When my father built rods 15+ years ago that's about how they did all their EVA handles. When i was telling him about my nasty experience w/ 5 minute epoxy that prompted me to finally try Rod Bond (a life saver) he said wow, we didn't use any glue at all. They just sprayed WD-40 inside the grip and on the blank. They did mostly trolling rods so the butt diameter was always at least 30% larger
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During the warmer months I wrap in my garage since I have a nice 12 foot long table dedicated to wrapping out there. When the daytime temps were in the 80-90's it would often dip down in the 40's and 50's at night. I noticed that my drying times almost doubled. On the flip side, when the daytime temps were too warm, it also seemed to increas my drying time. Now that it's colder than a well di
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I have the exact same problem. I turned off my pop up blocker at home and all it did was give me more pop ups to deal with and no additional links. I haven't figured it out yet and since I do most of my browsing at work I haven't put much more thought into it. Let me know if you figure something out!
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Kind of like "sospenders" for a fishing rod. I like the idea but something like that would probably be best kept to larger boat rods as opposed to say a 6' spinning rod.
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Thank you all, glad to know I wasn't missing the big picture. Even though there was a little more ferrule wrapping and finishing involved I actually enjoyed building the 4 piece a bit more. Storage for transport was a plus too. I wasn't expecting a black or white answer so I appreciate your replies. Thansk again.
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I would think you could get away with a 16 for your first guide as the line comes off the Abu 6500's fairly low. Now this is just my backward approach since I am relatively new to building myself but when I build a new style of rod I am usually building a "custom" version of a rack rod that I have. I'll measure guide and handle sizes and see where I can improve them if possible. It a
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IMO you will be fine, as most will reccomend, I'd use rodbond and follow the procedure in the FAQ's.
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I like - been thinking about making one for the wife and daughter myself before spring time comes. I really like the bead work.
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Just looking for opinions here.. If your customer does not have a preference on the number of sections for a fly rod, what would you personally reccomend? Until a customer requested a 4 piece I had always used 2 piece rods I guess for the 'less is more' aspect of it. Save for the extremely marginal changes in action or weight, what would prompt you to choose one over the other. The
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Just off the top of my head I know Hook & Hackle has 51 MM blanks in Matte Black. I know it's not exactly what you're asking but just trying to help.
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Ken, I'm still on the small side of the business but I try to buy an extra blank or two everytime I place an order. I'm getting there, need to stock up on more guides though. I was really hoping to buy a dozen or so sets of the Titans before the end of the year as my next several projects are already planned for them ... hopefully they are out sooner than later. I have one of the Elite bl
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Thanks Tom and Ken, I will probably just place my order for a half dozen blanks then and just one handle kit to check it out. Thanks for the mini review of the blanks Tom, I'm sure it goes without saying but your opinion was all I needed. By the way, I just received the two back issues and my first issue of my subscription of Rodmaker, and I LOVE it. We are about to get knee deep in snow he
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MudHole is a great place to look but I'd also give Neal a call at neals fishing products (sponsor) and talk to him. He can surely set you up within your budget. Good luck.
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Has anyone built on the matrix line from AMTAK yet? I am interested in the rod for sure but what about the casting handles? I have heard the quality may leave a little bit to be desired .... is this true. I may still order one just to see for myself because a picture doesn't always do things justice. I am looking to build a 7'crankbait/walleye rod and wouldn't mind trying out a new look.
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For a lake fishing rod, I bet you could stuff enough say 10# test braid (only 3# test dia.) up in the handle and attact it to a brightly colored float that is either the butt cap or right behind it. Adhere the but cap with that disolving sealant and there you go. It's still probably much easier to just not drop it in the water. ; )
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I kinda figured that out by the rest of the sentance but I didn't thing that word would be denied. Thanks.
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?? Forgive my ignorance but does @#$%& mean something ??
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Thanks, that must have been what I had read before because I remembered it was something simple that worked .... need to work on my memory just as much as my rodbuilding!! Thanks again.
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I've done them out of RainShadow, St. Croix, and Hook and Hackle among others. They have all come out real well and fished great. I'd go with a 6wt for your first one and then decide if you want to go lighter. Pretty much a decision based on color. Dark green, Brown, or Dark Blue. I didn't see the Rainshadow fly blanks in Neal's catalog but if he can get them I'd go with that, wouldn't
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Well put. I hadn't thought of it in that light. In my case, everyone I have built this type of rod for was well aware of what it was going to be like because most of them had either fished one of my Demo's or been with someone that already had one of my rods and seen it in person. This wouldn't be the type of rod to "surprise" someone with that is used to conventional designs.
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Has anyone else heard of the production rod that was garunteed to float then? I can remember seeing the picture on the net and a small article but no clue where that was. I'm pretty sure it was a crankbait rod but that's about it. I am curious as to what they did to achieve that.
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If a handle insert like foam could be utilized that would be as far as I'd go. The idea of a lanyard attached to my body seems like it would be restrictive or a nuisance to the point I wouldn't always use it. (that's just me) Then I'd REALLY be @#$%& if I lost a rod overboard! I'm really curious how much weight the necessary amount of foam to float a rod & reel would add to the blank. T
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I have been searching for a tip I read about on this board and can't find it. When I initially read it I was SURE I would remember it but obviously that didn't work! I usually do a very clean application on my guide wraps but every once in awhile when I have to apply heat to get rid of one pesky bubble it thins my finish to where it starts to sag. No big deal to remove it from the bottom of
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Thanks Mike, It is a gloss finished rainShadow blank but the decal is of a pretty poor quality and I'd rather use on of the 'new" waterslide decals I got from jimi at D.C. I had always applied them directly to gloss blanks before reading about the "floating" appearance of having a layer underneath it. I tried that on my last rod and it really came out clean. Thanks for
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I'd imagine that would change the action of the rod but thats just a guess. Might be worth trying to just blow the foam up as far as the handle goes on your blank. that shouldn't change the action and shouldn't add too much weight. I'd just be wary of pushing it too far up the blank. I know last year I saw a production rod that was garunteed to float even w/ a reel attached, I think it was
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Here's my dumb question of the day. I mistakenly applied a waterslide decal before laying down an initial layer of finish for it to sit on. I have not put any finish on top of the decal so it is completely exposed but has been dry for several weeks. Now that I am ready to finish the butt section of this rod, I want to remove the decal so I can put a basecoat on first and then apply a new d
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Point well made Joe. It does depend on the potential size of the bass he will be going after. There's no way I'd take my 5wt out in So. Cal where I caught my 17 pound LMB but here, in Montana, the state record is only 8 pounds so fine wire hooks have been appropriate. I have fished up to 6" Senkos wacky rigged on my 8' 5wt with no problem. I use the Yami crooked hooks and haven't had a pr
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I have used both 2 piece and 4 piece blanks. I have only orderd up to 9' blanks so I have not had to worry about leaving out a section. I initially thought I liked the two piece the best but that leaves them tough for storage at 54" or so long. The 4 piece breaks down great for travel. I do need to look at getting some REC brushed aluminum tubes though for protection. Also, aligning the
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Sounds like fun. I have an order for a 7 or 8wt but I haven't decided on the blank yet (it's one of those "just build it and I'll pay for it" deals with a friend so I'll probably go high end on the blank. These are the kind of jobs I like!
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I just recently started using him for all my AMTAK supplies and bought a TigerEye 7'6" ultralight blank for a rod I was making for a kid as an X-mas present. I was planning on using a St. Croix SCII flyrod blank but this worked perfectly. Watched the kid catch two 2-3# rainbows on it yesterday. That rod was BENDO! Kid loves it, it filled the bill, everyones happy. I still use a wide arr
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