Ain't no Clemens bidness no more. He sold out bout 7, 8, 9 or 10 year ago. Probly to Mudhole.
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Where did you guys get the thin tape? Also, and I guess this is a little off-topic, why am I having a problem with micros doing this? I've always used tubing when I used the regular guides say a number 6 or 8 and never had a problem. What is it about micros that make this "coming loose" more prevalent?
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Anybody found a safe and secure way to hold on micros while test casting? I've tried the tie wraps but it makes em feel a little heavy. Rubber tubing doesn't work when you really try to hum it and tape doesn't seem to grab to well for long either. Especially after you move it two or three times.
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Clean my cash? I thought money laundering was illegal? Seriously though, I got it too. Musta been maint.
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Is Swampland's site down? I ain't gettin any response from the link on the left.
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Had a client call me today. A rod that I refurbished for him a few years ago is fraying his line. I used the batson/forecast zirconium ring guides on this casting rod at the time. I don't use em anymore. Anyway, he said that he can hear the line coming through the guides and he can see the line being frayed. He can also feel it. He has spooled up brand new line and can still notice it. Any
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Anytime I ever tried to apply flex coat in below 60 degree weather, I always got an amine blush occur in the form of milky looking finish after it cured. This blush, I've noticed seems to intensify and detensify with a change in humidity and or temps even after it's cured! Sometimes it looks really bad and others not. So, I tried ThreadMaster. I like the TM because I can usually get it on in
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There is never any need to pull one all the way through and out, as shown in most insructional videos, unless it's for a very narrow trim band. James has the best idea of all and I think it was covered in a recent issue of RodMaker. Put the pull loop in early, 10, 15, 20 wraps or so, just real early - cut the tag close to the wrap with scissors just before pulling it under the last wind, hold t
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All, This board and RodMaker magazine have and will continue to be a great thing for rod building. I don't think I need to stress that to too many of you here. But, let me state, that spending some time with an experienced rod builder is just as priceless. I made the trek to Baton Rouge today (150 miles one way) and met with Mr. Bill Stevens. For the first time ever, I saw a custom rod that
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Guys, To expand on Simon's thread, can a tip be removed and used again. I've terrible trouble at aligning that thing up with the reel seat especially on long rods. My eyes are going and sometimes when I line up all my guides, I notice my already glued on tip is just a tad out of alignment. I can remove it with light heat from an alcohol torch. So, can I just glue it back on or does the heati
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Has anyone come up with a good way to bore a preformed cork pistol grip? I want it to follow the bore that's there and be perfectly concentric. I don't have a wood turning lathe per se but I do have a Pac Bay rod wrapper. I normally eyeball it on my drill press but that never works out quite like I want it. I feel like perfection is an absolute must in the handle as this is what fisherman loo
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I agree with Jim. The St. Croix SC3 series is hard to beat for affordability and action. I've got a backlog of return customers wanting the 3C70MM for throwing crankbaits. I've even used the 3C66MM and extended it to make a 7 footer. It is a dream. Greg
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Using U40's LS supreme (not hi-build). It was kinda cool today so I zapped both bottles in the microwave for about 15 secs. Mixed it up and applied it to the wraps. After 4 hours, I notice that it's not as hard as it should be, just gooey. Went back and read the instructions cause I thought I remembered something about not heating the hardener component. Sure enough, I wasn't supposed to hea
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Recent issue of RM said to take CCS data with guides up. I understand most people make spiral wraps, or so they say. Past issue said take CCS data on casting rod with guides down but I think it was assuming guides were built on top. So, what's the verdict? If guides on a casting rod are on top (opposite the trigger), and you want to get the CCS data of that finished rod, do you turn the guide
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Tom, Where can I find the expanded chart? Is it in one of my RodMaker magazines?
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I've got a 6' Berkley Lightnin Rod MH that a customer wants me to modify. I want to look at the CC numbers so I can see what effect my mods will have. So, I want to get my numbers prior to mod and then after the mod. I've firmly supported the rod 7" (no more than 10% of length) from the butt to the forward most support and level on at least the first 12 inches beyond the handle. I need
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Gary, Please, please, please, try the PG on a test blank first. I agree that it shouldn't be trifled with but in a quite different sense. It sets up so fast, seconds as a matter of fact, that I've found it difficult to apply in a short distance. My best finishes have come from swiping the entire blank with it and then putting on the wraps. Still, I've had situations where it will pull off wi
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Okay, so I'm following the instructions in RodMaker to the tee with one exception. The only Krylon Clear Acryl that Wally world had was flat and satin. The matte box was empty, guess everybody's making electric labels. Anyway I bought one can of each and made multiple labels to experiment on. After 3 coats of Krylon, either flat or satin, my labels have a white haze on em. Did I use too much
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Rick, All Lowe's is gonna have is 1/2 and 3/4. Usually won't work. If you must use tubing, try Speedy Metals on the web. They've got just about any size you want and at a reasonable price. That said, I wouldn't use tubing unless on a heavy salt water rod. I once extended an old Berkley Series one for a bass fisherman using tubing. It worked out okay but I could feel a significan
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Steven, It's happened to me on more occasions than I'd like. Even by reputable distributors. Some times they'll even give you a discount price on the phone and when you get your bill you've been charged full price. I don't buy a lot of blanks so I guess I don't carry much clout. If ever there was a business that caters to the bulk buyer, this is one. You have to be persistant. If you can e
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Seems a lot of distributors have pre-formed cork grips on sale for up to 50% off. I've noticed however, that individual cork rings have sky-rocketed to, in some places, 3X what they were just a year or two ago. How is it then that pre-formed grips are discounted so much? Seems it would be the opposite. Maybe some marketing guys could ring in on what's up. Reckon the discounted grips are in r
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Does anyone still carry the Fuji GFST7 and/or GFST6 guide tops?
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Thanks guys, To clairify, the joint will be under the reel seat and nearer the trigger end. It is a thicker wall than the blank, that's why I chose it. It is a tight fit, as a matter of fact, I could not get a size 00 thread wrap around the top end of the joint and still get it to slide on. One wrap of tape was almost too much. As far as contact being made in only one spot, wouldn't that be
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Is there anything wrong with this? I'm extending a freshwater blank from 6' to 6 1/2'. Butt dia is approx .375. The only thing I could find to use for an extension was a piece of scrap graphite. The big end of the scrap would slide over the butt of the rod the exact amout that I need it to (approx. 6x butt dia.) but now the taper at the bottom of the extension is opposite. In other words t
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I had the same problem about 5 years ago. I work in a shop where the air temp is controlled by mother nature. At the time, it was cold. I fought it over and over but could see the Flex Coat go cloudy in the cup shortly after mixing. I tried another batch, experimented with mixing times, another batch...use new mixing consumables, another batch, over and over again each time changing something
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Align em by eye as best as you can and go with it. After all, you're not shooting birds with it. Your customer is probably gonna look down the rod cuz that's what they think they're supposed to do. Kinda like kickin the tires on a new car before you buy it. As long as they look straight to him, he'll be alright with it but perfection here is way overkill as there is no return on perfectly str
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Still there are those times like when making trim bands with a nail knot that you will have those nubs come through. Especially if using metallic thread. I use a low build finish like LS (cuz I never figured out how to get the hi-build on in one satisfactory coat) and after the first coat has set for 24 hours, I come back with a razor and gingerly slice those nubs off even with the finish. It'
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Have Pac Bay wrapper with the upgraded chuck. I occasionally use it to turn cork grips. Internal jaws on chuck will barely grab a 1/4" mandrel. So, I put a few winds of tape around it so's it'll grab. This often slips and/or may cause some wobble/off centering, etc. Jaws also don't want to hold on to a 5/16" bare mandrel very well either. Anybody got any ideas on chuckin up this m
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Thanks guys, I'm following the article to the letter and pretty much doin what you all are saying. I guess it just takes practice like so much else. Again, thank you very much. Greg
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What would be the minimum wall thickness for aluminum tubing when extending, let's say, bass blanks? Would it be dependent on the butt diameter of the blank, the length of the extension, or the wall thickness of the blank? I recently ordered some tubing from Speedy Metals that had a wall thickness of .058 (had to get 5/8 O.D. to get correct I.D.) and I can tell a definite weight increase in the
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