Bill, I am looking for a couple of 2 piece Ugly Stixs 6' or 6'6. Thanks
Forum: rodboard

So where can we get them?
Forum: rodboard

Was there an article on building a 'Spin/Fly' in an issue of RodMaker? Thanks
Forum: rodboard

One nice gob of 5 min TM. Carefully turn by hand, tilting it to the desired angle you want. You only have about 3 mins of doing this. Tilt it, let it run a little to the top side/bottom side, what ever you prefer. IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PERFECT! Just get it fairly close to the angle ramp you want. Let it set for 24 hrs. Then carefully shave off the high spots with a # 11 scalpel. Then mask the
Forum: rodboard

Wow!
Forum: rodboard

Phil ....The 'area' right in front of the grip. I often put a snake or tiger there on fly rods. If it's my own handle, I will often put an epoxy ramp and with some feather inlays. Even on lighter wt rods. Looks nice, is truly custom and minimal wt affect there at the butt. Going to post a few pics of some of these.
Forum: rodboard

Erik, Peter's suggestion to look at older fiberglass blanks and do a rebuild is a very good one. I have taken several old fly rods I've picked up at garage sales or second hand stores and had a blast re-doing them. New lighter components, thinner thread, sometimes a new handle-reel seat, better epoxyy finish, guide spacing customed and ta-da!.... You've got a great fishing stick! Today, I am stri
Forum: rodboard

A quick learn. Thanks for the info Tom
Forum: rodboard

My bad Tom. I am meaning other ways to cover the 'rigid foam'? Have not worked with them yet. Thanks
Forum: rodboard

What are some of the options for covering a carbon foam grip? Can you wrap them with thread? Thanks
Forum: rodboard

Casey, if you have a good lathe, a little time and some imagination.... the world of fishing handles is simply unlimited. There is so much material out there. Try some different things and experiment with it. Birchbark is beautiful; lots of barks are beautiful. Roots of large bushes can have very interesting patterns. Give it a try and post some of your results. Enjoy.
Forum: rodboard

Bought an old 2 pc, black, 9' fly rod. Only writing still able to read on it is ' Graphite/Glass U S A '. Stripped the worn snakes on it and sanded, filled and cleaned up the rough cork grip. Put some nice single foot guides on and spaced them Common Sense method. Moderate action blank but throws a 6 WF very nice and smooth. Great rod for a rookie caster to learn on. Any thoughts out there
Forum: rodboard

I too use a number 11 scalpel and very carefully feather the skin toward the blank. It allows a nice gradual, even fit at the overlap.
Forum: rodboard

Make the bottom two threads really contrast and move them around a lot for the wavy affect later. Overall color will be representitive of the top layer thread. Continue to experiment. Tigers are just amazingly beautiful, creative and truly 'custom' wraps.
Forum: rodboard

A good reamer is worth its weight in gold. Practice making a few and you'll hit on one.
Forum: rodboard

A little off-topic but thought someone might have an idea. Do any of you make your own 'dry fly dressing'? Some home-made concoction that can be put on dry flies to help them float. I seem to go thru a lot of the store-bought stuff and it is expensive and sometimes hard to find in my area. Thanks
Forum: rodboard

A little Citrus Strip on a rough cloth , with a little 'elbow-thumb-fingernail' grease works on some rods well. Let a dab of the Citrus Strip soak in for a couple minutes. Try it on a small section of the rod first to be sure it doesn't react too strong with the rod finish.
Forum: rodboard

I have done a lot of Tiger Wraps and experimented with many combos. Key points I have evolved to: Bottom Wrap... contrasting colors (I like Black and NCP White)...wrapped loosly and burnished a little after the wrap. Two coats of clear on that underwrap. Over wrap in the opposite direction with the color you want the wrap to be and a sacrificial thread. Pull out the sacrificial and put anothe
Forum: rodboard

My 5 runner guides ( # 4 gold-black minimas) all grooved last summer on a 4 wt 9' fly rod. I had a new wt forward 5 wt line on that rod. Had been using it exclusively on farm ponds for bass and bluegill in Iowa. Was cleaning my line regularly but was getting into moss and muck a lot by early July. Noticed it in preparation for a trout fishing trip to Idaho. Contacted Pac Bay about it and they
Forum: rodboard

I set up my spin rods to fit a specific reel. Often cut down the reel seat so it is very specific to that reel. And I make it uplocking... so the feel created at the inception of that rod is consistent for the finger positioning the owner decides on ahead of time.
Forum: rodboard

Jeremy, I have never had a problem with the DN on skins but I will carefully watch for it now. Thanks for the heads-up.
Forum: rodboard

Sometimes the skin has been compromised with some chemical in processing. I like to clean my skin off with a couple of wipes of denatured alcohol and let that dry before applying the skin to the rod. After it is applied and I put a coat of Cason's Waterbase CP on it and let that dry for 24 hrs before any epoxy finish goes on.
Forum: rodboard

Rob, go to the Rod Builder's Library on the internet. Ray Adams has accumulated a wealth of rod building tutorials and info that you can check out. I have a tutorial in there on 'Foam Checker Rings'. Should help you a lot. They are sharp looking and not real hard to do once you have the method down.
Forum: rodboard

Very nice! Nice, moving 'Tiger Wraps' are just really neat.
Forum: rodboard

"There are sorrows enough for the whole world's end, there are no guarentees but the grave, for this life we live and the times we spend are treasures too precious to save, what can we do with our days but work and hope that our dreams bind our work to our play, what can we do with each moment of our lives but love 'til we've loved it away, love 'til we've loved it away!" Bob Franke
Forum: rodboard

I have really liked the ease of workingf with the Pro Kote. Easy to mix, nice working time and very easy to quickly saturate a wrap. I put it on with a spatula. It is a thinner finish epoxy and therefore takes longer to cure and I find it takes two coats minimum on a wrap. Comes out very clear. Hope it holds up as clear and well as it is advertised. If I am in more of a rush for a finish jo
Forum: rodboard

I do 'Lipstick on a Pig' quite a bit for old rods. Unless you are trying to replicate the original look of the rod .... those older blanks make excellent fishing sticks when you apply newer, lighter hardware and you put the guides on according to what the natural bend of the blank dictates. If the reel seat needs to be replaced, a light, beautiful 'Tennessee Handle' on a old, softer fiberglass/ g
Forum: rodboard

I have a fly blank marked 'UTIF 905F' Do any of you know who made it?
Forum: rodboard

Can' make it this year Ken. Darn! Would really like to have seen this. Have a safe and great trip.
Forum: rodboard

Any builders from Iowa going to this year's Rod Expo?
Forum: rodboard