Bill, Any size you want. The real issue is whether you plan to run any knots, snaps or swivels through the guides. Roger
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Buzz, Why don't you make a cord grip on the Gaff. Virtually can't be destroyed, looks nice and the rope gives a nice grip in all conditions. Also, not costly. Quite a few links around on instructions for making such a grip. Basically wrap the gaff handle with cord, seal it and you are done. Take care Roger
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Rogerio, I imagaine that this foam is very similar to the foam arbors sold by Flex Coat and some other companies. I am sure, that if you want to put in the time, that the foam would work just fine to support a reel seat. How does the texture, and density of this foam compare to either the Fuji, or Flex coat arbors. Both of these are excellent products and folks have essentially 0 proble
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Mitchell, I am glad that you are getting good results - thinning your finish. But, actually you would be better off to buy a finish that is thinnner from the get go. Epoxy finishes cure by a chemical reaction, not a solvent evaporation, as is the case for other single part glues. When you mix a solvent into an expoxy finish, you are relying on the possibility that the solvent will all evapo
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In addition to Todds comments, if you decide to check for a cured finish on a freshly coated rod and aren't quite sure if the rod will be cured - don't use the front of your finger to check for tackiness. Rather, use the back of your finger, or your finger nail. That way, you can still tell if the finish is cured, but if it is a bit tacky, you might leave a very slight dent in the finish with
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I basically use the same technique as Ken's. I do make a point to mix for at least 120 seconds or two minutes. I use disposable brushes that I buy for about 5 cents each. There is nothing at all wrong with mixing by weight as long as you use the right ratio. You can't get a correct mix, if you mix one to one by weight, but depending on the manufacturer, if you use the correct weight ratio f
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John, Normally when I set up guides on a rod, I will take a roll of 1/8th inch wide tape to use as a set of markers for guide location. I will began bending the rod from the tip down. The tip section due to its smaller diameter will began to deflect first. I will mark the first area of blank deflection for a guide. On most rods, this will normally turn out to the the 2nd guide down from th
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John, I use the concept guide as a starting point for guide spacing. But, like you, I like to put a guide in places necessary to carry the line on a deflected rod. To me, this means that as the diameter of the blank decreases, the guide spacing will decrease accordingly. If the blank is not delfecting at that point, for a given amount of line force, it makes no sense to me to put a guide the
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p.s. Whe doin g a drilling job like this it is sometimes tough to get the drill bit nicely centered on the piece that you you are trying to drill. Since your original post indicated that the fighting butt sheared off, there may be a metal projection on the butt of the rod. In order to expedite the drilling process, use a dremel tool with an abrasive wheel on it to level the end of the sheared
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John, As the posts have suggested, you can drill out the piece and use a reverse bit to unscrew the extension. However, consider the possiblity that as you drill the piece, heat will be generated, and the heat will likely loosen the part of the piece that is glued into the butt of the rod. It is not a big deal, but I would not be suprised, that if, (when drilling out the extension) that
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Lorenzo, A question or two. I assume that you are speaking of finishing epoxy that is used to coat the guide wraps after wrapping? I also assume that this epoxy is a 2-part epoxy - i.e. part A and part B. I further assume that you are using two "different" syringes to measure your part A and your part B epoxy. Then, finally, I am assuming that after extracting part A o
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Fernando, The fact that you ask the question and the fact that finishing the rod will only take a short time, makes me wonder if there is something that you are not happy with on the rod? If that is the case, no problem, lots of folks change their mind about something on the rod after wrapping it - -- go ahead and put it away for a while until you have had some more time to think about it.
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Brian, Another Kuco for an excellent blank, that is essentially "spineless". Don't worry about the spine as others have stated and simply build on the straightest axis on the blank. Take care Roger
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Chuck, Just be sure that your shop is free of dust, and that you turn on the heat gun away from the rod before you go to applying any heat to the rod. I use it on virtually every rod and have never had an issue. This is another reason, that I do NO dirty work - i.e. I do no sanding turning, or any other dust raising work in the same building that I do my rod wrapping and coating and gluing.
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p.s. The main reason that I use the disposable brush is so that I don't have to clean an expensive brush. Also, I really didn't find any advantage at all to using a very expensive brush for finish appliction. Take care Roger
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Lorenzo, I just use an inexpensive throw away brush. I apply finish at a high rate of speed, about 100 rpm or so. As needed, I will stop the lathe to apply finish to the guide feet etc. Then, after finishing the application, which takes about 2-3 minutes for all of the guides, I will transfer the rod to the slow rpm dryer. Then, I will hit each guide with the heat gun to thin the finish and
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I agree with Tom, It is only about a 20 minute job to apply the finish, and get it on the dryer. Roger
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Chris, Remember, looks is in the eye of the beholder. I think a better way to look at it is that it would "look unconventional". Any time that you do something that others don't normally do, it is unconventional. Take care Roger
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Blue that matches the blank when finished, Metallic blue a bit darker along with silver makes a wonderful look for these blanks. Take care Roger
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I agree with John, Remember, as you well know cork and most woods have considerably different densities and sand at different rates. So, when you are doing your shaping on the lathe, be sure to use a backing board on all of your sanding diskw or paper, or use hard surfaced shaping tools. This will allow you to have a uniform shape with no gouges in the softer materials. Take care
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Bill, Remember, if you are talking about the lower rod support clamp, you need to have a range of adjustment in the clamp to allow for the use of various blanks - if this is the support clamp of which you are speaking. Roger
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Bill, Use a tape measure and straight edge to determine the necessary dimensions. Good luck Roger
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Tom, The reason is simple physics. i.e. as the line comes off of the reel spool, the line is going to be coming off of the spool in a circular flow. The circular flow has a diameter that is a bit larger than the diameter of the reel spool. Hence, the idea to match the line flow - of this circular line flow to each of the edges of the guides. i.e. when the line is coming off of the top o
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Mike, I think you are on the right track. One thing that I look for when I am selecting guide sizes, as well as guide spacing is the ability to have a "clean" and "straight" line flow from the top, side and bottom of the reel spool through the guides to the tip. i.e. I dislike seeing any line deflection from the reel spool through the guides to the tip, on an unflexed
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Rodney, Another good thing to have on hand is a group of head mounted magnifiers. Work is so much easier when the wraps are magnified with the use of the magnifier. Even those folks who have good vision, do a better job with a magnifier. Take care Roger
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John, Lots of folks make ice rods - that are 25 inches long, with 4 1/2 inch grips - just large enough to fill the hand. So, you could make a handle this short if you wanted to. But, as Tom suggested, there would be a lot of twisting force on your hand, due to the excessive tip weight with no counterbalance on the back of the handle. Why don't you take an old rod, chop off the handle
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Charles, You can certainly do it if you would like to. If you do, why don't you install all of the guides that way, and then they would all be uniform. Certainly different from the norm, but no reason why they wouldn't function just fine. Roger
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Jeff, If you aren't already using a head mounted magnifier, do yourself a favor and get one. Then, use whatever thread your prefer. Size A all of the way through gives the nicest and cleanest looking job, but you can use any size thread you prefer. If you do a test on a breaking strength of thread, I think that you will find that there is really very little difference, in the overall br
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John, In addition, these pads also work well when used wet. i.e. dip the pad in a pan of water and use it frequently to eliminate dust, and to keep all of the sanding particles in suspension. Roger
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Tom, That could very well be. However, there must be some reson that my large spool spinning reels outcast my smaller casting reels by a very large margin. Roger
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