with the cost. Long surf blanks are pretty expensive especially when you want to hurl the weight you listed in your post. Others who use this forum may also have sources different than t
Forum: rodboard

Lou is correct. The only way the mass ratio can be equal to the volume ratio is if the two liquids have the same density. The reason for the directions on the bottle mentions volumes is the knowledge by the manufacturers that the vast majority of rod builders do not have a balance (or scale). If you place a hole that is slightly smaller than the end of the syringe in each of the caps on your
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The liquid in CPs soaks in while the solids which prevent the darkening of the thread stay on the surface. The solvent based version of Rod Dancers may be an exception to that statement. Perhaps someome from Rod Dancer will chime in to explain their Cp. Mike Blomme
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Jim, I echo Dennis. If you can remove the grips and reel seat, I would try to clean them up, but a new reel seat and new guides would make that a very nice fishing rod. I think you will find the finish is varnish and I think you should use three or four coats of Perma Gloss or Lumiseal. You could also use varnish and many of our sponsors stock varnish. As Tom suggested you could try CLR,
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Hello Ray, I use acrylic plastic, which is available in many colors. I buy sheets of it and use a circle cutter to cut "donuts" with a drill press. The center hole is 5/16". The diameter of the ring or donut can be varied, but I usually cut it to 1 1/4 inches to match most cork rings. The thickness of the sheets of acrylic is 1/8 inch. You can also get black and white sheets
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Brad, Is this the 811 that is the colorless type or is it the type they were selling at the end which was milky like Flex coat or U-40 Color Lock? Thanks for your help. Mike Blomme
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I have tried every CP that I can think of. Like many others I lamented the demise of the old Gudebrod 811. Currently I am using Chroma Seal and Cason's solvent based CP. I like them both. Thy both have a minimum darkening effect. The advantage of the Cason's solvent is the elimination of having to stir the CP before using. Having to use the old Airplane glue when I first started building ro
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Wade, I bought a PSI Midi Lathe with a bed extension. To this I added a Nova chuck, which I like a lot. I have also added some other jaws for it as well. For the tail piece, I added a MT drill chuck. I also bought an inexpensive set of turning tools and over the last five years I have replaced them with higher quality turning tools. My primary tools are a 1 inch roughing gouge, a 1/2 inch ske
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Several weeks ago there was a thread regarding the fading of metallic threads when exposed to large amount of sun. Since I like to use metallic threads for trim, I was concerned. Since we are in the heat of summer here in Eastern Oregon, I decided to try some tests on metallic threads. I had an old piece of a black fiberglass blank which I used for the test. I made quarter inch wide wraps usi
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Good Morning Lorenzo, When I first began making rods, they were made from fiberglass and the only finish we had was varnish. There were some bamboo rods, but I never saw any bamboo rod blanks. Today most rods are made from graphite fibers with just a few made from fiberglass. When a bamboo rod is made, the entire rod blank is coated with the varnish to seal it. Since Bamboo is a natural mat
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When I was about nine years old, we were living outside the small town in eastern California called Roseville. My dad cut a willow branch, stripped it , tied a hunk of fishing line to one end. He then attached a small sinker, a bobber, and a hook. He told me to make little dough ball from bread. I caught a catfish. That was a fishing pole. When you attach a handle, a reel seat or reel bands
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Chris, If this is an old rod made from fiberglass dating from the sixties, the surface doesn't have a clear coat as we know them now. In addition the finish on the guides is most likely varnish. If this is the case, then the varnish will come off with acetone which was the solvent of choice in that era. If there is still a label on it check if it says whether it is a graphite rod or a fibergl
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David, Before you proceed, determine how old this Fenwick rod is. If it dates back to the 1970s or before, the finish is likely to be varnish. if this is the case, complete rewrap would in mho be the better course. Make sure you examine the guides for any sign of grooving or corrosion. Good luck. Mike Blomme
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