I plead guilty to one of those e-mails! I did look on the website but don't recall it saying one way or the other if the seminars were extra or included. I assumed extra. I was mistaken. Considering all the other things going on there for just eight bucks, it's easy to see that some of us would naturally assume that the seminars would carry an additional fee of some sort. There are other operati
Forum: rodboard

You can't go wrong with Tom Kirkman's book called Rod Building Guide. It has the best step by step photos of a diamond or chevron wrap being made that you're likely to find. Plus it's just a darn good all around rod building book to boot. Best $15 you'll ever spend on this addiction. Some places may sell it for even less.
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NO SANDPAPER!!! Use the Citri-Strip or Saf-Strip paint removers. I've used them a few times and gotten great results No harm to the blank and you don't risk harming the fibers with sandpaper grit cutting into the blank.
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Atlanta would be closest to me, but North Carolina or Dallas, TX would be fine as well. Really doesn't matter because this thing is so good I'd buy a plane ticket to Alaska and fly there to attend if I had to. It's worth that much to me. In fact, it's so good that I really think this particular event would do well no matter where you held it. IMO the quality of the event is what convinces so man
Forum: rodboard

I was thinking pretty much the same thing. In an actual battle with a fish, if the fish moves off to one side the fishermen just pivots his body a bit to one side or the other which immediately puts the fish directly below or directly off the tip of the rod again. So you never have any torque on a spiral type rod. You just follow the fish with the rod and if you watch somebody fighting a fish you
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I have a 9’ 2 piece G.Loomis IMX rod. Original make from the early 1990s that I built up a few years ago. A #5. I really like this rod but now only use it when I travel to fish. I want to make it a 4 piecer for airline travel and wonder if this is feasible. What type ferrules can I make? Or I should say, what type ferrules SHOULD I make? Since it has a sleeve over type already, I’m guess I sh
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EVERY first quality Shikari blank I have ever purchased has had the model number plainly written on the butt on the matte finish models, or under the finish on the gloss models. If these don't have either then I'd say they may be Shikari but not first quality.
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Tom, I plan on attending the big Rod Expo event. If I decide to fly, my flight would get in early on Friday which leaves me nothing to do the rest of the day. I won't have a car and so I wondered if people who get in early enough on Friday might be allowed into the hall to wander around for a bit? Not expecting to be able to buy anything, but just asking in case I decide to fly. It would be nice
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It's easy to see that you're very sincere about this and are proceeding in a methodical manner. It's almost too good to be true! Please keep me informed when you're ready to start accepting memberships.
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I'm not surprised at the level of support and interest you're getting. I suspected as much would be the case if anyone ever did this. I don't really see other organizations as being dedicated to promoting custom rod builders and custom rod building. A club is a club, but a professional organization is something very different. Your second paragraph says it all for me. Good luck. Keep us updated
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My apologies to you, Sammy. I did not read it in the tone you meant it. I've gone back and read it over again and can see you meant no harm to Joe or the new RBI.
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Finishing up reading my new Rodmake issue I discovered another perk to being a subscriber, there is a coupon inside for an additional 10 percent off at the Lamar booth at the Rod Expo next month. Sweet! But that begs a question. I really don't want to have to tear or cut anything out of my magazine. I save them for later reference. So I'm wondering if a person were to photocopy that ad and cou
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If you look back through the archives you can find where I've talking about how much I have wanted to see a professional rod building organization for rod builders formed. Everybody pretty much wrote it off and I didn't expect to see anything happen in my lifetime so I was excited when I saw the notice about RBI in the last issue of Rodmaker. Just back from a few days off I see a post made a f
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There is no single location that will ever please everybody. The fact that the show is so very successful means that Tom has at least chosen a location that is a very good one for something like this. It's a fifteen hour drive for me but more than worth the time and expense. I can't see any wisdom and uprooting it and moving it somewhere else when it works so good right where it's at. Anybody
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Wish they had come out with these years ago! Now that I used the plans in the last RM to make my own reverse pilot bits for cork, I no longer have to do much reaming. But I also like to collect tools so who knows. I assume you'll have these at the show in NC in February?
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I was excited to read about this sort of thing happening. You might recall from past months that I've made several posts to the effect that rod builders who sell rods need something like this. To respond to some of Eric's points I can only say that I don't think we need another magazine, forum or show. How many of these things can anybody utilize and at what point do you have market saturatio
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Heat comes from the reaction of the two parts, and heat speeds the cure. So trying to keep the heat from getting too intense helps lengthen pot life. Also the thinner the layer of finish is, the easier it is for bubbles to rise and escape.
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Depends on how thick you want your finish to be. I normally use one thin coat to start and then a heavier one to follow. Both with high build. It's not a good idea to make the finish too heavy as it can weigh down the rod near the tip. Use just enough to cover the threads. On a lot of lighter freshwater rods I just use one coat.
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When I was growing up all the spinning reels had large diameter spools. Then in the 80's or maybe the early 90's, everybody came out with smaller diameter spools and claimed they gave you more casting distance. Now I'm seeing ads for a company that is coming out with large diameter spools and claiming that they give you greater casting distance. I can only guess that everybody will move back to
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These guys think outside the box and that's why they keep coming up with new rod building techniques. Really great stuff. Mine came today and although I haven't read it all yet I went straight to my favorite column by Gene Bullard. I just like the way he writes. Very entertaining and informative. Another great issue.
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Most fishermen I know will turn or pivot slightly in order to square the reel when a fish runs off to one side. And this would only be a few degrees needed to get everything back to square. But when you turn or pivot in order to square the reel on a conventionally wrapped rod, the guides are still going to try and go to the bottom. On heavy trolling rods the blank is short and stout enough that
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As a long time cyclist, I can tell you that the most comfortable ride comes on a bicycle with a steel frame precisely because it deadens vibrations. Aluminum gives a harsher ride and carbon is the absolute worst because it sends every bump and jolt right up your spine. If it were not for the frame designers being able to create some flexibility in the way the frame is made, I don't think any cycl
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Results prove the theory. Look at most other rod building sites and even those that get any traffic at all seem to get it from the same four or five people all the time. Here you have a large number of different people participating on a daily basis. The many exceptional rod building resources you have here such as the directory, faqs, glossary, photo page, article library and buy-sell page a
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I understand, but if the point is to promote and teach rod building, Tom your book is the best available for doing that. This was my point. I wouldn't worry about what others may say or think about your motives. If I were you I'd send Rod Building Guide because it is the best book going for teaching rod building.
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You say there is a company making these for sale? Can you provide an address or website? I'd just like to look at one.
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Tom I want to offer a public thank you for the book you sent to our local library. It is already on the shelf! I did have one question if you happen to read this. Why did you not send a copy of YOUR book? I think it is one of the better ones done so far and think it would have been the best one for the masses who might want to take up rod building. It's full of color and easy to follow. Not a
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Very true. I would be more than happy to buy a couple thousand name tags and some pends and plop them on a table if that is acceptable. Or we can all just provide our own. But I would not mind buying the tags for everybody that wants them.
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Tom, Kudos on the ad sheet for the show in February. It is really super sharp. It's sure to make a lot of rod builders sit up and take notice. Well done.
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Billy, If you are talking about the Renzetti lathe per your previous post, then you need to talk to the right person there. Renzetti is a very small company with only 4 or 5 employees. But Lily is the one to talk to if you want to see things get done! I had to wait a bit on a motor too. But it was worth it. The 1/10 HP is great for not only wrapping but turning as well. First one I got was a d
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Art, We can fix your problem. From what you have posted it is evident to me that you are having trouble because your autofill is installing an old or invalid password. This is why you can log in when you enter it manually. It's also why a new password works for a day and then stops working. The autofill goes back to putting in an old password. Then you ask for even another password and the cycle
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