David, It really does work better if you can use a faster motor for applying the finish. As I said earlier, if you happen to have a power wrapper, you can use the wrapper at a higher speed for finish application. If you don't you can pick up a 50 rpm motor or so, for finish application. Then use a foot pedal to turn the motor on and off as needed, or you can use one of the flex coat clutche
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David, All of my drying motors turn between 6 and 10 rpm. I use my power wrapper to apply the finish at speeds of 0 - 150 rpm. After the finish is thinned and leveled, I transfer it to the slow turning drying rack for overnight drying. You might check out one of these nice QUIET 12 volt dc gear motors. for example the one that turns 6-10 rpm at 12 volts. Then, just pick up an inexpen
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Tom, Thanks for the thoughts. Roger
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Thanks for the thoughts. I have finally found the match. Dark forest green is just the right color. Fishhawk has a nice matching color - but it is in metallic. I also see that Mederia has a similar color in their nylon so perhaps it will work. I have also found several different poly sewing threads which match as well and I will try them for wrapping to see how they work. Thanks again
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Tom, What does it mean when you say that EVA is not ergonomically correct for the human hand? I assume that ergonomic refers to shape. I thought that EVA could be shaped to anything that Cork could be shaped to? Am I incorrect? Thanks for your thoughts. Roger
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Alex, Please explain the statement , "the facillitation of quicker hand positioning on two hand casts." What in the world does the presence of a full back grip on a rod have to do with the positioning of hands on a grip? I certainly never look at my grips and I certainly don't have any problems to correctly put my hands where I want them on any rod that I use. I just don't un
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John, A common wheel to use is one of the following: 1. Skate board wheel bearings. These are very high quality bearings at a very reasonable cost due to the huge numbers of skate boards on the market. 2. Patio door rollers. These grooved rollers are commonly available in hardware stores and if you choose the right one can have very good bearings. Then, just go to the same stores plumbing
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I read a recent post advocating a split grip because of a performance difference with a split grip compared to a conventional grip. i am somewhat at a loss to understand what "performance" is gained by a split grip. If anyone can tell me, I would certanly be happy to listen. Roger
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Alex, If you want to wrap with fiberglass thread, it should be no issue at all. Here is a source for various diameters of fiberglass thread: - Give it a try and let us know how it all works out. I would think that if you use fiberglass thread, that you would want to use some fairly long wraps, as well as a considerable overwrap to hold the thread at the end of the wrap. Most of the
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Larry, That makes a lot of sense. Roger
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Jody, Most of the crappie rods are built using a size 16 reel seat. Pick up a size 16 poly arbor, ream the arbor to fit the blank - glue up and you are good to go. Take care Roger
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Steve, In spite of your statement, I think that the performance difference of a split grip compared to a conventional grip is simply the opinion of the user. If the user thinks that there is a performance advantage with one or the other, go with the preference. To say that one has an advantage over the other is simply personal opinion. Lots of reasons to use both. It is up to the use
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I am finishing a St. Croix SCV blank that is in the new Forest Green Pearl. The client wants a thread color that is invisible on the blank. i.e. a thread that is a perfect match for the blank. To do this, I want to use a nylon thread - i.e. non ncp - that normally gets darker and more translucent as the finish is applied. I currently don't have a thread that is quite close enough for
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I was just thinking about your original request on how to make a slip clutch. Lets say that you have a 1/4 inch coupler on the end of a motor to mount your chuck. Insert a continuous 1/4 inch bolt into the threaded coupler on the chuck side of the coupler. Place a nylon locking nut on the threaded bolt, then a spring that just fits over the shaft of a length that you need to determin
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Walt, Whenever I had that problem with any of my work, I found that the work piece was lifting off the finish side slightly causing a slight depression to be formed at the end of the work piece. To help reduce this problem the use of a spring clamp has helped me. i.e. a spring loaded down pressing clamp on the work piece as it slides across the joiner on the finish side of the joiner. H
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Have to agree, it looks like some game player got in and grabbed it. Roger
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Kevin, Essentially you have a rod that is a net - 4 inches shorter - fishing wise, than perhaps the optimum length. You have a back grip that is 3-4 inches longer than optimum and may tend to catch in your elbow or stomach when casting due to the length. With the extra back length you will end up with a rod that is perfectly balanced and will fish well. If the slightly shorter fishing l
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Ray, No reason that these should not work just fine. The MHX blanks - if the right one for the application - are wonderful blanks. Roger
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I use the Blue low tack masking tape. This works very well to delint, defuzz, and leaves no residue behind. Roger
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Walt, When you say - at the end of the cut - is this at the beginning end of the cut, or the ending end of the cut. Since you have had a router for many years, you well know that your work piece needs to stay completly flat. If it tips at all, the work will end up with a divit. Also, considering the age of the router, are the router bearings and shaft still in good shape? If the shaft g
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This was the sort of slip clutch that I was talking about when I suggested that you go to a good will and pick up a junk sewing machine for the clutch: Roger
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I agree with Greg. I recently replaced the thread guides on my tensioner with some inexpensive hardalloy guides for the same reason. Roger
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Daryl, If this is an older rod, it is likely that it has a moderate or slow action. i.e. I expect that the rod might be one that makes a very gradual bend from the butt to the tip of the rod. If so, it is possible that 5 guides would be just fine for this rod. The only reason to add a guide to a rod, is to put a guide to get the line to follow the loaded contour of the rod. If you can do t
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Jeremy, It is easy to purchase the Flex Coat clutch, or you can do an even simpler thing. i.e. simply buy a foot pedal switch, or just pick up a little box, and mount a push on switch to mount it in the box. That way, you simply press the foot pedal to turn on the motor, and press again to turn off the motor. All that you want to do, is to stop the motor temporarily while you are applying co
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Greg, Pick up a few broken or scrap rods from the bait stores or the good will stores. Then, go through the blanks until you can find a section of tip that will match the size and wall thickness of the original blank. It normally is not difficult to do, if you can go through a few different rods. The problem is, that if you use a section that is a lot different than the original bla
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Kevin, The fix is easy if you don't like it. Chop off the butt of the rod to the length that you want and put a butt cap back on the butt of the rod. 10 1/2 inches is quite a bit, unless you have a pretty long rod. If you have an 8 or 9 foot rod, a 10 1/2 inch back handle is just fine. For something shorter than that, you might find it a bit long. Take care Roger
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Bruce, This is certainly possible. Just to verify the problem, take a scrap blank, use the same thread and lay out a piece of wrap - good and tight. Use a strong light, and a magnifier, and check for fuzzies. Then, use gentle burnishing, and check again. Finally use the same thing that you used on the rod in question to see if you raise the fuzzies. If, at any time you see t
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Bob, I completely agree. That is why I suggested, that one have the two blanks in your hand and do a side by side flex test to really determine for yourself, the actual speed of the tip, as well as the power of the rod. It is interesting in some of my testing , that I have actually found some rods that are slower, to actually be a better rod, than the rods that have a faster tip. So, agai
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Gabe, For the very reasons that you highlight - i.e. motor direction is one of the main reasons that I designed a wrapper using a DC gear motor. The DC style motor gets rid of the motor direction problem. Reverse the motor leads and the motor changes direction. The Gear part of the motor gets rid of all of the various pulleys and belts that come with the typical power wrapper. The gear mo
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