An oily waste / flammable safety trash can is a good idea. They are typically red cans made of metal (some are plastic too) with a flip-up top and are designed for solvent or oil-soaked rags. They aren't really air tight per se, but they are designed to prevent your solvent soaked rags from becoming part of a fire by segregating them from ignition sources and limiting the amount of oxyg
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I've sold reels along with my rods on several occasions. Never had a problem. Basically, if I know what reel they are going to buy for the rod, and I can get a good price on that reel, they'll generally buy it from me. I'll bring it down to the tackle shop and have it spooled with whatever line they want as well (they pay for it of course). Even if I don't sell my customer a reel, I will al
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I've sold reels along with my rods on several occasions. Never had a problem. Basically, if I know what reel they are going to buy for the rod, and I can get a good price on that reel, they'll generally buy it from me. I'll bring it down to the tackle shop and have it spooled with whatever line they want as well (they pay for it of course). Even if I don't sell my customer a reel, I will al
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Try it on a piece of aluminum foil or scrap blank first... that's the only way to know for sure. Erik
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What you really are talking about is a tradeoff between the number of guides and the combined weight of the guides on the rod. I think everyone can agree that achieving the lightest possible tip weight is a desireable outcome. My sense is that the small ceramic fly guides, even if you use more of them, will probably weigh less than higher framed spinning guides... even if you used fewer of t
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For those of you who use the rubberized 3M Safety Walk tape for surf rod grips, you may have shared my opinion that it is just a little bit too rough on the hands for good all day comfort. I've tried sanding it down to reduce the roughness but that doesn't really work. I recently discovered that if you hit the grip gently with a torch, you can effectively knock down the roughness to a poin
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The only time I've had something like that happen was with Hi Build LS Supreme... and that was only because I was taking way too much time to apply the finish on a long rod with lots of guides... the finish thickend up to the point where it didn't penetrate uniformly. I've never had that happen with regular LS Supreme. The way I apply finish is to flow it onto the threads in excess with
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I thought I'd throw an idea out there that one of my kayak fishing buds came up with for the "Ghetto" version of a Sabiki Rod... He used a piece of 1/2" PVC with the flared end as the rod and attached a grip and clamped a reel to the other end. Here is a link to his project... Erik
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From your description, I do mine the same as you. I'd also be interested to hear if anyone has a slick solution to this. Erik
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In their catalog description, it says "Note: For colored sleeve buts the durable color is applied over the standard sleeve butt." This implies just the opposite, which is why I posted my question. The customer service rep that I talked to couldn't really tell me much about them. So I was wondering if anyone had experience with them. Might just have to try them for myself and
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I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with Merrick Tackles Colored Sleeve Butts. Specifically, I am wondering how durable the colored coating is on them. Anyone? Anyone? Erik
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Micro SET is applied to the rod and the decal is slid onto it. Then more is applied over the top before you press the decal with a wet papertowel or coffee filter (for less fibers). Once the decal is set in place and everything looks good, one quick brush stroke of microSOL is applied over the decal. This will soften the decal and make it look all gnarly... don't worry... once it dries it
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I've been very satisfied with Decal Connection's metallic silver and gold decals. The quality of their printout is dependant on the quality of the file you send to them. Usually I'm just printing names and inscriptions, so I send a Microsoft Word file with the inscription in the font that I want and sized how I want it sized. They print and send them right out. I haven't been very pleased w
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If you want good freeware, and you are willing to accept something that isn't quite as intuitive as some of these other image editors, GIMP is a great option. It is very "Photoshopish" and allows you to do some very advanced things, but is not as intuitive as Jasc or PhotoShop, etc. I used it for years before I bought a new computer that came with JASC. Erik
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Yep... that was pretty much what I was thinking. Good to hear your thoughts on it. These are real scenarios that I'm sure many of us run into from time to time... so best to think through them ahead of time so that your quotes can be accurate with respect to taxes, etc. Thanks, Erik
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One more... since we're on the subject.... some more gray area scenarios... 1. Say someone brings you a blank that they have purchased as well as guides and reel seat... you assemble their parts for them plus install a grip and butt cap that they did not supply, plus some decorative wrapping. Do you charge FET? 2. Say someone brings you blank with grips installed and wants you to wrap
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I too use JASC Paintshop Pro... Like it very much... great value. Erik
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LOL... That is classic... great story. I'm just laughing at the thought of you sitting with your legs crossed with a lure pinned to each shoe and still not willing to admit you need help. Darn that Mr. Macho Man... he'll get you every time!
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If you guys search the archives on this topic, there have been several very good discussions in the past. Erik
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I just did a marble with LS Supreme Hi build and found that if I let it set up for a while after applying the base coat color, the marble colors don't bleed nearly as much as with the regular finish (which I usually use). Allows for much finer detail in the marblizing. I like the long thin needle or wire idea... maybe making very thin rings of white on your background while the rod is rotatin
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Vincent, Guide size could be the issue as Tom pointed out. It seems funny that the line can hit the first 180 guide ring when the rod isn't loaded, but not touch the guide ring at all when the rod IS loaded. A smaller guide for your first 180 might be the ticket. A likely reason for the amount of line travel at your "bumper zone" is that you might have placed your first 180 guid
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Merrick tackle is now carrying Diamondback blanks. Any of the sponsors who use Merrick as a distributer should be able to get them for you. I believe Summer Moon is one of them. Erik
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I have travelled to Hawaii with several rods and had good success with a piece of 4 inch or 6 inch (I can't remember which) ABS pipe from the hardware store. ABS is usually black and has a foam core, making it much lighter in weight than PVC and plenty durable. Also, at the hardware store, you can get test caps for plumbing... the rubber test caps fit on the end of the ABS and can be secured w
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Left or right does not make a difference... it is mostly personal preference. The only time it really makes a practical difference is for non-levelwind reels... it makes sense for non-levelwinds to transition the guides to the opposite side of the crank... this way there is no pulling the line across the reel... just pushing it with your thumb and allowing it to work itself back again... tha
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Hey Derek.... Yep... That'd be me... I recognize the name now... dsrtegl (desert eagle)... Pier Rat extrordianairre... good to see you on thes board.
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Thanks for clearing that up Joe... I figured you would address that grinding issue as soon as you caught wind of it. That issue didn't seem to be characteristic of American Tackle's normal level of quality. Personally, I would still prefer them unground, since even what would be considered a decent factory grinding job still requires additional guide foot prep before use (as was the case wit
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I would agree that the Titans are a softer (more malleable) material than the Fuji equivalent. Is this a bad thing? I don't know... probably not... just different. For instance, with the Titans it is easy to adjust the guide foot to fit the blank. This is difficult with the Fuji guides because they don't take a bend very easily. It's also easier to grind the guide feet on the Titans... doesn
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Tom is already one step ahead of you. Look in the library... you'll see exactly what you're looking for in the Rodmaker Magazine Index or Rodmaker Magazine Directory (excel file). Erik
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FYI... If you buy the Angler's Workshop special threads listed in their catalogs... their size A thread is noticeably heaveier gauge than Gudebrod size A.... pretty darn good size for weaving. I agree... great folks to work with. Erik
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Chip... Another cosmetic idea would be to have his military insignia created in a custom decal. I've done this for a few rods. The insignia are usually easy to find as .jpg or .gif files on the web and most photo manipulation software can make easy work of turning them into black and white images suitable for printing as metallic decals. Below are a couple examples of projects I've don
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