I agree with Spencer on this one. The way to pick the blank is to pick up feel and if possible test cast a rod using this blank under consideration. The modulus and blank weight is simply not the way to judge a blanks capability. Take care Roger
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Wayne, I have tried all of the above suggestions when it came to fixing a "sticky finish". However, I always found that if you have a sticky finish, and attempt to cover it with another coat of finish - you simply have a sticky finish covered by a coat of non sticky finish. The result is that you DON't have a good rod, and one that will hold up well to the rigors of heavy fishing. I
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The 30 inch - 1 inch wide belt sander works great. This sander is such a universal tool that if you do much of anything, you will find a use for it. It can sand any type material, fix guides, sharpen knives, shape wood etc. etc. etc. Get a selection of belts - ranging from 80 grit to 450 grit. Us the coarse grits for fast heavy material removal and use 450 grit for final knife sharpening
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Mo, You must have way too much time on your hands to worry about a 3% change in weight after 2 years. I wished that our own weight changed just 3% in 2 years!!!! Take care Roger
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If your in a city, find a surplus store. In Minneapolis, there are several surplus stores that I have been able to fine 6 or 12 rpm motors for about $1 each. These are 110v ac electric timing motors that generally have a 1/4 inch output shaft. They work very well indeed. Take care Roger
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If you have carefully measured your epoxy - it is likely that you have not mixed it well enough. If you hand mix your epoxy - watch a clock and mix completly for a minimum of 2 minutes. Not, 30 seconds, one minute, but two full minutes. Many years ago I was having the same problem of a rod that ended up sticky now and then. I received the advice about using a minimum of 2 minute mix
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Mo, If you are gong to be doing much building - do yourself a favor and pick up this saw: [] It is very small, takes up almost no room, is so quick and clean with respect to trimming blanks and making other cuts. It pays for itself the first time you use it. Take care Roger
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Don, A very simple solution is to use masking tape to wrap the blank with as much tape as is required to fill the void. Use 1/4 inch tape, with 1/4 inch gaps between the masking tape wraps. The tape will stablilize the arbor and reel seat, and the glue between the tape will guarentee a bond. Take care Roger
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Hank, Why don't you chuck the rod in your lathe, and turn the butt of the rod down to the required size. Simple and easy. Take care Roger
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Here is an excellent unit: or or --- only ok, not really for constant use. ---- these are all of very high quality and will last a long time and give good service. Take care Roger
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Tom is right. Either may work. You may want to try some guides taped to the blank in both configurations to see which works best. The other thing that I have found with most spiral wrapped rods and depending on the reel being used, that it often works better if the first stripper guides is offset from dead center on the top of the blank at 0 degrees to about 5 degrees to the side of the spi
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I had a couple of rods come in that were to be rebuilt. The customers liked the guides and they were fine so I recovered them. Since the blanks had been broken a couple of times, they would not be reused. I have always used a heat gun to soften the epoxy and cut the thread with a razor knife and take off the guides. Since I was a bit strapped for time, I started up the propane torch - too
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Chris, Do you have the following voltage: If you do have 230 volt 50 cycle voltage, you need to check the voltage requirement on the motor that you have received. If the motor came from the us, it is likely a 110volt 60hz motor. If you do connect this motor to 230 volt 50hz voltage, you will burn out the motor. Just make sure that you are using the correct voltage for the motor
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IAN, There is a very very very simple solution to your problem. 1. Remove the chuck. 2. Take a look at the threads on the end of your power wrapper head stock and determine the shaft size and thread pitch. Common sizes are 1/2X20 or 3/4X16. Yours may be one of these or may be different. 3. Go to the local hardware store or industrial supplier and find some "thin" nuts using this
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Rena, I have to respectfully disagree with your statement on "variable speed motors controlled with a rheostat must be DC motors". That statement is not true. Series wound AC motors may easily be controlled with a rheostat. Take for examples the common plug in variety variable speed electrical drill. This is a very inexpensive series wound AC motor and it is easily controlled with
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The foot pedal board works well and is easy to do. If you want to avoid any flex in the foot pedal board, make it from an aluminum channel. With the edges of the flex, the foot board won't flex. The idea of the foot board is that as you move along the rod, you simply pick up the foot board where ever you are located at on the rod. ------ I have a different setup for my power wrapper. R
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Walt, The very simple solution is to fix up a horizontal thread rack that uses a large disk on each end of the thread spool that rotates with the spool. No issues any more with thread coming off. I have done the same thing with the sewing machine thread mounts for my different sewing machines. Take care Roger
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Chris, If you have tgo use the graphite arbors - you have a bit of a chore to get them reamed out. They are tough to ream. Rather, I like to use the foam flex coat arbors, They are much easier to ream. In either case, I have 2 different round files that I chuck into my drill. I have a 3/8th file that I chuck into my 3/8th drill, and a 1/2 inch file that I chuck into my 1/2 inch drill.
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C huck, Rather than using an AC motor - use a DC motor and a DC power supply. I have purchased many 24Volt DC gear motors over the internet on @#$%& and find that they work very very well. In particular - if you find a pittman motor - they are virtually bullet proof. Normally, new they sell for $100-$200. However, on @#$%&, you can typically pick them up for under $20. Then, if you pic
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Jon, Some folks add weight on the inside of the blank to achieve a balanced rod. I personally feel that adding weight on the inside of the blank is a bad idea, because you end up with a bunch of useless lead too far up the blank to do much for your balance. If your lead has been pushed up into the blank so that it is close to the reel seat- you are adding weight withoiut achieving balance.
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I agree with the above posts. I have seen this happen in various types finishes - including rod coatings. In virtually every case it is a case of entrapped moisture. This happens very frequently in the heat of summer when finishing is being done with high temps and high levels of humidity present. With the high levels of humidity - it is quite easy to get excess moisture in a finish.
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Herb, With the dangers involved - I wonder if the use of such chemicals suggest the use of fresh outside air being piped into the user? I have thought about such a rebreather for such times that I use chemicals that suggest such a risk. Roger
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Chris, If you haven't tried one - give a 30 inch by 1 inch belt sander a try for deburring guide feet: For example: I have found that the sanding belt system works very well for me. I have used the buffing wheel that you mention in your post; but I simply have found that the 1X30 belt system works more easily and works well for me. Take care Roger Per the rules, no @#
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With most of the current 3 ml ex fast blanks - I normally use a spacing of 4 inches from the tip and also for the next two guides. i.e. 4,8 and 12 inches for the first three guides. Then, began spacing out the guides for the rest. Typically, this will be a 7 guide setup. I really see no reason to use 8 guides on such a short rod. Take care Roger
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Dave, I do the same thing. The jig works very well and just put different thickness spacer in the bottom of the jig to get the thickness of the slice that you like. The key thing with this jig from Custom jigs is to use the right saw. The kerf of the saw needs to be .010 or less. With this saw, you will able to fit the grooves in the jig, and you will have very minimal cork removal while
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Larry, I used to use butt caps as you have described all of the time. Most of the time today, I have gone to a piece of solid cork - turned down to the diameter of the butt for a butt cap. However, the very simple solution to your problem is to put the butt cap in a lathe and turn it down so it is about .020 SMALLER than the butt. That way, the butt cap will never catch on the rod holde
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I can agree with you conceptually. One big difference in many of todays rods; compared to older rods is the speed of the tip. i.e. many of todays rods have a very fast tip. When placing guides I simply take the position that it is a good idea to place a guide at any spot on the rod that keeps the line following about the same curvature as the bending blank. I find that if I have a very sl
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Scott, I have to disagree with the comments on pigment problems. The specs that I see in your picture certainly look like air bubbles to me. Have you tried using heat after coating with the finish. If you use light heat from a heat gun - the finish will heat, thin, and dissipate any air that may be entrapped in the finish. I would suggest you try another test case, and then try gentle
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Steve, If you have a power wrapper with a lathe chuck on the head, you can easily chuck up the push stick in the wrapper. Then, move out the steady rests to support the pole as needed. You can use a couple of tables in a garage and clamp the steady rests to a table or saw horse to get the necessary pole support for a long pole. Then, simply first use the power wrapper to power sand th
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JB, Great job. However, what happens when the reel needs service or it breaks? I assume that you will cut the reel off the handle. Yes, it is beautiful and takes a lot of work to thread a reel to a tennessee handle. However, all of the clients that have asked for this style handle - have simply asked for an open space where they can mount a reel. Then, they all have simply used
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