Lou, Anything is possible, but the simple answer is - NO - unless you are really fortunate. One of the side issues of doing a heating process on any type resin after it has cured, is what happens to the resin and its strength. In essence, not good things. So, if you are willing to jink the blank if it fails, you can certainly try. But I am guessing that you would likely have to get it hot
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Lorenzo, Bend up, bend down - it is up to you. Just don't make it bend to the side or it looks unsightly to the client when the rod is being used. Good luck Roger
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Actually, a suggestion. Basically any type filler will work just fine to space out the handle on the rod blank. It is certainly convient to use an adhesive based tape like masking tape. One post suggests not leaving any gaps in the tape. I have to suggest, that you want to leave small gaps in the tape if you put on bands of tape on the blank to space out the handle. When gluing up the blank
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John, For years there have been families of epoxy wtih various pot life. Back some years ago, when I was active in modeling we used 5 minute, 15 minute, 30 minute, 60 minute and 2 hour epoxy. Today, depending on the brand, such pot lifes are available. Essentially any of the liquid style - as opposed to the gel style epoxies, will work just fine for rod building. Do your research and m
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Steve, Another way to make the butt cap is to use the no hole rubberized cork as you describe. Then, use a caliper to take a careful measurement of the finished size of the end of the handle. Use your lathe to hold the no hole piece of rubberized cork. I set up my lathe with a drill chuck in the head stock and I use a 1/32 inch drill that is sticing out about 1/8th of an inch. I use this
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Billy, Actually, it depends on the look that you want from your rod. If you want a matching color look - use CP. If you want a transparent look, don't use CP. Roger
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I 3rd the comment. Braced boat guides. Tough and inexpensive and work very well. I assume that you are talking about a solid fiberglass rod (no hollow rods please) and an eva grip for a good grip that is tough and inexpensive. Roger
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You could just finish the rod with NO application of CP. Up to you. Roger
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Kevin, Yes and no. In the world of walleye fishing the use of a lead head jig and live bait is close to the number one method of catching these fish. Essentially, pitch the jig to the areas where the fish are likely holding. Then, "jig" or bounce the lead head jig back to the boat. Depending on the mood of the fish, you can cast, let sit, bounce it a couple of time, let sit. Or do
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David, I learned this a long time ago when first making handles. I use a 3 cornered and a flat file to make a tenon. I use a caliper to measure the desired depth needed on the tenon by checking the rod handle. Then, I transfer this measurement to the handle with a ball point pen. I turn on the lathe, and use a three cornered file and a flat file to turn down the tenon - checking frequentl
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Bill, Exactly, I built a rod for a client that wanted a changable butt section. I made one butt section 2 inches long and one butt section 8 inches long. Depending on the application, the client used either the 2 or the 8 inch handle extension. Both extensions had finished ends, so the hole in the end of the non extended handle was always sealed with a handle extension. Roger
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Tom, I have a couple of each of these rods and they are some of my favorite rods. But I don't think that either of these rods are appropriate for 1/16th oz jigs. Just too much power for the light weight of the jigs. They are wonderful rods, if using at least a 1/4 oz jig and preferably a 3/8th oz jigs. Perfectly loaded with jigs or lures of this weight. Roger
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A nice surf rod grip can be made with cork tape. It makes a wonderful handle, that does little to increase the size of the grip. Roger
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I have built several of these rods and they are one of the best rods for jig fishing with 3/8th and heavier jigs for Walleye up in the north country. The extremely fast tip, makes hook sets a snap - so to speak. Roger
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All of the comments are right on and will work well Choose the guide size that suits you as well as whether the rod will be used indoors or outdoors. If the rod is to be used outdoors, use larger guides to minimize ice problems. Remember, most full size rods have a distance of about 20 inches from the reel to the first guide. So, even if using a small reel, you still need a reasonable dist
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Carlos, Jim has it right. In addition, if you want, you can ream the back of the handle to fit, and ream the front of the blank to fit. Then, simply drill from the back with a constant diameter bit to an area near the front of the handle. Depending on the blank taper, you may need to shim the blank a little or a lot if you use a constant diamter bit to drill the cork. But if you choose to go
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The batson VS3 guides work very very well and are extremely tough. Roger
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Josh, Thanks for your thought. Yes, right now, the Legend Elite 5S70lf-g is the number one blank on my selection list, unless a better one comes along. St. Croix has a mandrel with a very very very fast tip that is being used on some of their newest rods, that are very ideal for light jig walleye fishing. Bill, Thanks for your thoughts, but a fly rod has much much too slow a tip
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All, Thanks for all of the comments. I have looked at several of the above listed blanks and have rejected them for one reason or another. I will have to check out the NFC and RX8 822.5. When I have the blank in my hand, I will know if it is the right one. I just haven't found the right one yet. The rod will be built as a spinning rod with very light guides and handle setup. The
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touche!!
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Charles, All of these ideas are great for cutting a reel seat. But I would really caution you against cuttin too many or for that matter, any threads out of a reel seat. Folks will often cut threads or length out of a reel seat to Just accomate a given reel. But for folks who take care of their rods, a rod will often outlast a reel by many years. Also, as time goes on, reels and reel desi
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In addition to some of the great comments posted, here is another little trick that I use some of the time for handles. I ream out the handle - from the butt end of the handle so that the taper in the handle section will fit the blank. I already have the cork butt cap glued and shaped to the handle as a one piece unit. After reaming out the end of the handle, I will have a hole that is essen
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John, Take your other MT attachments and compare the size and length of your existing attachments to the new drill chuck. Use a caliper to take measurements at identical spots on both MT tapers. See if the taper is identical. Then, check for overall length. Some of the inserts have a different flatted on them to put in the "special MT" inserts that are in some pieces of machinery.
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Garry, Probably the easiest way to make such a rod is to have a rod with a removable butt section that simply screws into the butt of the rod. These are pretty easy to make. Simply have the butt section handy, and if needed, screw it in for a fish. Basically make a butt section with a protruding 1/4 inch bolt. Then, take a 1/4 inch colupler and glue it into the butt of the rod and make a
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I have a client that is looking for the lightest (physical weight), most sensitive - jigging rod - in a length that is between 6'10" to 7'. He has stressed his desire for a SH style blank, i.e. robust butt with a fine tip and also with an extra fast tip on the rod. I have pretty much searched all of the vendors for such a blank and it seems that it is a very difficult blank to find.
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Spinning rods are built with up-locking or down locking reel seats all of the time. It is up to the preference of the builder as to which way the seat is oriented. Good luck Roger
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I agree with Steve, Use two or three guides to make the bend rather than one. The line will flow better and you will have no line hang ups or guide pressureon the line. No line pressure and no guide issues. Adjust the guide size and orientation to allow the 1. line to stack correctly back on the reel when retreiving line. 2. Allow the line to flow off of the reel with virtually no pre
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Martin, Unless it is halloween, it is probably " Which" blank -rather than "witch" blank. Be safe and well. Roger
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Charles, I use a chop saw with an abrasive blade to make the cut for the reel seat. One thing that helps for some reel seats is to insert a snug fitting dowel on the inside of the reel seat, and then supporting the dowel on each end - when making the cut. Many reel seats have protrusions on one side or the other. So, if you start to make a cut on the reel seat the reel seat ends up tiltin
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Charles, Pretty simple. Use a clamp so that you can get good clamping pressure when assembling things. With a split grip, use a u shaped board in front of the back of the rear grip to allow you to nicely snug the grip together against the butt of the rod. After the glue has set up a bit, use DNA and a tooth brush to insure that any glue has been cleaned up. Then, after completing the
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