I use a burnishing tool made for burnishing dry transfer lettering and also took a crochet needle, filed and smooth to a point for hard to get at spots especially on micro guides.
Forum: rodboard

Sliced up latex tubing works well for #4 guides, just finished a rod with that size and initially thought I'd have an issue but they wrapped without a problem..
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You can also put several drops of waterslide decal setting solution on the spot on the rod where the decal is intended to go. This allows you to slide the decal into the perfect position and will "shrink" the decal but you will not notice it on the smooth surface of the rod. This is how model makers get waterslide decals in the proper positions and to fit snuggly over the details of
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Boyd's tackle making book was the inspiration for the first rod I ever built. His instructions were easy to follow and his writing left you with the feeling that you could get the job done with patience.
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Walt, I've done two 10" surf rods with split cork grips and all I did was order the longest and largest diameter pre-made cork gip I could get, cut to the length sizes needed for the butt grip, reel seat grip and fore grip, sanded the ends down to meet the blank neatly. For the butt you may not end up with a lot of cork, I protected the cork with five coats of Birchwood Casey Tru-oil and m
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Check with Karen at Bingham Enterprises, she now has a Bingham line of blanks that may have comparable "values' to the Loomis models.
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In less than ten minutes, you could create a spreadsheet reference chart that would give you all the 27X values for all spool diameters ever made. This would then make the 27X method the quickest method of finding the initial choke point. Change that to five minutes.
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I have actually gotten donations from my customers in the form of old rods they no longer wanted taking up space in their garage or basement, just ask, you maybe surprised.
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Congrats to the future bride and groom, does that mean you now have a spare bedroom to stock more supplies?
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IMHO, rod weight on bass fishing rods, is overrated. If I build two rods, one weighing 3 oz, another 3.5 oz, same length, then add a 7 oz reel with line and 1/2 oz lure I doubt that anyone could tell the difference between the two set ups. As Les suggested, the lower modulas or thicker walled rod will give you the extra strength but the price to pay the piper will be chump change. Nor would bal
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For what's it worth, I would be interested in such an event. Likewise, it was a pleasure talking to the Mudhole group at the Worcester show.
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I will shape my cork grips and rubberized butt cap before even reaming to fit the blank. I press fit the pieces onto a drill bit, chuck it into a drill with a constant speed control, clamp that in to my WorkMate bench and that becomes my shaping lathe. Once the grips are shaped, I will then shape the rubberized butt cap to match the diameter of the rear grip. I like to use Tru-Oil as a finish
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I've got several bottles of AMTAK in the same condition and everything still works well. Mix some up and try it on a piece of blank that will be hidden by the reel seat.
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A shot glass for mixing epoxy, clean up with denatured alcohol, knitting needles as burnishing tool, paper towels for clean up, use the old credit cards as spatulas, braided fishing line as thread pullers, rod wrapping stand from scrap 1x2 lumber, felt strips and C-clamps.
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DAP Plastic wood filler (pine) and 2-3 coats of Birchwood Casey Tru-oil. Filler stays put.
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Look at a pair of Bolle's with interchangeable colored lenses and prescription insert. If you change your prescription you only change the insert, the sunglasses stay the same. Have had mine for three years now and whish I had done it sooner. $300+ depending on prescription.
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I use a PC air spray duster to blow off dust. while turning the rod.
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Not to be negative or morose, but it would seem a lifetime warranty is only good for the lifetime of the rod builder as the owner could out live the rod builder unless each of us had some sort of business continuation plan.
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My customers' most popular smallmouth spinning rod has started off with a St. Croix SCV 66MLF blank , a local expert smallmouth fisherman and I "designed " our model based on a similar St. Croix AVID blank I had used for a "prototype" (both quoted words used lightly.) Help came from this board and articles from the print media, Tom's book.
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I did a black blank with AMTAK all holo frames with purple main and holo trim and the reel was a Quantum holo. The purple main picked up the purple hues in the reel seat and guides and the holo trim was a nice compliment.
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I've been using the Cabela's woven graphite spinning reel seats in brown for all the SCV spinning rods I build and customers have been very pleased with the outcome. I also usually cut about an inch of thread off the seat, it's not needed for the rods I build and helps to reduce overall rod weight.
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I've been using a product similar to MicroSol for thirty years now, first for decaling model railroad equipment where the decal needed to shrink to fit snugly into the grooved details of the model. However, for apply to a fishing rod, no shrinkage of the decal is necessary, the solution allows you to move the decal easily until you are satisfied with the spacing and should not leave any residue
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Best bet is to use a cork sealer such as made by Trondak, I prefer a minimum of two coats of Birchwood-Casey Trul Oil. I have six year old rods where the cork handles look as good as new. BCTO will darken the cork.
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Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil, minimum of two coats for protection and sealing, 5-6 coats produces a nice gloss finish which repels water and I have not found to be slick when wet. I have rods that are five years old, soap an water wash down once a year, look as good as new and have never had any cork filler fall out.
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Next time also use distilled water to soak the decal in, will not leave a mineral deposits, etc.
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Harry, no insult taken. Your feedback is welcomed and has been educational to me and will be also to my customer (potential). Thanks again.
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Thanks Tom, that confirms what we thought would be the easiest and your comments will also make my customer comfortable with the proposed solution.
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Need some advice or confirmation on a process for repairing a bamboo rod. The rod is a H.L. Leonard model as evidence by the butt cap engraving and the owner's awareness when he bought the rod many years ago. I doubt that it is an original from the 1800's or early 1900's as the metal parts are in good condition and there are no intermediate wrappings even though the hookkeeper is the hanging '
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Carl, I live in Glastonbury and have yet to find a retail outlet in CT to do the touchy-feely thing. Even the new Cabelas has very little in the way of rod building supplies. I know some of the larger tackle shops along the shore line carry a few items mostly geared toward salt water. I have found it helpful to order a bunch of manufacturer's catalogs for comparison and go from there. For
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I have built rods ranging from 10ft surf rods to 7'6" spinning rods built on 3wt fly blanks using the AMTAK halo guides to include my own personnel rods and have never had a failure or complaint from my customers and if fact, the customers have received many compliments on how good they look and how well the rods cast. AMTAK' s customer service is second to none.
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