If you can do it, why not do it. It really takes no more than 10 seconds to spine a rod, and it certainly won't hurt anything to spine and it may help - particularly on rods that have a terrific spine. On the other hand, from time to time you might want to build on a blank that is not straight. Yes, I know that production blanks are screened to be straight before shipment. But for a multitu
Forum: rodboard

The best thing is a high speed tool with an abrasive cut off wheel mounted on the tool. If you use thin abrasive wheels, you will need the least power and have the longest disk life. For example: [] or [] I have picked up one of these orange mini chop saws, took off the 2 inch saw blade, and replaced the saw blade with a 3 inch thin abrasive wheel. -------- If you hav
Forum: rodboard

The idea of using the live tailstock is a good one. However, the use of the live tailstock cuts down your milling length. so, if your lathe is just long enough to turn the handle you want witt the normal tailstock - you won't be able to use the chuck style live tail stock. Take care Roger
Forum: rodboard

Mo, One way to find out: Use a couple of pairs of pliars - straighten the foot, rebend it to the point that you want for height. If you find that the metal breaks when you do this; you know that you will have to add heat to the equation. If not, it is good to go. You might find that you have to prep the sides of the guide foot a bit to soften the - then upturned sides of the foot.
Forum: rodboard

There have been recent posts about turning cork blocks. Has anyone tried to simply take 12 inch by 12 inch cork flooring - gluing them together - putting them in a press to cure, and then cutting them into square blocks for turning? I wonder how the cost of such an effort might work out. Also, I wonder if there would be a suitable glue besides epoxy for such a task. Depending on t
Forum: rodboard

p.s. If you do decide to use the sureform file, you might think about using an additional dust collection system. Because the file has open cutting edges, the debris from the cutting action of the file goes through the file and comes out toward the operator. So, when using the file, I use an added vacuum pickup between myself and the file. Of course, this is one of the reasons that help
Forum: rodboard

Matt Davis put me onto the use of a Stanley Sureform file for doing rough shaping on rod handles. After gluing up a cork handle, have you ever struggled cutting through the glue build up and glue line? Do you go through a bunch of sandpaper, or dull tools cutting through the hard epoxy? Is so, give the Sureform file a try. I can't believe how quickly it cuts through the epoxy an
Forum: rodboard

A nice way to go is to build your own. Pick up a piece of aluminum channel in the length that you want. Mount as many rod rests on the channel as you need. Then, build up a wrapper motor for your lathe. I prefer either the Dayton - right angle gear drive - reversible - 110volt motor that is set up for 500 rpm. The beauty of this rig is that it has excellent control - plenty of power, -
Forum: rodboard

Bill, No question about it - spiral wraps are superior. You only have to fish with a well done spiral wrapped rod for a while and see for yourself. Lighter weight, fewer guides, less stress on the guides and rod. However, each to his own. Take care Roger p.s. In particular - for those rods like down rigging or trolling rods - the idea that the line is coming off the bottom
Forum: rodboard

One answer --- - MONEY Today, quality cork is getting expensive. A full grip typically takes about 20 rings to complete. A split grip takes about 9 rings to complete. If you are paying $2 per ring for quality cork this cost is $40 compared to $18. Take care Roger
Forum: rodboard

Tony, Although I spine all of my rods, I think that one of the biggest helps of spining a rod is to have the guides on the curved side of the blank. Although manufacturers tend to weed out blanks for shipment that have any significant bend - one receives a blank every now and then that has a bend. Sure, one can send it back, but I have found over the years, that as long as the bend is sligh
Forum: rodboard

I think that you hit the nail on the head - when you said the taper was "extra fast". In past years, I have had several different rods fail for me that had the "extra fast" taper. In every case, the rods all failed at the spot where the blank necked down to the thinner tip section. In each of these cases, each of the manufacturers have eventually pulled these particula
Forum: rodboard

George, If you are using a motor for continuous duty that is really rated for intermittent duty - get a fan. I have a pair of back up dryer motors that I use from time to time that have the same issue. I picked up a little 4 inch 110volt fan that I sit beside the motors. I plug in the fan at the same time that I plug in the motors and the wind from the fan really does a good job in keeping
Forum: rodboard

Matt and all =- thanks for the update. I completed the fix tonight and it came out well. I taped off the ends of the wraps to avoid touching the blank. Then I used a sharp razor blade at right angles to the blank to carefully scrap every part of each wrap. I worked under a glass and strong light to insure that I cut the shine on every part of the wrap. This also insured that the fuzzys
Forum: rodboard

I have built several power wrappers. One of the key things about a wrapper is the chuck. For most of my wrapping, I use the wrapper motor that I have a keyless industrial chuck mounted on. That way, I take a dowel, either have it sized to fit the butt of the rod, or, I use tape to build up the dowel to fit the butt of the rod. For my rod building, I generally put the butt of the rod on,
Forum: rodboard

p.s. I know that there was nothing wrong with the finish, since I had just finished coating another rod with the same batch, minutes before doing this rod. That rod came out perfect with 0 issues of any kind. I am sure that it was just a bad spool of thread which is now in the garbage. Roger
Forum: rodboard

I just finished up a lovely rod and put the first coat of finish on the wraps. ARGGGGGGG Apparently, I had a bad batch of thread, since every wrap, including the butt wrap - fuzzed up on the finish. I was done with the first coat, before I noticed the fuzzing. I am planning on letting it dry, and then scrapping the finish to remove the fuzzy bumps and recoat. I am not looking
Forum: rodboard

Buzz, I had a similar problem and found the solution at the local hardware store. I found some rubber washers that would fit tightly over the rod holding the thread. Slid the rubber washer down the shaft until it contacts the top of the thread spool. Push it down until there is just a touch of pressure on the spool This will keep a touch of pressure on the spool and will keep the spool from f
Forum: rodboard

Timothy, The bolt and screw setup on most roller guides are a bearing arrangement, with a fixed length. i.e. the length of the bearing going through the roller is such, that the rollers screw can be very tight without causing any pinching of the roller itself. Before putting the rollers back, look over each guide very carefully under a magnifier. If there is "Anything" in the gu
Forum: rodboard

I use a bit of heat to soften the finish. Then, I simply use a straight edge razor blade, worked at right angles to the blank to scrape off the old finish. About 20 minutes will nicely clean up the blank. Then, you can use some 220, 320, 400, 600 and 800 grit wet and dry paper to give a lovely matt finish to the blank. Put on new guides, rewrap, coat the guides and you have a lovely newly reb
Forum: rodboard

It is really not a big deal. Find a foam handle that is as close as you can get to what you need. If you have a lathe, you can use the lathe to shape it to the shape that you want. Then, if the center hole is too large in the foam, simply use an arbor - foam, tape, or dry wall tape to build up the blank to make a snug fit for the foam handle. Then, epoxy the handle in place and you will be
Forum: rodboard

I might be suprised, but there is no way that I would not wrap the tip section of a two piece rod. I have seen too many blanks split at the butt end of a rod when working on a rod - when it is under pressure. When the blank has been wrapped, or even wrapped with a few layers of masking tape- no splitting. So, I am sure the results will be interesting, but the thread will stay on the tip sect
Forum: rodboard

I was curious as to the quality and action of the Mud hole unsanded blanks. They have these listed in their catalog for $4.95 each. They claim that they are in various lengths and actions. I ordered two of them and found that one still had the cellephone on the blank along with the resin ridges. The other one had had the cellephone removed, but still had the ridges on the blank. I put
Forum: rodboard

Mo, I ordered and used the Mudhole filler and it works very well. However, if you look at the tube, you will find that it is nothing more than "Elmers -Golden Oak" latex based wood filler. You can easily obtain it for less money at your nearby Home Depot, or Lowes building supply store. Having said that - it really does work well for filling natural cork. Take care Rog
Forum: rodboard

I agree with many of the other posts. I use a single wrap of A thread on all of the rods that I make and have never had a thread / guide related problem with any of the rods. Just take a steel rod and do some tests. Take a 1/2 inch steel rod and then wrap a guide on the rod, using a single layer of A thread and coat it. Then, on the same rod in a different spot, wrap on the same guide
Forum: rodboard

Lance, I don't know what part of the country you are from, but if you are in the midwest, go to a Menards and pick up some of their 30 minute "Pro" epoxy. It is the only Epoxy that I have used for the last several years with no problems at all. The good news is the price. The price is $9 for 1 LB of epoxy. This is about 1/8th the cost of many of the more famous or notew
Forum: rodboard

With respect to Muskie rods: 1. I very much dislike split grips. To much need for holding the rod in various places to put up with the nonsense of no grip where y ou need it. 2. Absolutely have a nice long fore grip. Nearly all big fish need the rod to be held in front of the reel for good landing and fighting power. A grip that is about 1 1/2 inches in diameter in FRONT of the reel, giv
Forum: rodboard

I agree with the answer of several posters. When you are fresh on a fishing trip, it is easy to take a badly balanced rod - i.e. very tip heavy - hold it and detect bites. However, as the day wears on, you get more and more tires; and it is less and less comforatable to hold a tip heavy rod. Thus, many bites are missed late in the day due to a tip heavy rod. So, Yes, I do balance rods t
Forum: rodboard

Jason, I just finished builing several spiral wrapped rods. In all cases, I have the guides so that the spiral to the right or clock wise around the rod - looking toward the tip from the butt. I use three guides to spiral the line from the top to the bottom of the rod. When adjusting the placement of the butt or first guide - I have the other guides in their correct locations at 60, 120 and
Forum: rodboard

Mo, There are a couple example of mini chop saws. The one that was listed was one on @#$%&. I will find another source: The compact saw listed above was the one that I was referring to. I have this saw. I removed the metal toothed blade and replaced it with a 3 inch abrasive disk. The abrasive disk gives an ultra clean cut, and there is less danger of sawing a finger with an abr
Forum: rodboard