Marc, Yes many many builders still only build full grips. The bottom line reason for rods to have split grips is very simple. SAVE MONEY There is little other advantage to the use of a split grip. Folks talk about saving weight, but that is largely a myth. If cork is removed from the back grip, to keep the rod balanced, a bit of weight is generally added to the butt cap section of
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Jeff, I assume that you are speaking of this wrapper? This wrapper, like most of the wrappers on the market will do a good job of wrapping. It has a nice 8 foot base, with a dual drive motor, so that you can use either the wrapper motor, or the dryer motor on the same bed. Unless you are going to use the wrapper for handle work, you really don't need a motor speed of anything greater th
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Greg, The comments on reel seat size are right on. The size should be dictated by the size of the fishermans hand, not the size of the rod blank. I also agree on the use of the A/t comfort seat. It is becoming the reel seat of choice for many of my clients. I do use a size 16 reel seat in the skeletal version, when I use a hidden hood concept. This is where I bury the non threaded portion
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Hank, This is a very good question, and depending on the product, can have some different answers. I think that Mke is correct on the particular products that you address. But, if you look at two part products directly, and or solvent based products, you will find some answers. It seems that for two part products, like epoxy glue, epoxy finish, certain two part paints, the shelf lif
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Ron, Don't worry about keeping the guides straight when wrapping. Just be sure that you have the guides in the right location, before starting to wrap. To make it easier, I generally take a 1/4 inch wide piece of tape and put about a 6 inch section of tape down the lenght of the rod, in front of the reel seat, so that it gives me a good long alignment mark on the rod, when wrapping. I genera
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I don't think that the xsb 822.5 would be a good rod for your uses. This rod is a fine tipped drop shot rod and has a bit too light tip for your needs. On the other hand, the 802.75 would be a pretty good rod to use. The tip is a bit heavier than the 822.5 and a bit overall heavier than the 5s66mlf. The other option, and perhaps the best option would be to go to the 566mf rod. Basically
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Justin, Great idea. The popping blanks will make excellent drop shot blanks and will have just a bit stiffer tip action which is excatly what you want. You mentioned that you are considering on using the MHX P903. You also mentioned - triming back 3 or 4 inches. If you are going to trim on that particular blank, I hope that you are talking about trimming on the butt of the rod and not
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Mark, I tend to keep some of my "scrap" cork rings for use as arbors. i.e. cork that is not of good enough quality to use as a handle, work very very well as an arbor. One of the things with poorer quality cork, is that there are voids and or holes in the cork. This type cork actually excels as an arbor since the voids and holes actually work in your favor to hold glue and actually
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Craig, If you have the facility, it is nice to make the handles right on the rod. i.e you need a rod lathe that is long enough to support the entire length of rod. Then, simply ream each cork ring so that it is a nice fit on the rod blank at the location, where the ring will be placed. When all of the rings have been reamed, when the reel seat arbors have been reamed, and all of the pie
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If you are coating your guide wraps, no issue with coating the metallic thread as well. You don't really gain anything, but it doesn't hurt anything. Roger
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Try one of the Dr. Slick fly tying scissors for trimming. It works much better than about any other method. Roger
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Larry, You can buy various sizes of the small o rings that fit both the blank and the rod. Slip a bunch of the o rings on the rod before starting the guide placement. Move the 0 rings up the rod as you place guides. As you are wrapping the guides, have a pair of clippers to cut the 0 rings. I find that razor blades etc. don't do as well a job of removing the 0 rings as a pair of clippers. Eas
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Adam, Many years ago, I worked with a builder that used a pair of high quality thin tipped fly tying scissors to trim guide wraps. I went and picked up the same pair of scissor that I have been using ever since. The advantage of using the scissor is that you don't have to worry about nicking a wrap by using a razor blade. Before using the scissors, I nicked several different wraps on differ
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Ron, On a slightly different point, how well insulated is your house. I know that many homes that are built in warm climates are rather poorly insulated. Then, if air conditioning is installed in the house, a huge premium is paid by the home owner due to the lack of insulation. Rather, if the house were built to standards of northern Canada with insulation in the roof to R-38- triple glazed
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p.p.s. If after 48 hours you still have a very slight tack to your finish, you can normally cure it by the appliction of an additional thin coating of correctly mixed finish. Roger
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Kevin, When I first started doing rod finishing with epoxy guide coating, I had the same problem. After talking to others with more experience - I concluded that I was not mixing the epoxy sufficiently. After carefully measuring the part a and the part B with Syringes, insuring that you have an exact 1:1 mix, slowly stir the mixture for at least 120 seconds or two minutes - by the cloc
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Tom, I have never had good luck with non metallic Gold thread. But I have excellent results with Metallic Gold thread. So, if gold is needed, I simply use Metallic. Metallic is a bit tougher to work with but just as strong as the comparable non metallic. Roger
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I agree with Jim on this one. If you use pink thread and want it to pop, be sure to use CP on it to keep the pink nice and bright. Also, if you use gold guides, it will really sparkle with the white blank and pink wraps. Use gold lettering and you will be set. Roger
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Kevin, Get the blank you like and either have it painted, or paint it yourself. Roger
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Kevin, Very simple. Have a label made that will be dark and will cover all of the former label. If possible have the colors match the blank to be less obtrusive. Apply the label, Put on a coat of guide wrap, let dry and return the rods. If you have a drum dryer, you can do the entire job in a couple of hours. Roger
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David, Give Karen a call at Bingham. She has been very good at getting Pac Bay guides of every style. Roger
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I have to agree with bob on this one. Rather than the hassle of painting and prepping etc. I would rather just polish the bare blank and call it good. There is a suprising amount of weight that gets added to a blank by painting. Also, the paint tends to slow the action of the blank, and cause it to lose some of its crispness. I would think that if you wanted to add a bit of color to a blank
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Jay, Exactly, clean, prime, paint and let dry. Roger
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Kevin, I don't disagree that the epoxy coats and covers the rubber winding checks with no problem. The statement that I said was the epoxy would NOT stick to the vinyl or rubber winding checks. But, for purposes of the winding checks, that is not important. Most rod builders either take the guide finish just up to the winding check, or up and over the winding check onto the rod handle its
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Bill, With respect to the epoxy - no epoxy will not stick to either the vinyl or plastic winding check. So, when you cover the wrap, don't cover the winding check. Take the epoxy only to the edge of the winding check, not over it. With respect to the use of a metal check. No issue at all, as long as it is not a press fit onto the blank. Use a single thread wrap under the check, and that wil
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If you mix in small batches to keep the heat down, or mix and then spread thinly on a piece of aluminum to keep the heat down your pot life may be up to 10-15 minutes. If not, i.e. mix in large concentrated batches- i.e. small mixing cup - the pot life may be as short as two or three minutes. Roger
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If a person wants a split seat - so to speak - the use of either the Fuji or Pac Bay skeletal seats work very well. Although not technically a split seat, because you have the filler in the middle of the back and front sections, they can be very comforatble with the right filler, and if the skeletal seat is of the right size. If you use the hidden hood technique, where the front or non t
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Nick, I don't know what country that you are in. If you are in Canada, you can often save weeks of shipping time by specifying that shipments only be made via UPS. UPS has its own customs officials and generally has very little if any customs delays in its shipments. In contrast, I have had US mail shipments stay tied up in customs for over a month. Roger
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Chris, I woudl not worry about the fore grip. Just use a pair of pliars to chew off the butt section of cork grips. Then, use masking tape to build up the butt section so that it is uniform. Leave 1/8th inch spaces between the rows of 3/4 inch masking tape. Make the diameter of the butt - uniform from the butt of the rod to the reel seat. Then, just take an eva handle that is sized to fit
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Wayne, Also, a lot of us, spray only the tip with day glow orange paint for about 4-5 inches of tip. Then , just leave the rest of the blank alone. If you want color, do it with your thread wraps. Roger
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