In tubular I like Seeker's stuff. Not sure anyone makes any solid glass blanks anymore. They'd be heavy if so but not sure if there is any such animal these days.
Forum: rodboard

Depends. For ultimate security and dependability, Permagloss. Period. If I want a nice look to go with it, something smooth and glossy, I will put a top layer of Flex Coat over it.
Forum: rodboard

Prepare to be blown away. Nothing else even remotely like this in the rod building universe.
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50% cork 20% Carbon skinned 20% hard plastic tuff butts 10% EVA or Hypalon
Forum: rodboard

A giant tip of the hat to Ross Van Enckevort for his spider wrap article in the latest RM. I would never have figured that thing out on my own!
Forum: rodboard

No forum answer will be anywhere near as detailed as what has been in the magazine, but if you do a search here on the forum for "decals" you can probably get some pretty good specifics on how many people make decals on their ink jets.
Forum: rodboard

There was a company at the Expo a few years back that had a bunch of stuff like that. Can't remember their name. Maybe just try a google search with "fish pins" in the title. When I did that bunch of suppliers came up. Surely one of them would have something you could use.
Forum: rodboard

I noted the name of the product you used before it got edited. To the best of my knowledge that is a repackaged product and it could have been contaminated when the seller poured it from one bottle to the other. No way to tell.But I can't really see two rod finish epoxies reacting with one another. I've put different epoxies over each other and never run into what you state above. I would look at
Forum: rodboard

Nearly every company I buy from mail order averages their shipping charges and bases them on the purchase amount. I have no idea if they make any money on their shipping charges. My guess is that they make a little on one and lose a little on the next one. Somebody has to pay for the boxes, rod tubes, PVC, bubble wrap, styro peanuts, tape, labels, etcetera. It adds up. Check a ULine catalog some
Forum: rodboard

The company says they can and will not groove under braid. I have not had any problems so far but have only had them on some rods for a couple years. No way for me to say what they may look like five years from now.
Forum: rodboard

It's wild! I have no idea why it works but it does. The reason I tried it with a junker first was because I thought the end would just whip and snap off. It didn't. Stayed mostly true and calm. Great tip. Thanks. As far the antics of that little group goes, you can't go anywhere on the different rod building forums and not find one of them taking a cheap pot shot at Tom about something or the
Forum: rodboard

Is this the thing about turning a long rod on a short lathe bed? I tried it for kicks with a junker rod and was amazed!
Forum: rodboard

I may be way way off here but I seem to remember a chemist here saying that beeswax will enhance a bond and paraffin will prevent a bond. I may be all wet but seems like that was posted here awhile back. Beeswax seems sticky to me and by itself might cause problems. I'd go by the grocery store and pick up a stick of paraffin just to be on the safe side. What's a length of nice cork worth?
Forum: rodboard

Beautiful!
Forum: rodboard

Sat in on a seminar he did at the Expo. Very down to earth guy. Very helpful here on this forum over the years. A straight shooter.
Forum: rodboard

Not sure it matters but I would use the widest or largest brush you can handle. That way it only takes one or two revolutions of the rod to coat the wrap. Sometimes I use two brushes. A larger one down on the butt wraps and lower guides and a smaller or narrower one up on the mid and tip guides.
Forum: rodboard

If you do that then the longer the rod the further up the stripper will be, and the shorter it is the closer in it will be. But rod length shouldn't change that function. Not sure this a wise way to do it. Sure wouldn't work on a spinning or casting rod and I doubt it will work well on a fly rod.
Forum: rodboard

Great article on using acrylic clay in the new issue of RM. Before I go in deep on this has anyone else tried it and what did you think the durability was or is? I haven't read the whole article yet and there may be more info there I haven't digested so far but this stuff really has me interested. Surely somebody else has at least tried it?
Forum: rodboard

I saw one of Gene's rods, a spinning rod, at the ICRBE a few years ago. It didn't seem to work as well as stated. No idea on the fly rods.
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I didn't say he didn't have the right, I said it was a shame he had to repeat things he had already put in the article.
Forum: rodboard

A shame you have to write it up again after you have already written the article and had it published. People could just get the magazine and read it for themselves.
Forum: rodboard

I don't know how anyone here would have that information if Loomis doesn't. I also don't understand why you would send in a rod that isn't broken to have it replaced with another one just like what you had at the start. What am I missing?
Forum: rodboard

Just three days out, don't worry about it. Just overwrap and finish as usual. You'll be fine. Everything will stick like glue!
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I think the guides on a fast action rod should be bunched up on the tip area and less so as you move back further towards the mid and butt area. If you do a static placement you will get about the same tendency to have more guides spaced closer at the tip and fewer spaced further apart towards the butt. Maybe I missed something here. I need to try it out for myself I guess.
Forum: rodboard

Kudos to Jeremy Reed and Nuno Paulino for two really great do it yourself articles in the new magazine. I will definitely be giving the "mad swirl" a try and Nuno's stencil painting thing won't be far behind. Really neat ideas and techniques guys. Thanks.
Forum: rodboard

I think the butt guides will be a wash so if you can get the weights of the transition and running guides for each and weigh them you should be able to quickly tell which will result in less weight. The MW will only have one transition guide and the KR maybe a couple. I just can't see much difference. I think the MW rod might possibly balance a little bit further back towards the reel.
Forum: rodboard

The closet woodworking store to me offers half day wood turning introductory classes. They get $150 for it. It's fine but not in the same league as what the Expo offers and not the amount of rod building specific info that Morris offers. And Morris's seminars and booth instruction are free. The guy knows what he's talking about and knows how to teach.
Forum: rodboard

I'm a big fan of the KISS principle. Wet a rag or paper towel with alcohol, wad and shove it through the reel seat bore. Now it's clean. Using the WBF tool shown in RodMaker, spin it through the seat end to end, then pull it back end to end. You're done and have a perfect water break free surface. I can't do it in five seconds, but sure it doesn't take me longer than ten or fifteen. Simple, quick
Forum: rodboard

I found Quick Bond, which is the quicker setting version of Rod Bond to be the best of all worlds. It lubes parts as you slide them in place and sets in about 15 minutes and cures enough to be handled and worked in about an hour. So if you don't see any leaks or gaps in 15 minutes, you're good. It's a gel just like its big brother Rod Bond but sets WAY quicker. But still not so quick like the 5 m
Forum: rodboard

If you want a little more flexibility in what you can make out of metal, there was a complete article in past issue of Rodmaker that detailed Metal Spinning. This allows you to form most metals over a core to get shapes you couldn't do on a regular metal lathe by cutting. I don't have that issue in front of me but I think it was one of the issues published in the last couple of years. Pretty neat
Forum: rodboard