I didn't mean to say that Tom K. is the only one who helps the craft grow, but considering the traffic this sites gets compared to most others, the features it offers, the Rodmaker magazine, the public library program, the national rod building show, and all that, he certainly stands out a bit more than most in terms of doing things that actually make the craft grow. Nobody was doing it before he
Forum: rodboard

I was also going to suggest the syringe trick.
Forum: rodboard

I was also going to suggest the syringe trick.
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I think most builders are pretty good about helping and sharing information as long as they don't have to spend much money to do it. Thanks to Tom K. for putting up the funds and time to provide this site or the rest might be a mute point.
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I'll be there for the third year running. It's a L-O-N-G drive for me and the wife but worth every mile of the trip. Nothing else like this anywhere for rod builders. Too good to miss.
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Your only bet is to just wrap on a size 6 single foot guide.
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Amen.
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Not as good as your "other" one but still pretty good. I like the part about Andy's trash can blank specials!!
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Read the FAQS page on this site to read how to do this. Just nick the thread on top of the guide foot and it will unwind taking all the epoxy with it. Not hard to do and really pretty quick and easy.
Forum: rodboard

I thought it was a shame that your group refused to give you the help you requested. In the hopes that you may see this here or that somebody might tell you about it, I'm copying these names of rod builders local to you. I got them right above in the directory on this site and you can reach most of them by going back to the directory and just clicking on the e-mail buttons next to each person's l
Forum: rodboard

You're putting on too much finish. That is nearly always why a finish gets wavy. It's too thick and heavy and is sagging and then as you rotate the rod you spread the sags all around it. Put on LESS finish.
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If the group does what it promises and is reputable and professional, it will almost surely succeed. I think plenty of rod builders have been looking for something like this.
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Andy at Lamar has the best burl going and more colors and styles than anyone else. Anglers Workshop always has some good burl. And both sponsor this site.
Forum: rodboard

Save your money. I tried some of their five-star quality grips. Crap IMO. Looks good in the photos though. Don't they all. Struble and REC have the very best preformed grips. After them you can just hunt and peck but I've gotten very good ones from Andy Dear. He has a ton of sizes and shapes and great prices.
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It doesn't look like anybody is reading your question. No, that wrap won't be in the Clemens book. I can't tell you how to wrap it but I can identify the pattern for Tom. If it is the one I see on page 49, it is the blue rod with the black and gold wrap. Some chevrons inside of another chevron and then the background is filled. The wrap is closed.
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These are GREAT blanks. Stock up. I suspect they are actually top end St. Croix blanks. At least they seem an awful lot like those to me.
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Sorry to hear that. With Gudebrod pretty much disappeared from custom rod building I had started to use some Rice thread and really liked it.
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..................when you order a 7' blank and the dealer sends you an 8' blank and tells you to just cut a foot off the end of it! If that's not bad enough, now you have been charged for the oversized shipping on the way out and will be charged for oversized shipping when you return it. I'm going to do what Tom suggests. If it happens again, I'll tell the dealer to issue a call tag for UPS
Forum: rodboard

Arbor aside, what you need is a large outside diameter reel. The size of the arbor doesn't make any difference. It's the diameter of the line at the point on the spool that counts. A small diameter reel with a large arbor will take up line less quickly than a large diameter reel with a conventional small arbor. All the arbor does is determine your backing capacity for the same OD. Check out th
Forum: rodboard

The article in Rodmaker on custom rod pricing had sample prices from rod builders all over the country. It was amazing to see how geography affects what guys can sell their rods for. It comes down to demand and the quality of your rod and workmanship. In areas where you have a lot of competition you might get less. In areas with high demand and not as many competitors it might bring more. Eit
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Jim, Tom brings a spiral wrap demo device to the BIG show each year. It's really amazing. There are two bass rods each wrapped differently. One with conventional guides on the top and one with the simple spiral wrap. They both have a very straight line path. The simple spiral has the line just pass the rod on the side. It only has to deflect a minor amount to get by the rod. The line doesn't go i
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I don't try to compete with factory rods. I often tell customers that if they want the no fault warranty then they'll have to be willing to give up a rod that is more perfectly tuned and constructed. Quality costs and they have to decide if they want free replacements for their disposable factory rods or if they want a truly better fishing tool. I have no problem replacing a rod that fails becaus
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You will find the same information and more right here on this site if you'll search under the term spiral wrap in the archives. Probably enough info on spirals to keep you busy reading for several hours. Also if you get any of the Rodmaker mags that had spiral wrap info you will really have your eyes opened on this technique. After seeing it at the national rod builders show two years ago, I
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I'm curious on a couple things about it. How well does it work on the last few guides or the tiptop where only one end of the rod can be supported? Also how do you manuever it so that you don't get gaps in the thread as it makes the windings? I assume you keep moving the rod in one direction because the winder appears bolted down. You couldn't move it from what I can tell in the photo. Neat machi
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It's a pain to drive but the upside is that you can easily carry a BUNCH of stuff back with you! Try carrying an armload of rod blanks back on the plane with you.
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I have built some fly rod blanks into spinners for crappie fishermen. They like them and the way they feel. But for anybody else I'd just get a blank intended for casting or spinning use. They're "crisper" or something.
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I don't use underwraps as it makes the rod less responsive. But on the few heavier rods where I have, I do put a light coat of finish on the underwrap first. It just makes it easier to overwrap and pack the overwrap.
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Tom has cut the admission price by almost half and provided free parking. Expecting him to provide a few thousand name tags might not seem like a lot but then why can't people who want name tags buy one for themselves and just bring it with them. It's such a simple thing to do that I don't see why the builders can't handle that end of things. For those who don't want to buy a pack, just use a
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You also have to be careful that you do not cross up the passwords for this forum and the photo page. Same site but different packages. I do wish we could use one log in for both, but I understand why some sites including this one use two different packages for their forums and photos. I've seen the forums offered by the photopost people and they pretty much stink. But they do have the best photo
Forum: rodboard

We were typing at the same time Tom. Great minds think alike. Art's cache is putting in the wrong password automatically.
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