I have been steadfastly in favor of the REC recoil guides and tip-top to dress the blank with the lightest components I can find. But I know some builders believe that the SiC ceramics provide a more "slippery" surface - a lower coefficient of friction and less inertia to overcome. So I loaded one plastic bag with 10 pennies and clipped it onto a section of fly line (down low) that
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I don't think Rick wants the effect you are talking about. I think he is concerned that the edges are detaching from the blank - But - I could be wrong. Herb
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I have posted this 2-3 times. The best is 1mm elastic thread you can buy in craft stores in the beading dept. I use .5mm thread to place guides. The 1mm thread over the .5mm thread to test cast is awsome. No slippage or twisting. And, leaves no residue like tape. I just wrap with the proper amount of tension and tie two double overhand knots. Herb.
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Don't mix two finishes. Herb
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Bill, Which blank are you considering for the spey. And, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT TRADITIONAL SPEY OR OVERHEAD CASTING? I AM GOING TO BUILD A 10'6" "SWITCH" ROD ON THE cts AFFINITY MX. I hate when that happens with the caps key. Herb
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Bill, BTW - you did not say where and for what fishery you will be using rod. The DC FT are built for light saltwater use. A bit too much for trout. Although I did use the #6 for bluegills in Wi when a tornado blew us out of a bass river float trip. But at least they would give you a starting point. Of course I may be being presumptuous to assume that you do not have the same sort of tackle
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Bill, I think Tom is correct re fast vs slow for the beginner. 8'6" rod will feel lighter in the hand than a 9'. That is why I use an 8'6" for my #11 rod. But for a 5 or 6wt I think I would go with a 9'. I have 9' 5 and 6wt Dan Craft rods, built on his FT blanks, already built that I would lend you and your daughter to try before you build. Ship them back to me when finished. I
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Rogerio, The way I have done many fly rods with the Flex Coat lathe is to wrap the forward section with as mush 3/4" or 1" blue masking tape as you can and still get the taped end into the dril chuck. Tighten the chuck just enough to "dimple" the tape. IF YOU TIGHTEN TOO MUCH YOU WILL DAMAGE THE BLANK. Nextt you will apply additional tape to thwe chuck - running down on to
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Or you can use the flexCoat rod "lathe"setup. Herb
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use the FlexCoat syringes
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"Rubber" dish-washing gloves are great to open jars and separate fly rod pieces. Good purchase. Herb
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Gavin, My favorite Dan Crafts FT blanks are the FT 905 and 907 - I have all of the FT's from 5-10. The FTL is a nice blank but one would not use in the same fishery. The FT905 is best, in my opinion, with a #6 line. Herb
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Mark, You will not get any "shooting" advantage with carbide guides. Will be quieter but no casting advantage. I would go with the REC to preserve the crisp action of the 5wt. I have that blank built. Love it with a #6 line. I only use the ceramics (Fuji Ti SiC) on his 9 and 10 wts. Herb
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I use a hole saw on a drill press. If the resulting hole is too large I grind down the few teeth that create a wide saw kerf which will produce a smaller hole. I replace the drill bit for the piolet hole and replace it with a 1/4" stainless rod that fits the 1/4" hole in the cork. I adjust the smooth rod to cut only as deep as I need. It stops cutting when the rod hits the table. I
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Wayne, Don't replace guides with Ti SiC. Make sure your line is cleaned and dressed properly. The REC guides will make that noise with a dirty OR dry line. Once the line is clean, dressed and wet the noise will lessen or cease entirely. Herb
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Jim, IMO you should first decide whether you belong to "the-lighter-is-better" team, or the "heavier-is-better-team". For some time I belonged to the former. My reels (for salt water - 7-10wt) were the likes of Ross & Waterworks. Then I coundn't pass-up the Able 3N. Which is not a light reel, an I found that I liked the weight. SOOOO, what you should do is strip off
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All I use now is TM. Re bubbles - I use Pac Bay mixer and also dribble out on alum foil. Some bubbles come from air coming from tunnels through thread. I use a needle to "pop" bubbles late in the process, as I rotate blank. Herb
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I am hearing a mixed signal here - is it being said that the CTS blank design and construction leaves something to be desired??? Herb
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I posted that I had three fly rods made for my by a very well known Wa state builder and I specified Struble Ti seats. I did this because they were the "best" you can buy (expensive - so they must be the best. Very sorry I did this because the rings beat-up the reel feet and the knurled lock rings do not tighten NEARLY as well (smoothly) as Al. Aluminum-on-aluminum seems to function
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Not all scalpels are "created equal". I have tried three brands and two shapes (10 & 11) so far. The carbon steel blades were a little better than razor blades. The best is a very thin bladed stainless steel scalpel #10. I like the 10, which has a convex shape to the blade, MUCH better than the 11 which is straight, because the 10 exposes the thread, you do not wish to touch, to
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Sorry guys - I read "Corrosion-X" but my brain saw "Salt-X". I discarded the Salt-X. Bauer Reels supplies Corrosion-X with all their reels. No problem using. Herb
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I used it for awhile, without any negative results, but was worried about long term effects on lines and the (aluminum) equipment in general. I had no basis for such worries, but I did. I figured I could accomplish the same thing with soap and warm water. I ultimately discarded the whole gallon.
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Go to "stripersonline.com" website and click on flyfishing. Scroll down to "No Bull S's" thread titled "Fly rods should have tapers like spinning rods and baitcasters". Herb
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I'd go with what Jeff said - I personally would not go with wood. BTW, I my opinion, I would NEVER go with Titanium again. Before I built my own,I had Kerry Burkheimer build me 3 rods with Struble Ti seats and they eat aluminum reel feet for lunch. Chews them up. Stay with the more gentle Al. Herb
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Tom, I noticed that with a new blank I just received from Andy Dear. It had a really strong spine in one orientation and fell off a cliff in about 40 degrees. My prior comment was meant to be in general terms. My original thread was really initiated to find out if oscillation was a valid method to determine guide placement assuming all other variables like spine and straightness were incon
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Anthony, ASSUMING that the spine is relevant, and as you see here it may not be, but assuming it is - If you attach the guides to the concave side of a fly blank, the stronger (stiffer) side of the blank will be in use to deliver the fly line on the forward cast. If you attach the guides to the convex side then the stronger side will provide the more effective backcast. Some casters will tell
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My initial oscillation test was, in fact, done on a naked blank. I deflected the blank upward untill I felt enough resistance to stop the blank from flexing any more - about 13". To test some of the above theories, I just did the same test with guides attached - However, they are light guides -REC s/f recoils and a REC recoil tip-top. When I "snapped" the rod with the tip-top
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I know all the arguments re spine and straightest orientation of blank. I happen to spine because , I guess I am lucky, I have never received a crooked blank, and it is so easy to do so. But I am nervous when the spined orientation does not line-up with the orientation that gives me the "cleanest" straight up-and-down oscillation of the two top sections of a fly rod. Does anyone have
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Wayne, You may want to consider a ceramic for the large stripper. That will not increase the weight in a critical area and will give you a slightly "nicer" feel when stripping line. I only use the REC s/f as running guides. I have built some rods with all REC recoils, strippers and running. But lately I have been going bact to the ceramics for strippers ONLY. BTW,G Loomis uses all
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Tony, I actually like the feel when I make the diameter of the grip slightly smaller in the rear than in the front. I have small hands so I like the front to be .88" and the rear to be .86. It feels better to me that way because the heal of my hand can be accomodated by the smaller rear grip. I also like a much more pronounced "wells" in the front to give me better support for
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