I have done business w/ Neal and he has been extremely helpful! If you are going to make one for yourself, try it out on a fast action Import like the Forecast. For an "experiment" a $30 blank is reasonable. Ask Neal what else he has, he may have a "tiger eye" fast action blank you can use. Careful though, they are addictive!
Forum: rodboard

I think the combination of a 6wt, and flouro solves the problem. H&H (a sponsor) has both American made and Imports that are fast action. If you don't mind the imports they are very inexpensive and I have built a couple on the Forecast line H&H sells and they were fine. I am anxious to build a 7,8, maybe even a 9 wt to see how they work but the 6 wt has been dependable for me so far.
Forum: rodboard

Jackie, Remember, this is just how I do things which, if you ask my wife, leaves a lot to be desired! I set them up the same way I do my spinning rods but due to the additional length, you will most likely have a couple extra guides. I start with a 25, and work my way down to an 8 or 7 before the tip. The last one I finished had something like a 25,20,16,12,10,10,8,8,tip. I'd have to c
Forum: rodboard

Jackie, Can't quite remember what I wrote before so we'll just play this one again. Something I know I forgot to say the first time is that if you are concerned about manufacturer warranties on the blank, you may want to nix the idea. Many will only honor the blank warranty if it is used for the purpose intended, ex: fly blank into a fly rod only. This is what they say, not sure if anyone
Forum: rodboard

I wish I would have started when I was 14! My father was building custom rods when I was a kid and I remember being an extra hand for him in his shop. What a great hobby for a youngster to get involved in. I'm trying to get my 15 year old away from the PS2 to learn a little about it this winter. Good luck to you!
Forum: rodboard

I personally made the switch from Fuji to AMTAK awhile back because of availability from my wholsalers but I have still used them on occasion. One way to make sure we limit our choices is to bash those who are not giving us what we need at this time. That will sure make it less attractive for them to become a sponsor again if they read those posts. If I do not feel a vendor is giving me what
Forum: rodboard

I believe I have read that they are supposed to be as identical as possible within reason. I did build a 4 piece and a two piece out of the same blank (H&H) and in my hand the 4 piece felt a tad stiffer. It was not negative in anyway and not significant enough to worry about in my mind. I'm sure you will get more scientific answers than mine...
Forum: rodboard

I used to do all my labeling by hand until I finally broke down and called Jimi just to see what he could do for me. I had used several lower quality waterslide decals and it was a 50/50 shot wether they laid down clean or not. Since a customer was ordering this rod as an X-mas present and it was already Dec. 20th, I didn't have much time. I emailed my label info to Jimi and asked for the &q
Forum: rodboard

Good luck, sorry to hear it didn't work out for you. If it will ease the pain at all I made a mistake on the X-mas present rod I am making too. I have always used darker or metallic threads so I have never used CP. I actually liked how it made some of them darker without it. Well, since I wasn't thinking and all, I made my underwraps on this rod with a nice bright yellow and then used a dar
Forum: rodboard