Can the magnets be taken apart so that a different material be put between them to avoid this problem? Thanks much Roger
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I had seen a jig for cutting thin cork. It appeared to be a piece of wood, with a hole of the desired cork width drilled into the wood with a fostner bit - (so that it had a flat bottom) , insert the cork ring into the hole, and then run the wood down past a thin bandsaw blade while using the bandsaw. Is this typical of cork cutting jigs, or is there a better method? Thanks much Roger
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I am confused. What do you mean when you say that it gets pulled over by the startup of the power wrapper. The @#$%& device is a bolt with a wingnut on the top with a pair of magnets on the bottom to set the tension. Then, on the bottom of the device is a screw that is used to mount the device to what every type of holding device you might have in mind. I currently use a swinging arm - w
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I really don't understand your question. You are asking me how I get the rod level? As I said, when turning the rod, I simply chuck a solid glass or steel rod in the chuck , and then either sand the rod to match the inside of the blank, or use tape on the glass or steel rod, so that the rod will be a jam fit on the inside of the blank. Thus, the blank at the chuck end will always be 100% ce
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A couple of comments. Cork, tape, flex coat and graphite arbors will all work fine. I typically turn my handles on the blank, so it is not much of an issue with respect to the particular arbor. When I glue up a handle, I spin the blank while applying glue so I will glue the entire assembly - including arbors in one shot. I use 30 minute epoxy for gluing, so that means that I have about
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Has anyone tried the @#$%& thread device for tensioning the thread on the rod building? It uses magnets to hold the tension on the thread. The idea appeals to me because, for the metallic threads, I would like a device which doesn't run the thread through any loop or other tension device. Right off the spool of thread to the rod. Too often, when using metallics, the tension device or loo
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Very simple - the tube was caught in a conveyor. Last year, I had the opportunity to be "blanked" be each of the carriers. i.e. US mail, UPS, and Fedex all brought me a blank in a PVC tube that had been folded in 1/2. Obviously the blank on the inside of the tube had been folded in 1/2 and broken as well. The insurance that I always have on the blanks as well as finished rods, t
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I make lots and lots of walleye rods. For spinning rods, I have a standard back grip of 7 inches. For casting rods, I have a standard back grip of 9 inches. If I find that the tip is going to be tip heavy, I will back weigh the rod a bit to off set the tip weight rather than extending the butt length. It makes no sense to either myself or my clients to take a 7'6" lindy rigging rod
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As one of the other posts suggests, some of the blanks are right on, some are a tad short, and some are a tad long. I have had all models of the St Croix series, SCII, SCIII, SCIV, and SCV - received both ways. i.e. + or - 1/2 inch. Generally, the "exact" length is not a big deal. However, if it is, it is a simply matter to trim a 1/2 inch off the butt, or add a 1/2 inch butt cap to
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Good luck on using this rod. With only a 3 inch butt section, you are going to have a very very very tip heavy rod. I suspect that you will also find the rod ackward to use with the very short handle and no leverage behind the reel. I am simply stating this, because I made the mistake of making a nice 7 foot casting rod with only a 6 inch back grip. I thought that lenght would be suffic
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I had a simlar problem with my dryer which let the rod move accidently while drying The result was the felt from the rod support ended up being ground into the finish. I worked for some time to clean up the guide, but ended up cutting off the guide, cleaing the rod, and rewrapping the guide and replacing the coating. Then, I fixed the dryer, so that the rod could never again move down the rod t
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There is one very important tip when sanding cork that has been glued up. The glue can be, and is generally harder than the cork. If you free hand sandpaper, you will almost always divit and sand out unwanted cork. The secret is to do two things: 1. when sanding the glue line - use very coarse sandpaper. I like to use 30 grit paper to cut the clue line. 2. Use the right touch on the lathe
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Of course some of the coatings will work. However, if you are simply storing the rods, why not put them inside a cover, box, or bag? The thing that affects the cork is sunlight, and moisture. Keep them in a bag and the issues go away. Or cover them and the issues go away. Take care Roger
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To avoid moving my station down the rod wrapping bench, I move the rod past my fixed wrapping station. I have a 10 fot long power wrapper that I built. My wrapping bench is actually 4 feet wide. Then, I have another 4 foot long bench on each side, that has a 4 inch gap between the tables. In the gaps, I have placed a lumber roller support from Home depot. This is a foldable roller support
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Ked, I do this all of the time. I do all most all of my handle work with the handle glued to the blank. i.e. I drill out the bulk cork to match the blank size at the station of interest. Drill the reel seat hubs. Clamp everything together after gluing with 30 minute epoxy. I have a lathe that I made by using a 3600 rpm 1/2 hp buffing motor. The buffing motor came with a 1/2X20 threads o
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I have tried lots of different speeds and have found that 6 rpm works best for me. I use the power wrapper to apply the coating. The power wrapper will spin at up to 300 rpm, but I typically do the first finish application at about 30 rpm. The nice thing about the power wrapper is that it will stop instantly, when the pedal is released. It is nice to be able to stop at any position to level
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Chris, I have had similar problems and have found part of the problem to be the pads on the wrapper chuck. Take a straight steel rod. For example a ratchet extension or stright piece of larger steel rod. Roll the rod across a piece of flat glass to insure that the rod is perfectly flat, true and not bent. Then, take the pads off the wrapper chuck. Insert the steel rod, tighten, and th
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Mike, Leave the handle alone and glue it to the blank as you have completed it. In general, the weight of the handle will make the rod balance perfectly and you will be very happy with it. If you use a cork handle and if you want a balanced rod, you end up adding lead to the blank anyway. So, the use of the heavier hadle at the butt of the rod - is in general - a good thing. Take
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Rick, I have tried many different maxium speeds for a power wrapper. I have used variable speed motors of different sorts and different belt ratios to try to optimize the speed. The speed that I have finally settled on is 300 rpm. i.e. if I have m y speed control running at top motor rpm, my rod blank will be spinning at 300 rpm. I will use this speed after I have a butt wrap started
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I have made a couple of pull loops using the high vis yellow power pro - 10 lb test. It is very thin, strong, and easy to see. I make each one so that the loop is about 6 inches and I loop it over one of the rod stands when I am not using it so it doesn't fall on the floor. I think that I am using the same threaders that I made about 50 rods ago. The braided line works much better than mono
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I essentially set up my guides as follows: These would be for a spinning rod. For the first choker guide, I typically put it at 20 inches. A bit closer in a shorter rod and perhaps up to 24 inches in a longer rod. Then, I tend to throw away the ruler. I grab a roll of tape and deflect the rod. I make sure that I have one guide located at the spot of initial deflection near the tip. Then
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With respect to a power wrapper and handle lathe: 1. I use the same rod supports for both tools. They are made as follows. I use a piece of aluminum about 7 inches by 3 inches by 1/4 inch thick for the base. I use 3/16th steel rod for vertical support posts. I thread the lower 1/2 inch of rod, so that it and a locking nut can be screwed into the base for each support. 2. The rod supports th
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Scott, I agree with the others on keeping the cork work and thread wrapping seprate. I keep the "clean" glue and wrapping in my lower level work shop. However, I do all of the "dirty" work - sanding and turning in the garage. When, I finish, I vacuum up the dust, and then use the air compressor to blow all of the dust out the door. I tried doing the turning once in t
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Wells, Thanks much. That was the conclusion that I came to. I ordered a couple different sizes gold checks from Merrick. They came today and will work very well indeed. Nice shape and shine. Take care Roger
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If you are looking for ball bearings, you can get replacement bearings at any good bearing supply house. Take the old bearing in, they will measure it, and will supply a replacment bearing. Take care Roger
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I have a client that wants a gold winding check in front of the fore grip. Any ideas for a source for a gold colored winding check? Thanks much Roger
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I strongly agree that a balanced rod is very important to a restful day of fishing. I also respectfully disagree that adding a small amount of butt weight in the rod decreases sensitivity. If a person has a balanced rod and is feeling for the ultimate bite - the rod can simply rest in the open palm of your hand while it gently feels for that next tap or click on the line from a biting fish.
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I have read the posts about using or not using a power wrapper to make a rod. After using both, i.e. the manual as well as several of the commercial units. I can understand and agree with both sides of the equation. The folks who use the hand wrappers say that they have better control and can do a better job. Those who use the power wrappers claim that they can wrap faster with as good contro
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