Exotic woods are not going to make them more valuable. If they are NOS, Struble, Bellinger or REC they may be worth a tad more than the price tags on them. Any markings on the seats as to who made them? Pictures would help figure out who made them. Most USA companies had reel seats that were unique to the company.
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In certain crowds, those Fenwick blanks may be desirable, more so for the shorter 6wts. It will also depend on the overall condition of them. How good of shape are they in? Bag rash present? To put a price on them, tough to say. There is another forum that caters to Fiberglass and there is a decent bunch of folks on that forum that could help you out. Fiberglass Fly Rodders. Finished origi
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I don't have any experience with Airflow lines, but on the several Affinity X rods I have, the best all around line I have found is the Cortland Trout Boss double taper. The Rio Grand and Gold also worked well, but to me, the DT Trout Boss works the best for all around situations.
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CTS Vintage is a tad bit softer than the Affinity M. Your choice would depend on what you want to do with the rod. The Affinity M would offer a bit more versatility, dries, dry/dropper, nymphing, light streamer work. The Vintage gets the nod if you fish wets, dries and dry/dropper rigs. You won’t find the Vintage on the CTS site, but Herb can order it for you.
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First, don’t put anything on the ferrules, wax or epoxy, not needed, just keep them clean like any other ferrule. The “smooth” area of female ferrule is something that several blank manufactures are doing now with blanks that still have the spiral ridge left on them. Seems like more blank companies are moving in that direction. Some say it allows for a better fit, little bit of wear over time
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Of the glass I have built on : McFarland GTX, those blanks are a blend of S2 and E glass. I have been told the NFC glass is a fast blank, but I don’t have any experience with them. I have fished and built on the following: CTS Quartz, Livingston Rod Co, Steffen Brothers, Kabuto, Tom Morgan, Larry Kenney, Epic and my own tapers.
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You have plenty of options especially if you are looking for an all metal seat, several of the board sponsors carry stuff from REC, American Tackle, Batson and Pacific Bay, plus a few I may not have mentioned. Joel Lemke has a couple also, he is the guy that makes Snake Brands skeletons. If you are looking for a wood with metal seat, that .588 bore is going to be tough, possible with certain
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There is a Forum that caters to glass, Fiberglass Flyrodders , you'll find some reviews of the North Fork glass there, I do a lot of glass builds, but I've never built on the North Fork offerings.
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Lets not forget the R & D that goes on behind the scenes prior to the release of a series. The actual cost of that blank may be down to X once it is all ready to go, but XXX was spent to get to that point. I have a buddy of mine that just dropped a fair amount of coin on buying his own rolling equipment, mandrels and prepeg. Its a very significant investment, we all know what he needs to
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I have a CTS 11’-3” 2/3 Spey. With a Sagit line it likes a 215 grain head. A Wulff Ambush 5wt also works well, but I prefer the Rio 215 Sagit. I’m considering getting a 4/5 CTS, maybe a bit longer length than the 11-3. I’ve been using my 11-3 for swinging a small bugger streamer with a nymph trailer, on medium to bigger trout rivers it has been working out very well.
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3 sizes of guides. Start with a #10 stripper, then a couple of #2’s rest 1/0’s with a small loop tip top. 11 or 12 guides total. I’ve used 11 plenty of times on that same blank. I just use a general placement chart, then Static load the blank and adjust the guides up or down so you get the fly line to follow the curve of the blank. You’ll probably get several opinions on this, just keep in m
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The first generation of Epic blanks, fiberglass, were rolled by CTS. The tapers were similar to some of the same CTS blanks and a few were totally different along with length and line weight configurations. Couple of things really exposed Epic to the glass world of flyfishers, they really did a bang up job of advertising and marketing their products. Were some of their blanks better than a CTS in
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This may offer you some help: The production rod, how old is it compared to the blank? The company they are from, do they roll their own blanks or do they source them from another company that does third party work? I'll give you an example where the model name did not change (or very little). Back when Swift Fly Fishing came on the scene with their Epic Glass rods, the blanks were rolled b
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I'd try calling Thomas and Thomas for specifics. If my memory is correct, they were made in the 1990's. The rods I am picturing were natural graphite with a clear coat, dark warps, maybe black?
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CTS Affinity X.
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I know there are a couple of builders that do those types of builds in the Verona to Syracuse area. I've run into them at shows, but I cannot remember their names. I'd call a few of the conventional tackle shops in the area, they should be able to help, they'll know who does builds and repairs on the spin and casting stuff. I'm a bit east of Canastota, about 100 miles, and I only do fly rod b
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I set up an account with Fed Ex. Since 99% of my builds come with an Aluminum tube, I wrap them in bubble wrap, then in a Square sided box. It actually costs more with Fed Ex to ship a round tube. No issues with them, it arrives on the day they say it will and no damage. If your going to ship a rod without a tube, best to ship it in PVC then a cardboard box. Same goes for blanks. The past 2 ye
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I cover the new labels with epoxy, no need for CP or anything to pre coat them before using your thread finish epoxy. I don’t have any problems with getting a level, long finish spot. Although I will say the higher viscosity finishes seem to work better on longer finish spots, they just level easier. Probably has something to do with how I apply my finish also. One cool thing is that you can
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As far as I know, there are only 4 companies rolling FG Fly Rod Blanks in the USA. Steffen Brothers, now owned by Shane Grey, Greywolf Products McFarland Rod Co, Mike McFarland Livingston Rod Co, Dusty Smith North Fork Composites I know Shane rolls a 6ft 2/3 weight, I have one from the Mark and Tim days, sweet rod. McFarland does have some stuff shorter than 7ft, I have built on his 6
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Just to add, there is a book by Mike Sinclair named “The Bamboo Rod Restoration Guide”. While it is out of print, used copies can be found. It has a wealth of good info on fixing up old Bamboo. It even gives you the correct thread colors and specifications for many common brands, like your South Bend. Word of caution, prices on this book can be all over the map, hunt around and you’ll find one
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The most common used finish on Bamboo for thread wraps is Marine Grade Spar Varnish. While there may be a few people on here with experience related to Bamboo work, your best source is another forum called the Classic Rod forum. That South Bend was finished with Spar when it was first built. I would not recommend a 2 part thread finish epoxy. While products like the U-40 Permagloss was develo
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There are several forum sponsors that carry the Crafty Cutter, plus several others that are not that should could have them in stock. Google could be some help.
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Just to add, most silk comes in 50wt, 100wt, and A. 50wt is a tad bit smaller in diameter than A, 100wt is smaller than 50. All will be plenty strong enough for guide wraps on a fly rod. I typically stick with A and 50wt for most of my work and use the 100wt for tipping.
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All 3 are quality brands. YLI in Natural, has given me the best results when I am looking for the thread to become clear, transparent look. I would recommend that you buy each brand and do some test wraps on your blanks. Put the test wraps where your grip will go, easy enough to remove once you find which thread gives you the look you are after.
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I'll say the same, if you are happy with Flex Coat and get good results, stick with it. I played around with a few different finishes over the years, they all work well, but they have certain quirks that you'll need to figure out. I settled on Threadmaster until the Gen 4 showed up. My experience is exactly the same as Michaels with it. Bubbles have never been an issue for me either. The one
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Having the first two or three guides of the same style starting from the butt will make no difference in how well a rod will cast. All it does is add extra weight, not much in your case due to the type of guides you are using, but it will add some. I’d go with the 16 as the Stripper (only the first guide is called a stripper, rest are running guides) maybe a #5 or #4 next, then 3’s the rest o
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I use the Rubbermaid drawers, labels on front of drawer for organizing by colors and brand.
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It happens, they break down, the outer coating near the factory loop. I’d do what Tom K says. Nail knot and perfection loop. Personally, I like the factory loops, but a well tied nail knot is just as seamless.
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I use Nylon 90% of the time without CP. I've done the same thing Terry has, "sample" wraps on scrap pieces of various blank colors, both Carbon and Fiberglass. I would recommend you do the same. If you want your thread color to be more visible on a dark blank, try using a color that will stand out more, example: Candy Apple Red on a Natural Carbon or Black Blank will darken a bit, but n
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If your looking for the thread to have almost no contrast to the blank color, I would recommend you buy a couple of colors, from Black down to Greys and do some test wraps on the butt section where your grip will go. Personally I think Black thread is going to stand out more than you may want. Pro Wrap A nylon is a fine thread and it will darken a bit when you apply your finish. Something like #8
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