I
nternet gathering place for custom rod builders
  • Custom Rod Builders - This message board is provided for your use by the sponsors listed on the left side of the page. Feel free to post any question, answers or topics related in any way to custom building. When purchasing products please remember those who sponsor this board.

  • Manufacturers and Vendors - Only board sponsors are permitted and encouraged to promote and advertise products on the board. You may become a sponsor for a nominal fee. It is the sponsor fees that pay for this message board.

  • Rules - Rod building is a decent and rewarding craft. Those who participate in it are assumed to be civilized individuals who are kind and considerate in their dealings with others. Please respond to others in the same fashion in which you would like to be responded to. Registration IS NOW required in order to post. You must include your actual First and Last name and a correct email address when registering or posting. Posts which are inflammatory, insulting, or that fail to include a proper name and email address will be removed and the persons responsible will be barred from further participation.

    Registration is now required in order to post. You must include your actual First and Last name and a correct email address when registering or posting.
SPONSORS

2024 ICRBE EXPO
CCS Database
Custom Rod Symbol
Common Cents Info
American Grips Piscari
American Tackle
Anglers Rsrc - Fuji
BackCreek Custom Rods
BatsonRainshadowALPS
CRB
Cork4Us
HNL Rod Blanks–CTS
Custom Fly Grips LLC
Decal Connection
Flex Coat Co.
Get Bit Outdoors
HFF Custom Rods
HYDRA
Janns Netcraft
Mudhole Custom Tackle
MHX Rod Blanks
North Fork Composites
Palmarius Rods
REC Components
RodBuilders Warehouse
RodHouse France
RodMaker Magazine
Schneiders Rod Shop
SeaGuide Corp.
Stryker Rods & Blanks
TackleZoom
The Rod Room
The FlySpoke Shop
USAmadefactory.com
Utmost Enterprises
VooDoo Rods


Current Page: 4 of 18
Results 91 - 120 of 521
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
You kinda answered your question yourself, if your first coat looks great, why are you attempting to “clean it” ? If you have a bad spot in your first coat, like a dust particle, use a razor blade to shave it off. Never put any type of tape or liquid on freshly cured thread finish. Your just asking for problems when you apply your second coat. Any type of cleaning agent is going to leave a re
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
If your looking to get totally invisible wraps, you'll need to use Natural color Silk. YLI has a Natural color silk. The ones labeled White will not work, especially on a darker blank. Nylon thread will not go invisible. As for your trim bands, if you are using a contrasting color, you'll need to do some test wraps, and keep the trim band thread the same or smaller diameter than the main wrap
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
While not in my golden years, I’ll second Spencer’s opinion.
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
No, this is the unbraced version. Rod has only 6 guides on it, so all is not lost if I cannot locate the 18, will go with the braced models for all of them, most seem to have all the braced version in stock in the sizes I need. Thanks for reaching out Ron.
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
I'm in a bit of jam, I am doing a repair on an old glass Boat Rod, and the only guide I cannot lay my hands on is the #18. I need one, Pacific Bay XB in Bright Chrome. I have checked with all the suppliers that are sponsors here (that carry Pac Bay products) and I've reached out to other companies. Everyone is back ordered on 18's. If there is a forum member that has one and would be will will
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
Use the smallest guide size that will pass your connections, using larger sized guides does nothing for performance. All you are doing is adding extra weight, which will dampen the blanks recovery. I'd use an #8 Stripper, then a #1, rest 1/0 or 2/0. Snake Brand has the Universals which go as small as a 1/0 and the Originals which go down to 2/0.
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
Rick, it’s probably a long shot that you’ll find an answer to the exact color. But, give this a shot, get several colors and brands that look close. When you peel off the remaining thread, look at the underside of the thread and try to match it. Another point of concern, given the age of the rod and how much time it has spent out in the sun, there may also be some fading, so getting close may
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
In regard to size, use the smallest size that will pass your connections and keep your drop in guide sizes limited to 3. Snake Brand Makes a very good guide, I use them almost exclusively on my builds.
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
Spine does not matter. Like Herb stated, any position that you want or base it on customer specifications. When a blank is pre labeled by the manufacturer, I typically put it on the top of the blank and my decal will go 180 degrees, or bottom side of blank, unless a customer says do it a certain way. Sometimes, like in the case of Tom Morgan Rodsmiths or Livingston Rod Co, they supply a ro
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
Like the other Gents have stated, its not about the brand, all the brands are good, personal preference when it comes to that. I'd lean more to tension, guide foot prep and how/where you position the blank to get the wrap started.
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
Fiberglass has developed more of presence in the last 10 years with flyrodders. Like a few others have stated, the Fiberglass Fly Rod Forum has a wealth of information on it. Still, many of the older glass rods still hold a decent presence, Fisher, Philipsons, Fenwicks to name a few. Today both E Glass and S2 Fiberglass are still used for blanks, as well as a few people rolling combinations o
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
Here in the Northeast, Carp are a popular target with fly fishermen. While most are taken on nymphs, they will take dries. One of my home turf rivers, we will find Carp mixed in with trout taking mayflies off the surface, they are actually tougher to fool than the trout. When the Grasshoppers are out, we’ll find them in back eddies sipping the ones that get blown into the water. Of the species of
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
Rio USA Idaho Cortland USA NY Scientific Anglers USA Michigan 406 Fly Lines, made by Scientific Anglers, Sold in Montana Orvis USA, their lines last I knew were made by Scientific Anglers, but that could have changed. Some of these outfits do 3rd Party line work, but most are not going to say who makes their stuff. Years back when Rio first showed up, their stuff was made by Cortland Line
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
10' Fly Rod, typically 11 guides, that includes the stripper. Look up how to do a "static load test". The object is to have the guides placed so that as the blank is put under a load (and bent) the line will run parallel to the blank. You can use any guide placement chart as a starting point. Tape the guides on, run a fly line thru them, put the blank under a load and look at how th
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
I’ve been using it since the beginning of last winter. Like the other gents who have posted their positive comments, I am also impressed with the results. Yes, it does take a bit longer to reach full cure than Regular Threadmaster, but it’s not a big deal to me. The big thing that I have noticed is when it is applied to a “clear or natural fiberglass” blank, you can see a difference in how cl
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
First off, The thread holds the guide to the blank, the holding strength is in the thread wrap, does not matter what material the thread is, but larger diameter thread does have more strength. Silk is a bit stronger than Nylon, but it is really not all that much. I'm not sure where Polyester Thread falls in on strength between the other two. Does not matter, they all have plenty.
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
I’ll second Tom K’s recommendation. I’ve built a gang of glass blanks in that length and line weight using that guide train. I’d also recommend Snake Brand Universals for the snake guides.
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
2nd Spencer’s comment.
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
Use the smallest size that will pass your line connections and knots. Also the least amount of size changes, typically limited to 3. You want to keep the added weight to the blank at a minimum. Personally, I am not a fan of single foot guides on fly rods. I use Snake Brand or REC Recoils on my builds. I'll go on to say that a lot of the mass produced Euro rods that you see today do have singl
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
I've been using the Gen 4 for about a year now, that "blue" tint will disappear when you have it mixed. I've also used it in a couple of CTS Shine blanks as well as Natural Fiberglass, it has stayed "clear" just fine so far. The one thing I do notice with the Gen 4 compared to other brands, the luster of the thread is more enhanced in my opinion, the cured product result just
Forum: rodboard
2 years ago
Bill Hickey
Get yourself a copy of Mike Sinclair's book Bamboo Rod Restoration Handbook. It is out of print, but used copies can be found. He covers in easy steps how to do what you are looking to do.
Forum: rodboard
3 years ago
Bill Hickey
I always go over a bunch of stuff with a potential customer, many of the items were covered in the above posts. Its also a plus when a customer is local, usually have them visit me and test cast a few rods. I also get those customers that know exactly what they want in a blank, they are just looking to get it built out, sure I engage in conversation to see what steered them towards this blank.
Forum: rodboard
3 years ago
Bill Hickey
Thank you to the forum members that reached out via emailing me. One member is mailing me a spool of the thread. Thank you!
Forum: rodboard
3 years ago
Bill Hickey
Anyone on this forum that might have a spool of Gudebrod NCP Olive size A, I need it for a repair, partial spool is fine, I don't need much. Stripping guide on a 70's era Heddon Glass Rod. I have the 3 Pro Wrap colors that are close, one is slightly lighter and one darker, just enough to really notice. My email is not hidden, so feel free to message me. Thanks.
Forum: rodboard
3 years ago
Bill Hickey
Personally, I don’t like to use tape as an arbor under a grip, or anything under a grip when this could happen. I’d visit a hardware store and try to find a round Double Cut file. Some auto parts stores may also have them. I have found them to be good for those in between moments when a commercial bought reamer has to much taper as compared to the blank. Another option is to make your own
Forum: rodboard
3 years ago
Bill Hickey
I'm also not a fan of removable fighting butts. Plenty of options out there for Salt Safe reel seats. Personally I like the Lemke and REC seats. Guides, both REC and Snake Brand have excellent stuff, with the Snake Brand, make sure you get the ECO coated guides for the Salt.
Forum: rodboard
3 years ago
Bill Hickey
Donald, There is another forum called the Classic Fly Rod Forum, it mainly deals with Cane. There are also several books out there that get into repairs, restoring and refinishing cane. If you looking to restore your rods to original specs, I'd try to get you hands on the Bamboo Restoration Handbook by Michael Sinclair (book is out of print and prices vary on the used market), while his book
Forum: rodboard
3 years ago
Bill Hickey
Like Phil said, google search, there are several sources in the USA selling some good blanks, they are expensive compared to carbon or fiberglass. One word of caution, stay away from the ones on the @#$%& site where the price is to good to be true, you will regret it.
Forum: rodboard
3 years ago
Bill Hickey
I use NCP with Regular Nylon, the NCP is used a trim band or an inlaid wrap, like in the middle of a ferrule wrap. Like one of the other gents mentioned, best to do a test wrap. Do it on the section of the blank that will be covered by the grip if you don't have scrap sections of blanks. It is slightly "larger" in diameter, but not enough to cause a hump in your finish. The two o
Forum: rodboard
3 years ago
Bill Hickey
CTS Affinity X. HNL Rod Blanks-CTS, sponsor to left.
Forum: rodboard
Current Page: 4 of 18

Webmaster